FameCrawler : international adoption

Photo

$275,000 Donated In Wake of Maria Sue Chapman's Death

Sassy Smith — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:10:00 GMT

Maria Sue, 5, daughter of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman, passed away on May 21 after being accidently hit by a SUV driven by her older brother. And in the wake of her passing, people have generously given to Shaohannah's Hope, the non-profit organization founded by the Chapman family to provide adoption assistance to families and children who need it. The Chapmans adopted three daughters from China, including little Maria. The family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations could be sent to Shaohannah's Hope for Maria's Miracle Fund in honor of their daughter.

Executive director Scott Hasenbalg said, “It’s really, obviously, secondary to the mourning that is going on, but we know that this ministry will be a source of healing for the Chapmans as we carry out the mission. The outpouring of support has been incredible and we’re grateful.

“We know it will be put to good use because the stakes are too high not to,” he says.

“We are now rolling up our sleeves and beginning to work hard so we don’t miss out on ensuring that we are good stewards of the money that people have so generously given to us.”

Everyone, including staff of the organization and ministry are grieving.

“We are all just trying to put one foot in front of another. Maria was like a little sister to many of us. We have a culture of family within our ministry. We want to honor her. We want to honor God and we want to honor the Chapman family and really go from success to significance because Maria's life was significant to all of us."

The Chapman family, with the help of the board of directors, will best decide how to spend the donations.

Statement From Steven Curtis Chapman Family

Funeral For Little Maria Chapman & Pastor Releases Statement

Maria Sue Chapman Fund To Help Orphaned Children

Sassy Smith — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:09:00 GMT

Even in the wake of a family tragedy, Steven Curtis Chapman wants to help others and bring orphaned children to loving families, who are wanting to open their arms to a child in need. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any gifts be donated to the site in his daughter's name - Maria's Miracle Fund.

This story is so heartbreaking, the loss of a sweet 5-year-old girl, yet the Chapman family has a strong faith in God and I'm certain they will pull through and be stronger for it, albeit changed forever.

They are a family, although grieving, who are intent on helping others. For more information on Maria's Miracle Fund, click here. If you would simply like to leave a message of condolence to the Chapmans, you can do so here.

Statement From Steven Curtis Chapman Family

Funeral For Little Maria Chapman & Pastor Releases Statement

Sassy Smith — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:03:00 GMT

The world doesn't seem right when a child dies. Five year old Maria Chapman, daughter of gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman, passed away after being struck by a vehicle driven by her older brother. The Chapman's pastor, Scotty Smith told CBN News that the outpouring of love and support for the family is overwhelming and spoke of the grief the family is experiencing. Of the son who hit Maria he said:

"He understandably is just devastated. Their beautiful home has a couple of bends in the road. It just was totally an accident and this young man's heart is crushed."

Mr. Smith has been a friend of the family's for over 20 years. He urges people not to forget Maria's brother in their prayers.

"I encourage all to just redouble their prayers. because we all can predict how the enemy will try and whisper in his heart," he said.

Visitation for Maria will start today, May 23 at the Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Her memorial service will be held Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m.

I hope Maria's brother can forgive himself and know that he has thousands upon thousands of people praying for him.

Daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman Hit, Killed By Car

Video of Maria Sue Chapman Posted By Family

Statement From Steven Curtis Chapman Family

Sassy Smith — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:33:00 GMT

Steven Curtis Chapman and wife Mary Beth are grieving the loss of their precious daughter, Maria Sue Chapman. Chapman's manager, Jim Houser, has released the following statement on behalf of the family:

“Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him ... not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

"Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again.”

Rest in peace little Maria.

Video of Maria Sue Chapman Posted By Family

sweatpantsmom — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:40:00 GMT

A video of Christian star Steven Curtis Chapman's 5-year old daughter Maria was posted by the family on Thursday. Maria Sue Chapman was killed in a tragic car accident on Wednesday after being accidentally hit by an SUV driven by her brother.

