Editor's Note: Window on the Clearwater has joined the Wednesday's Child network to help spread the word about children that are waiting for families to give them the loving care that they need. Each Wednesday we will profile a different child. For more information about Wednesday's Child and how you can be involved check the web site at: http://www.idahowednesdayschild.org/.

J'urny

Age: 12

"Hi, my name is J'urny. One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE fishing! I caught a rainbow trout that was about 12 inches. At first I didn't want to touch it, but I held it while they took a picture. And I learned how to clean it and cook it, and then I ate it! I used to say I was an indoor kid, but I really like to be outdoors, too. I like riding ATVs, hunting, cooking and...FISHING!

My favorite foods are enchiladas and tacos and Pozole [a special occasion Mexican soup with hominy and pork]. I also like fried okra and Asiago chicken and hamburgers at Wendy's. I like dipping my French fries in my Frostie.

When I think about a mom or dad, they would be funny and tell good jokes. I would like to be the only child, because I need a lot of attention. I like hanging out with [foster mom]; helping her and talking. I like doing lots of things with my family. We stack wood and we hunt and fish together. And we play with Emma [golden Labradoodle]. When I come home from school, I call her and she runs down the road to meet me. She's so glad to see me! We roll around and play and she licks my face."

As J'urny is adapting to a home in a country environment, he is learning that change, although difficult at times, comes with many pleasant surprises. He's discovering that staying busy with the side-by-side work he and his parents do together is personally satisfying--especially when the reward afterwards involves even more attention while this family plays together.

J'urny's foster mom is focusing on responding to him in ways that compensate for areas of nurturing he missed earlier in life. That means lots of reading together, cuddling, and talking about emotions. As a mother would do with a younger child, she rewards and praises good choices and withdraws notice when he is testing her with negative behavior. Negative behaviors are receding as J'urny chooses a positive, rewarding relationship instead.

J'urny will need educational allies who will help him focus and finish assignments. His family works with school teachers to sign off on completed work. This assures that J'urny follows through on homework.

According to J'urny's caseworker, this family relationship has worked from the beginning. J'urny was folded into a busy country lifestyle that included stimulating new experiences.

The adoption team hopes to find an adoptive family with experience or a willingness to learn about youth with traumatic backgrounds. J'urny deserves parental problem-solving related to that history and to ongoing learning challenges.

If you are a stable couple or single parent who can provide the side-by-side work and play this boy has missed, you may be the family J'urny is dreaming of. He is an overwhelmingly happy, generous teenager who would share his joyful enthusiasm for life with the right kind of parent(s).

Portrait by Barb from Barb Bergeson Studio Gallery

To find out more about J'urny, adoption or becoming a foster parent, email the Idaho CareLine (Please include your zip code and city.) or call 1-800-926-2588. You may be asked to provide this reference number: 30470..

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