In comes a younger couple with two grade school children, maybe about five and seven years old. The older gentleman enthusiastically greeted them all, while the older woman continued to run around with Typical Toddler. I was so relieved for the grandparents. Finally, the child's parents had arrived. But, nooooo. I overheard the younger woman say to the older woman with a chuckle, "I don't envy you!" The older woman smiled weakly. Then the younger woman bent down and kissed Typical Toddler and said in that mommy sing-song voice "You givin' your mama a hard time,(child's... more

There can be a striking difference between how we perceive ourselves and how the rest of the world perceives us. That applies to just about everything, not just older parenting. But there's nothing like being an older parent to drive that point home.

We went out to dinner yesterday afternoon. Another Sunday when I declared early in the morning and out of the blue that, "I'm not cooking today!" When everyone finally started grumbling about being hungry a little later in the day, we loaded up the gas guzzling SUV for our "trek" down the street and around the corner... more

Attending worship service, regardless of the type of service, often presents numerous obstacles to parents of special needs children. Yet, as any person of faith will tell you, attending worship services is a much-needed thing. So, what’s a struggling parent to do?

Terri Mauro over on About Parenting Special Needs explores the idea of attending church with your special needs child. We have struggled for years with taking LuLu to church. We have an awesome church family who welcome her with open arms,... more

Ethiopia: Meles Speaks On Economy, Somalia, Eritrea The Reporter (Addis Ababa)- October 29, 2006

Speaking on the government's stand last week on the speech delivered by President Girma Wolde-Giorgis at the opening of parliament, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi explained several issues and responded to questions raised by parliamentarians.

The first issue he addressed was the high cost of living, especially in urban centers. He said there was no doubt about the increasing cost of living. There was also scarcity in major commodities. (Continue reading... more

Surprise! Ricky showed up at my door yesterday just as I was getting ready to leave for the day. He's five now, and his mom drove by here to say hi.

I was just leaving for a day of church Halloween and fall festival activities so I said, ok, Ricky, just come along.

Quickly I put together a black robe and painted his face white. A belt sort of held the whole thing together and that was enough for him to suddenly be in costume!

K and Ricky had a great time. They play pretty well together despite two plus years difference in age. K... more

Ok, I know we are all sick of reading/hearing about the Madonna adoption saga, but bear with me a second. This article from the Chicago Sun Times on Sunday starts out about Madonna, but then it changes tunes and gets real.

The journalist, who is an adoptee herself, starts off talking a little bit about Madonna’s comments in the media regarding adoption and the comments made on her Oprah interview, but then she (the journalist) begins to talk... more

Countless numbers of children born in Germany between 1945 and 1985 were placed for adoption. Just like the United States, in many cases German born adoptees and the natural parents are interested in contacting each other.

The first step in locating and contacting your German Natural mother or siblings is to request original German birth documentation. You can do this by writing to the “STANDESAMT” for the city in which you were born in Germany. When you write your letter, you want to provide as much information as possible and request a “copy of your birth entry in... more

Why do I dislike adoption advertising so much? Lately I’ve been trying to pin down the source of my aversion, and I came up with a few reasons I find the practice so distasteful.

1. It’s cheapening. This is something I’ve never liked about America – the fact that everything can be bought and sold. We will market literally ANYTHING—even the most private, sensitive social problems. But some things should not be pushed using advertising, and I think surrender is one of them. (I don’t like most other forms of adoption advertising,... more

I’m sure many of you started in the country you knew you were adopting from, for me, I’ve always been paper ready for one country (all three adoptions) and adopted from another country. I did not know of Albania or Kazakhstan prior to either of my adoptions. And unfortunately with having a teacher who “napped” – honestly – she napped – during my history and geography class – I even had to learn their locations. I’ve also learned over the years that MANY people do not know where Kazakhstan is, how to pronounce it - but always ask. So when I ran across this article – A 60-Second guide to Kazakhstan, I read it with enthusiasm. I know for my son’s preschool – they said to keep our mission... more

My daughter is a sensory seeker… she is rough and tough. She hugs hard and often head butts me a few times before each snuggle. She has head butted my nose hard enough to bring me to tears; hard enough for me to think it could be broken. She has pinched me, bitten me, cracked me in the cheekbone a dozen times, bruised me, given me a fat lip, popped me in the mouth, in the eyes, and kicked me too many times to count. It seems that not a day goes by that I don’t sustain an injury of sorts. Im not being dramatic here, it happens daily.

She can be snuggling in my lap watching tv and she... more