I have to admit I had never heard of Chapman before I read this tragic story yesterday. But I don't think anyone can watch this video of a vibrant Maria Sue and her obviously devoted father and not feel incredibly sad.

A blog for condolences for the Chapman family has been created here.

Daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman Hit, Killed By Car

sweatpantsmom — Thu, 22 May 2008 04:43:00 GMT

The five-year-old daughter of gospel star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a car driven by her brother, MSNBC is reporting.

The girl, Maria, was struck in the driveway of the family's home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother who apparently didn't see the girl. She later died from her injuries at a local hospital.

Several family members witnessed the accident, which occurred in Williamson County, just south of Nashville.

Grammy Award-winning Chapman and his wife were dedicated to promoting international adoption and have three daughters from China, including Maria. The couple also have three biological children.

Our thoughts go out to the Chapman family.

See a moving video of Chapman and his daughter Maria here.

Joely Richardson Wants To Adopt

sweatpantsmom — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:05:00 GMT

She may play the needy, two-timing Julia McNamara on the FX series Nip/Tuck, but in real life Joely Richardson is all heart. Richardson is considering adopting a child from Malawi after a recent visit to the impoverished African nation to help raise awareness of their lack of water. While there she was deeply moved by the orphanages she visited. “I was almost in tears on a hospital visit because there were two or three babies to each cot."

Richardson says she's aware that there will be comparisons to Madonna's adoption of son David from the same country, but she feels the strong need for another baby in her life. “I would love to adopt. My daughter Daisy is a teenager and becoming self-reliant and I have a lot of friends who had adopted.”

Don't worry about the comparisons to Madonna, Joely. Try not to get photographed tongue-kissing girls and you should be fine.

Madonna's New Video With Justin Timberlake

Angelina and Brad's Double Date With Clint Eastwood and Wife

Karen — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:03:00 GMT

The power couple went out with Clint Eastwood and his wife Dina the other night, but ended up at the wrong restaurant. When they caught up with The Eastwoods across the street, the foursome were said to be taking over the world or something.

"They were all drinking the wine, but Angelina hardly took a sip. The whole group was extremely animated, clapping their hands and laughing out loud like they were old friends. Brad was overheard talking about throwing rotten eggs as a kid, and Dina was telling Brad and Angie that they should take their kids to the aquarium.

"At one point Angie got up to go to the bathroom, and you could see her pregnant stomach. She wore a loose black dress and had a scarf around her neck, but a bump was visible."

Brad took Angelina's hand to walk her to the door, then kissed her. Awwwww.

Harsh Words for Madonna's Directorial Debut, Even By Our Standards

sweatpantsmom — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:35:00 GMT

Okay, here at FameCrawler we're not known for being kind to celebrities. Take Madonna for instance - it's always easy to make fun of her robotic yoga-body and I've probably made a crack or two about how awful "Swept Away" was (can you blame me?)

But this review for "Filth and Wisdom", Madonna's directorial debut that recently opened the Berlin Film Festival, was particularly cruel.

Freakin' funny as hell and I'm going to tape it on my wall, but cruel.

Some excerpts:

"Madonna has been a terrible actor in many, many films and now...she has graduated to being a terrible director."

"She has made a movie so incredibly bad that Berlin festivalgoers were staggering around yesterday in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens."

"She is also the producer and co-author of the script. If she'd done the location catering as well, they'd have had a Jonestown situation on their hands."

Related Posts:

Madonna's New Face

[photo: People.com]

The full transcript of CNN's exclusive interview with Jolie is here (video also).

Brad and Angelina Save a Young Fan from Being Trampled

Karen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:03:00 GMT

When Angelina Jolie was honored at the Santa Barbara Film Festival at the Arlington Theatre, she and Brad Pitt weren't expecting to be heroes too. A throng of fans got overzealous and 8 year old Seth Mascareno was squashed against a metal railing.

The boy's mother Adeline explains, "The crush of people was just overwhelming. Angelina and Brad rushed over and she helped pull Seth under the barricade while Brad yelled for the crowd to back up.

