Exciting Announcement!!

IAN is thrilled to announce the start Ethiopian Culture Camp for adopted children!!

The first camp will be August 2-6, 2009.  Classes will be held here in Centennial, Colorado at the campus of  CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International).

Classes offered will include language, the arts (music and dance), and for the older children, cooking lessons.  All classes will be offered at a minimal cost. 

Please note that classes will be held the week before IAN's annual family picnic on August 8, so hopefully many of our out of town families will make a Colorado vacation out of it! 

Watch for details in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, please comment here or email allison@adoptioninternational.net with the following information: 

1.  Is Ethiopian Culture Camp something you might consider this summer?
2.  Are there other classes you would like to see offered? 

Thanks for your support! 

New Service for Parents of Older Kids - Updated

Updated to Add: the webinar will be March 13th 9:30 MST.  To register, please send an email to ianwebinar@yahoo.com


IAN is pleased to announce a new opportunity being offered for parents of older adopted children.  Beginning March 13, we will be offering a webinar on Adolescent Basics, designed to give strategies for manuevering through the challenges of adolescence.  This unique webinar will offer specialized information for parents of newly adopted adolescent children, addressing the dual isssues of adoption and adolescence. 

This webinar will be led by Micheline Brault, a trainer with Denver's division of youth corrections.  Micheline has 30 years experience in working with adolescents and their families. 



Look for more announcements later this week on more exciting educational opportunites for IAN families.

Wait List Movement!

A referral for a baby boy was accepted today! Everyone below #1 on the baby boy list and below #2 on the baby girl list moves up one spot! Congratulations to the happy family!

Referral Accepted!

Today a family accepted the referral of a beautiful little girl!  Everyone below #1 on both the toddler girl list and the 5 year old and up girl list moves up one spot!  Congratulations to the lucky family!!

Saying Goodbye......

With mixed feelings we announce the resignation of IAN’s International Program Director, Sarah Strong.

Sarah and her husband Sean are embarking on their next adventure, a two year term of service with the Peace Corps in Latin America. Joining the Peace Corps has been a lifelong dream for both of the Strongs. Sarah will utilize her fluent Spanish and experience with teenagers, and Sean will put his engineering skills to work while they live and work in community with the local residents. Sarah will be here at IAN through the end of the month, before she takes some time off to hike the 211 mile John Muir trail in the Sierra Nevadas with Sean and visit with family all over the country before they leave for their assignment in June.

All of us at IAN are excited for Sarah as she fulfills her lifelong dream, but are soooo sad to see her go. Her contributions at IAN are many and wide reaching. As some of you may remember, Sarah made a solo trip to Addis Ababa in November of 2008, laying the groundwork for what is now IAN’s care home. She has been instrumental in developing pilot programs in Nepal and Mexico, has expanded IAN’s outreach through Webinars, Web Chats and Information meetings, and increased IAN’s visibility with national organizations supporting adoption. Most importantly, Sarah has a genuine heart for finding homes for orphans. She loved working with adoptive families and truly celebrated the arrival of the children she helped to bring home. To say she will be missed is an understatement.

Sarah is in the process of training her replacements, and a future blog post will introduce you to Liz and Connie.

Please send your well-wishes to Sarah Strong, c/o IAN or to sarah@adoptioninternational.net.

Referrals Accepted!

Two referrals were accepted today!

Everyone below #1 on the baby girl list moves up one spot. Everyone below #10 on the baby girl list moves up two spots!

Everyone below #2 on the baby boy list moves up one spot!

Congratulations to both families. Please call your coordinator if you have any questions regarding your place on the wait list.

IAN Annual Picnic - Save the Date!!

This year's adoptive family picnic will be held on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at Belleview Park in Englewood, Colorado.

This event is one of the highlights of the year for everyone at IAN. It is so much fun to see families reconnecting, meet the newly arrived children and see how the "older" kids have grown, and of course enjoy the food, drinks and cotton candy IAN provides.

Mark your calendars now, and watch the blog for more details in the coming months. We would love to see all of you there!!!

We want your Feedback!!

***Update:  The responses so far have been extremely helpful!  Keep them coming!***


Did you have a great IAN experience you'd be willing to share?  Do you feel comfortable referring friends to IAN for their adoptions?  We want to know!  Please email us if you would be willing to be used as a reference for IAN. 

If you had an unpleasant experience with us, we want to know that, too.  We need to know the areas we need improvement so we can work on them.  Email those suggestions to us as well. 

Due to the nature of these emails, please send them directly to Joan Strauss at sjoan@adoptioninternational.net. 

Thank you!!