Grandparentage Test: This test determines the statistical probability that an adult is the grandparent of a child. This DNA test determines the probability that an adult in that grandparent of a child. Because of the relationship, conclusive results can not be derived. The accuracy of the test can be increased if one of the child’s parents is also tested. Fees for the grandparentage test are usually higher than the paternity and maternity tests and can range in price depending on whether you want it for informational purposes or court admissible... more

[Continued from HERE.] 6. I’ve done it … my laundry, that is, by hand, rubbing one bit against the other, working my way around the whooooole thing … a t-shirt that seems not-so-big-becoming the size of an iceberg and equally as hard to manipulate. I have even had to jump out of the river in which I was washing my laundry because a crocodile came around and was on the prowl. Clean clothes suddenly don’t seem so important... more

HERE

1. Get an idea (light bulb!) but make it fluorescent. If you do only one thing, do this: replace three normal incandescent light bulbs in your house with long-life fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s.) Take a look HERE for a good comparison (though the prices for the compact fluorescent bulbs has gone down significantly.)... more

My son is about to not get mental health treatment that he desperately needs. He needs fantastic amounts of support to function very simply in a limited world. It isn’t like he just wasn’t going to get one therapy or another. Rather, his entire world as he knows it would change – not for the better.

I have an adopted daughter who needed a liver transplant when she came to us. She was in foster care and UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing – THE listing center if you need a transplant) removed her name from the transplant list because foster care is considered... more

Is there an echo in here? I mean, in here, in my head. Or is it out there, in the big wide world. Or both? Maybe I’m having a flashback… or a hot flash… nope, can’t be that, since it’s “that” time of the month. Hmmm. Well, maybe you can tell me what’s going on… I keep having these visions:

It’s the 70’s, Schoolhouse Rock... “Energy … we’re looking to try and find some new kinds of …... more

This blog is a continuation of the story of getting proper help for our very mentally ill son, John. The short version of the previous blog is that he really needs help, we received notice from state mental health that they are terminating services for John, and we sent in an appeals packet at the very last possible moment.

We’ve done this a few times before in our journey of parenting kids with mental illness, emotional disorders, or behavior disturbances.... more

Adoptive stepparents can become consumed with guilt when it comes to their adopted stepchildren. Some knowing the pain of losing a parent, and others only guessing at the emotional turmoil that their now adoptive stepchild, or children, is going through and want to do something to make up for the hand that life has dealt the child, or children. As parents we have a great need to make ‘it’ better for our children, no matter what the ‘it’ happens to be at the time.

We see our children... more

It hit 70 degrees here today and Beth and I started out for a walk… my second, her first. We didn’t get far, because our new neighbors were just pulling into their driveway. Turns out they spent last night next door, but their old house still has all their furniture and appears to have a family living there (better for selling it)… so my neighbors are camping out in an empty house. The mom mentioned how they were eating off paper plates, prompting me to immediately invite them to dinner. It was 5 PM at this time, and I suggested they... more

As the celebration of Black History Month draws to a close this year my thoughts turn toward one figure in the struggle for African American freedom in particular, Dred Scott.

As a fellow Missourian I am familiar with the legacy of the Dred Scott case and it’s impact on our world today. Dred Scott, having lived many years of his enslavement in free territory raised the question over whether that made him indeed free as well. The slave owner did not agree and so Mr. Scott took his case to court. Some of the most dramatic parts of this historical... more

I check out the Holt International Magazine on a regular basis. I was adopted through Holt when I was a baby and I grew up looking through their magazine. When I was little, it was somewhere that had faces like mine and families like mine. As I grew older, there were interesting tidbits for me to read.

Link: Winter 2007

On page 28 of the Winter 2007 edition, there is an article written by a Korean adoptee (Kim Hanson) and I was relieved to see that she was a lot... more