"Then Angelina took Seth aside to make sure he was unharmed. When she was sure he was all right, she signed a Tomb Raider photo he was carrying. She stroked Seth's hair and said: 'There, there sweetheart, you're OK now.'"

What a touching moment for the young fan!

Related Posts:

Jolie Shedding Light on Iraq's War Torn People: 58 Percent are CHILDREN

Shiloh Kidnap Scare

Angelina Jolie Has Left Brad Pitt!

Pregnant Angelina's Crazy Cravings

Karen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:03:00 GMT

According to Stuff.co.nz, Angelina's got some kooky high-calorie cravings that should help her pack on the baby weight!

A source close to Jolie said, “Angelina’s been eating onion rings with mustard and a box of chocolates in the same sitting! She loves these bars that are dark chocolate and cinnamon mixed with Mexican chillies for an added kick.”

“Angelina’s been splurging on cupcakes that Maddox and Zahara have been making. Brad has also been going out of his way to make things easier for Angelina by playing ‘Mr Mum’.

"He’s been cooking, playing with the kids and being a great father.”

Shiloh Kidnap Scare

Jolie Shedding Light on Iraq's War Torn People: 58 Percent are CHILDREN

Brad Pitt: Angry About False Death Threats

Karen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Life & Style was blasted by Brad Pitt after they published a false story about death threats made against his and Angelina Jolie's biological daughter Shiloh.

"This is absolutely not true and reckless and dangerous to put these ideas out into the world."

I seem to recall Brad Pitt talking about trying to change laws to protect children from the paparazzi. I wonder if he is still going forward with that. I sure hope so.

Related Posts:

Jolie Shedding Light on Iraq's War Torn People: 58 Percent are CHILDREN

Shiloh Kidnap Scare

Angelina Jolie Has Left Brad Pitt!

Jolie Shedding Light on Iraq's War Torn People: 58 Percent are CHILDREN

Karen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:33:00 GMT

A goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie is in Iraq trying to jumpstart rescue efforts for over 2 million people displaced in the wartorn country of Iraq. It seems there are not any definitive plans in place to assist people in this situaiton. 58 percent of this some 2 million people are UNDER 12 years of age.

"There doesn't seem to be a real coherent plan to help them," said Jolie, speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN's Arwa Damon Thursday.

"There's lots of goodwill. Lots of discussion, but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment, and a lot of pieces that need to be put together. I'm trying to figure out what they are."

"How Iraq settles in the years to come is going to affect the entire Middle East," said Jolie. "It's in our best interest to address a humanitarian crisis on this scale because displacement can lead to a lot of instability and aggression."

Related Posts:

Shiloh Kidnap Scare

Angelina Jolie Has Left Brad Pitt!

Angelina Jolie Pregnant With...TRIPLETS?

Angelina Jolie Has Left Brad Pitt!

Sassy Smith — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Angelina Jolie has left Brad Pitt... not for good though. Did I scare you? Aww, I'm naughty aren't I? Jolie has left though - she flew solo to Amman. Ange boarded a British Airways flight to the middle eastern city, however we're not sure why.

She could be headed to Jordan for her United Nations work or maybe it has something to do with her being pregnant with twins or triplets? Although the pregnancy theory really doesn't "fly" does it? It does make one wonder though, considering reports are claiming that Angelina is in a high risk pregnancy and you would think she wouldn't go far, especially leave the country.

I suppose we will find out at some point what the real reason for her long distance flight is. Perhaps she just needed to get away - usually Jolie and Pitt and their big crew of kids are jet setting around and dividing their time between all of their homes in the States, so maybe she was itching to take a flight?

Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt - SEVEN Kids?

Angelina Jolie's Baby Bump!

Angelina Jolie's Baby Bump!

Sassy Smith — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:01:00 GMT

See that dress? Flowy right? And flowy means - pregnant and hiding a baby bump right? Angelina Jolie was being honored at the Santa Barbara Film Festival at the Arlington Theatre. She received the Outstanding Performance of the Year award for her work in the film A Mighty Heart.

