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Emma and David
Oregon

Basic Info

Emma

Age: 42
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Religion: Agnostic

David

Age: 37
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Religion: Christian

Child Preferences

Age: 3 to 9 years old
Sex: Either
Max Number of Children: 1
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Mixed, Bi-Racial, Unknown

Special Needs the Family is Open To: Moderate Physical/Medical Disability, Animal Allergies, Asthma, Drug Allergies, Environmental Allergies, Food Allergies, Defiant, Difficulty in Attaching, Difficulty Making Friends, Encopresis, Lying, Manipulative, Poor Social Skills, Self-Abuse, Stealing, Suicidal Attempts, Tantrums-Severe, Wets the Bed, Born with HIV issues or HIV Positive, Drug Addicted at Birth, Failure to Thrive, Fetal Alcohol Effected, Low Birth Weight or Premature, Prenatal Drug Exposure, Gastric Tube, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physically Disabled-Mild, Hearing Impaired, Speech Delays - Mild, Speech Delays - Moderate, Vision Impaired, Anorexia/Bulimia, Hoarding, Overeating, Pica, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Cognitive Delay - Mild, Expulsion(s), Has Behavior Problems in School, Mild Learning Disabilities, Moderate Learning Disabilities, Severe Learning Disabilities, Speech or Language Impairment, Suspension(s), One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Depression, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Schizophrenia, One/Both Parents Have Alcohol Addiction, One/Both Parents Have Drug Addiction, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Bipolar, Exposed to Domestic Violence, One/Both Parents Have Had a Mental Diagnosis, Child has had a disrupted adoption, Multiple Placements, Residential Treatment History, Parents Willing to Seek Guardianship, Convicted of Theft, ADHD, AIDS, Arthritis, Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Heart Disorder: May Require Surgery, Hemophilia, HIV, Missing Limbs: May Require Prosthesis, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizures, Sickle Cell Disease, Sickle Cell Traits, Spinal Bifida, Adjustment Disorder, Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Depression, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Previous Psychiatric Hospitalization, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Requires Medication For Psychiatric Condition/Mental Health Diagnosis, Requires Counseling/Therapy, Destructive of Property, Fire Starting, Runaway - Occasionally, Runaway - Past, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Grandparents & Other Relatives, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings, Child Identifies as LGBT, History of Sexually Acting Out, Sexually Abused in the Past

Environment

State: Oregon
Neighborhood: City/Urban
Residency:
Years Together: 11
Children in the Home: 1
Pet(s): Dog(s), cat(s)

Work

Emma

Occupation: Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor

David

Occupation: Instructional Designer

Adoption Agency

Agency: A Family For Every Child
Worker: Evian Granitz
Worker: evian@afamilyforeverychild.org
City: Eugene
State: Oregon
Zip: 97402

Family Description

We are the Sohriakoff Family! We adopted Sterling (now 12 yo) in 2019. We are a fun, active and playful family. When we spend time together as a family we go out for walks, swim, hike, run, jump, and explore, build with Legos, play games, and watch movies. We are excited to be on the journey to open our home and family to another kiddo to love and nurture. We are open to one child who is at least few years younger than Sterling with various health, cognitive, mental health or behavioral challenges, a child of any race or ethnicity. We know that adoption is for life and we are committed to giving a kiddo a lifetime of love. Sterling is so excited to be a big sister and has lots of love, compassion, and fun games to share with a new sibling.

Preference Description

We prefer a child at least 4 years younger than our 12 year old adopted daughter as we believe this would lead to the best possible sibling relationship. We are open to any behavior other than severe aggression.

The Sohriakoff Family Profile

We are the Sohriakoff Family! We are a small family, Emma, David, and Sterling, our spunky 12-year-old daughter, adopted from foster care 3 years ago. Emma's special needs adult brother, "Buddy," lives independently with support in our basement apartment.

We are excited to be on the journey to add another child to our family. We are open to adopting a single child who is at least a few years younger than our 12 year old. We are open to a child of any race or ethnicity and various challenges who could be safe in our home.

Introduction

We are a playful, active, and affectionate family. When we spend time together as a family we go out for walks, swim, hike, run, jump, play, and explore, build with Legos, play games and watch movies.

David is a homebody who enjoys gardening and cooking and has a silly side and loves to joke around. Emma is more extroverted and enjoys running, socializing with friends and listening to audio books and having deep conversations. Sterling is a very social child with a great sense of humor who always usually wants to be playing with someone. She likes playing with kids of all ages as well as adults, especially Mom and Dad. Sterling also enjoys solo activities of drawing, crafting and playing with toys and listening to audio books. With Sterling we have learned that structure is helpful and we have established daily chores and homework time. We have learned that things go best when we keep screen time to only an hour or two a day.

Emma works for the school district as a mental health provider and has summers off while David works as a contractor in the tech field and works full-time from home. We have slightly staggered work schedules which allows us to take care of Sterling before and after school, help with homework and drive to and from school. We also have the financial freedom for one of us to be a stay at home parent if needed.

Home and Community

We live in Portland, Oregon in a four bedroom, two-bathroom home, with a basement apartment. In our backyard we have a trampoline, pool and hot tub in the backyard. Our home is a happy space decorated with family photos, bright colors, and plants.

We live next to an elementary school with the school's playground visible from our front window and porch swing where we often sit on the swing. The school yard is often full of families and kids playing. There are also a variety of parks and trails nearby, along with excellent places to eat in walking distance. We live near many wonderful activities for children including indoor playgrounds, dog parks, community pools, the children's art and science museums and the Portland Zoo.

Parenting Experience

We have invested countless hours researching, self-educating and participating in trainings on parenting, attachment, trauma, mental health in children, and the impact of abuse and neglect. This in addition to Emma's professional education and experience in the field of mental health have given us a good foundation for therapeutic parenting. Our greatest teacher has been parenting a child from the foster care system. We have learned so much from parenting Sterling and we continue to educate ourselves about what Sterling needs and how we can support Sterling and a future child. We also know that all kids are unique and we are prepared to learn the needs of a new child and adapt expectations to their developmental stage.

Support

We have a strong support system! David's father, Ken, and his step-mother, Pam, are big supports and they can't wait to become grandparents again! Emma's sister's Kaitlynn and Jennifer, close friends, neighbors and Emma's adoptive mom's group are people we also count on. Emma's aunt, Christine, often provides child care including taking Sterling overnight.

We have support from Robbyn, a therapist who specializes in developmental trauma, who has been working with us as a family for the last two years.

We also know that we will need to continue to build new supports, especially if adopting cross culturally. We know that it will be our job to honor and connect our child with their heritage. Emma's job puts her in contact with professionals that work with youth, and trauma, communities of color and we are well acquainted with seeking support and guidance from outside resources including cultural resources to support a child who has a different race or ethnicity than ours.

Motivation to Adopt

We adopted our child from foster care in 2019 and have experienced first-hand the challenges and joys of parenting a child who has had significant trauma. It has been more challenging and also more wonderful than we could have imagined. Through everything we have been able to knit our hearts together into a loving, resilient family. We know that adoption is for life and we are committed to offering a lifetime of love to another child who will become our precious child, just as Sterling has. We can't wait to meet them!