[Continued from HERE.]

Again, the adoption-inspired feeling you probably want for your child is not "different," as from there it is a short hop to "freak." The goal feeling should probably be "similar, but special and unique."

How? Well, maybe it needs to start with a gentle reminder to yourself that your child will have her/his own relationship with their having been adopted, regardless of your intentions for that... more

This is continued from an ongoing tale of the life and times of me and mine. The last post can be found here.

My visitors left on the morning of the 25th, and by that same afternoon Catherina and Richard had finished moving in. Over the weekend they hung curtains where there have never been curtains before ... me not being into a lot of extra hoo-has, but happy enough for them to do the place up to their liking ... and the few items of... more

Continued from here, where we've been catching up with some news ... I know this isn't going to sound very PC, but I'm not one bit disappointed to learn that the South Dakota Legislature just killed a bill that would have required five to seven-year-olds to ride in safety seats... more

The LaLeche League is celebrating its 50th year.

With breastfeeding rates dropping almost 20% in 1957, the League started up with a mission to, "help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother." Adoption and politics... more

On my birth certificate, Seoul is listed as my place of birth. I've always enjoyed answering the "Where were you born?" question because it was different than almost everyone else. I might not be able to say what hospital I was born in, but I could tell everyone that I was born in another country.

There is an ice breaker out there that I have suffered through many times since I reached adulthood. They give you a list and you have to find a person that fits each one the categories - find someone with green... more

This wonderful little picture is found on a special web site that is all about making friends.

Making friends can be as easy as inviting someone else to join you when you are doing something fun. Like in this picture it is basketball.

On the web site they offer arts and crafts and some great ideas for kids to work together on. Just click here: http://www.makingfriends.com/ and you can enjoy the making friends.com web site yourself.

This would be a great place... more

I don't know about you, but I have developed a bit of an obsession with finding cute Vietnamese themed things for Ella. Here are some that are just adorable:

T-Shirts at Beoi.com - these are beyond adorable! I have to order one (or more) for Ella. My favorites are the 'de ghet' (troublemaker) and 'de thuong' (adorable) designs. Precious Moments Vietnamese Doll-little Thu Nhi couldn't be cuter in her non la! You can purchase her at ... more

I have three daughters, adopted at ages 15-17. Our home was their first adoptive home in all three cases. In all three cases, the children grew up in a home with both birth parents. In all three cases, there were extenuating circumstances in the birth homes that prevented healthy attachments for the girls – parental mental retardation, severe/life threatening health issues from infancy on, parental mental illnesses, or birth parents who were completely emotionally unavailable. Yet, the girls remained in those homes until their... more

Gezz, I wish I could find news of adoption gone right out there, I am sure it happens, but this was what I ran across this afternoon...

In Dec. 2005 Ohio mother Sharicka Watson gave birth to a baby boy, her second child in 13 months with boyfriend Glenn Spraggs.

Spraggs was no were to be found.

Watson had given Spraggs an ultimatum when she found herself pregnant with a second baby in March 2005. She asked Spraggs either step... more

Continued.........

Yes, adoption has caused the problems, but would the problems still be there if my half sister and I had been their bio children. I guess that could be anyone’s guess. I believe that C would have hated (these were her words, not mine) the baby no matter what. I felt while growing up that C hated me and didn’t want me around (even before I knew I was adopted), which is how she felt.

The other problem that KK and I have dealt with, is that my parents extended family didn’t understand adoption. They always treated us different than the other children in the family (not including us at family gatherings, at one point we were not on the entire family tree (then... more