That's awesome for her, but back to that dress - it's black on top (sliming) and patterned on the bottom (to HIDE things you want hidden, as in preggo belly) and the overall appearance, is flowy. My detective work is outstanding. I should get an Outstanding Performance of the Year award for, um, something.

Congrats Angelina Jolie on your ~~pregnancy~~ award!

Angelina's Dad On Angelina's Pregnancy: "It's Wonderful News"

HerBadMother — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:02:00 GMT

This is probably going to piss Angie off to no end, but her estranged father, Jon Voight, has been speaking to the press about her again, this time about her rumored pregnancy.

He told the New York Observer that he's excited by the prospects she might be pregnant. Rumors of Angelina's pregnancy - and that it might be twins - were stoked on Sunday when she turned up at the SAG Awards dressed in a very loose and flowy and bump-concealing vintage Hermes gown.

“It’s wonderful news that she’s having another child, if that’s true,” he told the Observer on Monday. Too bad that she won't let him see the grandchildren that she already has. He'll only get to enjoy this next one - if there is a next, or next ones, plural - through the tabloids.

Source

Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt - SEVEN Kids?

Sassy Smith — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:06:00 GMT

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are going to be parents of SEVEN kids? Well if reports are true about Angelina being pregnant with twins - the couple already have four kids - Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh, and now it's rumored that they are adopting again!

Star magazine is claiming that the power couple have fallen in love with a girl whose parents were killed in the Katrina tragedy and want to adopt her.

An insider said, "Brad met a little girl and fell completely in love. He and Angie had already decide that their next child would be a daughter. They were originally going to adopt a girl from Africa, but now Brad is sure this child is the one."

They're looking to create their very own baseball team! Or basketball team. Or hockey team. I, um, don't know much about sports. Let's put it this way - they'll have some kind of team!

Angelina Jolie Pregnant With Twins?

Karen — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:04:00 GMT

X17online is reporting (with 100% certainty) that Angelina Jolie is pregnant with twins. If that's true, they'll have 6 kids! Plus whoever ELSE they apparently plan on adopting. All those kids are all so young, too. I'd say "How does she do it?" but you and I both know she has tons of money, and tons of money = nannies and housekeepers.

Still. She makes me tired just thinking about the diapers!

Brad And Angie: MORE KIDS!

HerBadMother — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:23:00 GMT

God, these two just don't stop, do they? It's like they think that they're the only two people on earth who should have babies or something.

According to Angie's brother James - yeah, the one that she frenched at the Oscars way back when she was a bad-ass who cut herself and played at incest - Angie and Brad are preparing to bring more children into their expansive brood. He says that the couple are planning a trip to Africa over Easter to visit orphanages with the hope of finding a new little sister for sons Maddox & Pax and daughters Zahara and Shiloh.

According to James, “they are creating one big family and will keep adopting as long as they are able to.”

“Angie and Brad talk about how much they have been taught by their kids. In many respects, Angie saved Zahara’s life and there are so many more children whose lives she could save and she talks about that constantly.”

Look, I don't want to sound like a picky hater, but there are BILLIONS of children whose lives could use saving. If this is really about saving lives, she and Brad could probably make a bigger dent in those numbers if they gave up a good chunk of their wealth and donated it to orphanges and child-care centres and hospitals and families who need it, rather than just scooping out one kid at a time and enrolling them in private Manhattan French schools.

Just a thought.

Source

Gwen Stefani Adopting?

Sassy Smith — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:05:00 GMT

Are Gwen Stefani and hubby Gavin Rossdale considering adopting a child?

Reports from Star magazine claim that the rockin' couple are considering adopting a sibling for their son Kingston. They are "trying very hard" to natually conceive a second child but no luck so far. Apparently Stefani and Rossdale have already looked "at both nationally and internationally for the right adoption agency."

Whatever happens, I wish them luck!