In Seychelles, the end of June always brings a couple of big events. This year, we don't just get Independence Day, we get the 30th Anniversary Independence Day ... which I've written about here ... AND the Agricultural Show which takes place every year on the weekend nearest the 29th of June, our Fourth of July.

The Agricultural Show is a bit like a miniscule version of the farm-related sections of the California State Fair, with exhibits and awards presented... more

If you decide to search one route to take is to register with voluntary registries for natural parents and adult adoptees. This will let the adoptee know that you would like to be found. A registry is where you leave information about the birth of the child along with your contact information. The contact information should be updated if it changes for any reason.

When the adoptee is an adult he or she can also register with the registry. If what the adoptee knows about his or her birth matches the information the registry has about the natural mother... more

Yesterday I stumbled upon a fascinating website called Moscow Life. It's a subset of the Friends and Partners website, which I'll have to talk about another day, but which is a collection of sites devoted to Russian-American cross-cultural exploration! I'm really excited about it.

Anyway, back to Moscow Life. This site features nine years (1995... more

Today is Independence Day in Seychelles ... our 30th. On the 29th of June in 1976 colonial status under Great Britain came to an end and Seychelles began its history as an independent Republic.

That lasted days short of a year, when on the 5th of June of 1977 a coup d'etat replaced the first president's government with a one-party communist state that ruled for seventeen years. When the Soviet Union lost a lot of its Soviet umph, and just about all of its union, little and faithful countries like Seychelles found themselves without a benefactor; with no one lining... more

If you have decided to move forward with an adoption plan and think you’d like the services of an agency to help facilitate this adoption, you now have the task of choosing an agency.

Personally speaking, I did a private adoption (more on that another day) but many people use agencies to find a prospective adoptive family. Agencies (or most of the reputable, good ones) also offer post adoptive services that you can take advantage of as well.

I think the first thing we must do is define exactly what an adoption agency is. According to Adoption... more

There is going to be a press conference tomorrow June 29 July 3 with the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. Topic is the opening of the SDA to the public.

For anyone new to Ukrainian adoption.

All Ukrainian adoption has been shutdown for the last few months (April, May and June). This is to allow Ukraine to transition their adoption processing from the Education Ministry to the Family, Youth and Sports Ministry. Child protective services are already under the Family, Youth and Sports Ministry. The new adoption... more

Symptoms of Language Based Learning Disability are located here. This blog is about Natasha's specific symptoms. They are seen by anyone who interacts with her on a daily basis.

I have collected some conversations with Natasha to show what I am talking about. First up is a conversation about Snicki. He is Natasha's 7 month old puppy. According to the lady on the street corner, (Snicki entered our lives about 2 months ago but that is another story :) ) Snicki is half Boston Terrier,... more

SELF-CARE MINDER ================ Practically Perfect

Sometimes doing something practical is just what we need -- especially with sick dads and books that refuse to make sense. The bigger issues in life can take up all our our energy and then everything else gets really messy -- the layers of dried mud and gum wrappers in the car, the pile of scarves and camisoles on the closet floor I dumped there two weeks ago, the black circles on the bathroom wall from Lilly kicking her soccer ball while on the toilet.

Whenever I either am close to finishing a big project or stressed about something I can't do anything about, one of the ways I direct my energy that... more

One of my favorite websites is titled www.comfortqueen.com. It is written by Jennifer Louden, one of my favorite authors. She also has like minded guests writing on her site. From the website, she offers a weekly newsletter that has wonderful tips and suggestions on living your life creatively and gently and powerfully. I look forward to these newsletters and I refer to her book The Woman's Comfort Book: A Self-Nurturing Guide for Restoring Balance in Your Life often. It has been my guide for many years. My copy is very beaten and worn. Signs that it is well loved. She also has written other Comfort books that are equally useful. I really... more

Love is patient, Love is kind, Love is.......

For many years people have been filling in the blank after those two words. Love is......

In reality we can plug in many different answers and they would all be right. Charity begins at home. I have always been taught that. When you love your family and they in turn love one another back. There is so much love flowing that it runs over to all the friends around you.

Love and friend ship tends to touch the heart and soul of people. A little charity goes a long way. When... more