(Continued from here)

Friday, 18 June 2007

Since the visa approval process took so much time (1 ½ hours), the consular officer visited with me quite a bit. She told me that the terror alert here was “critical” and if I felt in any way threatened or at risk, to “get the hell out of Dodge” (her quote). Part of me was thinking “I've been here a month and you're telling me this now?!” and the other part was glad I didn't know it was as bad as that. I can't leave without the kids though.

She also said – especially now that Greg is gone – not to go outside after dark, that rape is a national sport... more

My previous blog focused on books that addressed foster care and adoption. What if you want to read a book that just expresses love? Following are some great books that we love to read.

"I'll Always Love You" by Paeony Lewis

Alex's mom assures him that she will love him no matter what. But Alex is worried when he accidentally breaks her favorite bowl. Gentle text shows the unconditional love of a mother for her child.... more

(In case my last post led you to believe that all Somalis and Ethiopians are at war.)

A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of greeting my sister at the airport as she brought home her baby boy from Ethiopia. We've been waiting for this day since early 2006 when Rachel and her husband decided to adopt.

Anxious to not miss a minute, we ended up arriving about half an hour ahead of time. In following little ones around and killing time in front of the arrivals gate, John and I ended up wandering into the nearby gift shop with our 4 year old.

John struck up a conversation with... more

Is it harder to be a kid in 2007 than it was in 1987? Is it harder to parent a kid now than it was then? An article out of the UK points out what may be a clue to why today's children might be less likely to connect with life on important levels.

A long-term study conducted by the Institute of... more

A boy and his globe, Topaz, Utah, 1943

So, there is becoming more and more like here every single day. Check out these signs of a burgeoning monoculture:

After pulling off their "race war" season without any fatalities, ... more

Is it harder these days to raise kids right than it was in days gone by? I'm not talking about the dinosaur days of the 50s and 60s when we were kids, but going back only a few years to the time when Atari's Pong was all the rage ... the computer equivalent of a chipped-flint ax tied onto a length of tree with a piece of sinew ... when... more

Now, I'm going to deal with one of the more burning questions among families waiting for Russia to begin rolling out the accreditations again: Why did my adoption fingerprints expire? Think about it, folks. Fingerprints are a unique mark of your identity. In adulthood, which is when you are being fingerprinted, they don't change. Before DNA testing became widespread, fingerprints were law enforcement's chief tool for linking criminals to a crime, even... more

You will be fingerprinted many times as you work toward your adoption in Russia, many times. You'll be fingerprinted at the local level, the state level and by U.S. federal authorities, too. And if your adoption drags on for more than a year, you'll discover what I did: You--and every member of your household over the age of 18--will have to be fingerprinted again.

In the 18 months it took to complete my second adoption in Russia, my recurring trips to get fingerprinted became something of a running joke among my co-workers. "You... more

AdoptionDoctors.com is an expansive resource for international adoptive parents, useful from the beginning of the process all the way through bringing children home and beyond. Set up to serve the international adoption community with unbiased pre-adoption evaluations, education, and answers to questions medical, legal and more, it offers access to certified pediatricians, psychologists, social workers and Early Intervention Specialists, all with knowledge of birth country languages,... more

Adoption journeys begin at a crossroads. The junction offers options that must be considered before the first steps can be taken: domestic private infant adoption, adoption domestically from foster care, or adoption of a child from another country.

Each path can lead to a happy family, but to get to that place you have to pick one, then get moving.

Let's look at some of the things you need to think about ...

If... more