Last night I decided to go to bed early because I had been up late the past two nights studying for a history and science test. After I went to bed my mother turned on a DVD of Curious George for Gracie to watch so my mom could take a shower. My dad was downstairs listening out for Gracie. As Gracie was watching her movie I believe Curious George and his shenanigans leaped from the portable DVD player and on to Gracie.

My mother has a pretty silk throw pillow she has on my parent’s bed that has a hole in the seam. My... more

A few Saturdays ago, Gracie and I had so much fun! I took Gracie out to play when I decided to rake the yard for a leaf pile for Gracie to jump in. As a little sibling typically does, she wanted to do what her older sibling was doing and rake leaves as well. She walked over and picked up the little red rake and started helping me. We have a few bigger trees in our front yard so I decided to wheel the wheelbarrow around to gather up the leaves and transport them to the back yard where the leaf pile was. We raked the leaves in the... more

I received a request from a high school student in Australia who's researching the following questions:

At what age should you tell your child he or she was adopted?

What are the pros and cons of telling your child at a young age versus an older age?

Let's help her out, readers. Please express your opinions in the Comments area so this student can learn from you!

Q. What sort of information does the court need to have in the petition? A. The petition should contain the following information: the adopted name of the person; the county of the adoption; the birth date of the adoptee; the names of the adoption parents; the date of the adoption, if known; the file number of the adoption, if known. It should also contain current information about the adopted person: current name, address, telephone number, social security number, reasons why the adopted person is interested in seeking non- identifying information... more

Well, Toto, I can tell we are back in Kansas. When we lived in Illinois, it took completely burying the city in snow for them to even consider cancelling school. Here in sunny Kansas, where tornadoes cause nary a backwards glance, snow can shut down life rather quickly!

We did have an impressive ice storm yesterday, followed by a forecast of up to a foot of snow. I don’t know how bad the roads were this morning, but I do know my husband made it the forty-some miles to the airport in time for a 6 AM flight. I’m not... more

Part 1 deals with Auditory Processing Disorder

One of the articles in the ADDitude Magazine on-line describes Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) and how it is often confused with ADD. Until recently I’ve never even heard of NLD. What is it?

Nonverbal learning disorder (NLD) is a constellation of brain-based difficulties. Once considered rare, NLD is now thought to... more

Good news for those who are adopting or finalizing an adoption in 2007:

The Federal Adoption Tax Credit limit is being increased to $11,390 for a child with special needs and the maximum credit allowed for other types of adoptions has also been raised to $11,390.

You can exclude this tax credit from your gross income for qualifed adoption expenses paid or incurred by your employer under a qualified adoption assistance program in connection with your adoption of an eligible child.

The credit begins to phase out if you have modified adjusted... more

Yesterday, Reuters had this odd story about the Great Wall.

About locals taking it apart to use as dirt, actually.

The men used excavators to take earth from the remains... more

If searching there are some that feel that closed records are an inconvenience and in doing a search it did not build character as the adoptee attempted to overcome enormous obstacles.

Some feel that closed records are a violation of human rights and individual freedom. Many feel that the fact is that an adult has a right to his or her genetic origin. The adoptee never consented to the situation and would benefit not just as the age of majority but all through their life from the information that is now held secret.

Some feel very strongly... more

Gentle readers, I am taking a little vacation from the blogging world for a while. Not only do I have 9 days before I start my first full-time job in over 7 1/2 years, but I really need some time to refresh and recharge my batteries. I have a couple projects that need my attention and I think I'm getting carpal tunnel in my right hand - a little time off from the mouse seems warrented!

I will be leaving this blog (Adopting from Russia) for good come January 1st. Hopefully someone with a more recent (or maybe in-process) Russian adoption experience will take over. I will be keeping my other blog, Hoping to Adopt, however, as I feel like... more