Similarly, children may feel strengthened and encouraged to know that once they are baptized and confirmed a member of the Church, they are entitled to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. That the Holy Ghost is also known as “Comforter” may be an especially important point to emphasize with older kids who’ve suffered heartbreak. After baptism, the Holy Ghost can comfort them, inspire them, protect them, help them discern truth from falsehood and right from wrong, and help them to gain understanding. All of the “jobs” of the Holy Ghost can translate... more

Once a child has had time to get acclimated, parents may wish to bring the missionaries into their home for formal lessons. (It’s hard for me not to call them “discussions” anymore!) If the child speaks English, this is a relatively simple thing to accomplish and can easily be incorporated as the family’s weekly Family Home Evening, for example. If the child does not speak English, or has very limited English, you really have just two options: one, wait six months or so until the child’s English skills are more established, or two, find a translator. ... more

Children who are adopted before the age of eight can be prepared for baptism in the usual fashion, but children who are older than eight at the time of adoption must be taught by the missionaries if they desire to be baptized, just as any other investigating person would do. Obviously, baptism isn’t a topic that’s necessarily addressed by adoption experts, so I thought I’d offer some advice and information based my own experiences and the experiences of others.

Many adoptive families are anxious to achieve the earthly pinnacle of their family-building... more

Ancestry.com regularly posts items on their website that are “in the clear.” In other words, you don’t have to have a subscription to access them. However, these free databases are often difficult to locate, as they are scattered amongst many other databases that are not free. These databases typically don’t stay free, but change as Ancestry’s promotions change.

Now Clear Digital Media, Inc., best known for their http://www.interment.net/ site, has posted a new site entitled FreeOnAncestry.com. It’s a... more

This post is continued from Part One

While it can be easy for parents to become frustrated, especially when they feel as though they are doing everything right, yet the child still seems to be resistant, it is important to remember that they are not resistant because they do not like, or even love, their new

Emotional walls can go up in an instant but can take months or even years to tear down

parent, they are... more

Fear of rejection can cause both adoptive stepparents, as well as adopted stepchildren to put up emotional walls

Earlier, I wrote a post entitled Fake it Till You Make it, which was about adoptive stepparents essentially faking the bond with their adopted stepchildren until they actually feel one. While this has worked for many adoptive stepfamilies, there have been cases in which the adoptive stepparent gives up all to early on forming... more

Love won't change is an article written by an adoptee who searched and found her birth family. She did not search because she felt unloved, had a bad childhood or even felt miserable.

In summing up why adoptees and birth parents want to be reunited, there are many reasons that can be cited by searchers. Medical need is one popularly used reason. A need for medical records is a safe reason for a search in several respects.

Telling yourself or others that... more

I took this picture in the early part of our trip to Viet Nam while we were walking around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. I was instantly drawn to it for some reason before I even realized that I had just taken a picture of a wheel barrel of trash. But it was beautiful to me, so I didn’t really think twice about it till now.

Looking back I think I was so drawn to this wheel barrel because I was just fascinated by the non la hat that was placed on top of the just picked flowers. For some reason that non la... more

Interesting news out of New York state: the gov't agency over background checks is speeding the process for China adopters.

Weird how all these effects ripple outward from a change made so far away.

For those of you new to the process, this also serves to illustrate the way state and federal regulations relate to Chinese requirements for adoptive parents... more

What can I say about this topic that can possibly capture the experience? How can I put into words the joy and awe that a person experiences when she meets her baby for the first time? It does not matter whether this happens in a delivery room or in your friend’s living room – those first few moments are magical, and there are no words that can express the depth of the feelings you experience when you hold your baby for the first time.

My friend took pictures of my husband and me waiting for our baby... more