If you have never been to Israel - what are you waiting for? If it's been years since your last trip, but you have yet to go as a family, it's something to think about.

When we officially adopted Anna in the fall of 2005, the first thing that I started to work on was getting her a passport. For adoptive families, especially if your adoption was very recently processed, this is the first step. In order to leave the country, Anna obviously needed a passport. In order to get a passport, we needed her birth certificate - a new one with her new... more

I was sure I'd mentioned this before, but I appear not to have. Rob Gifford, a couple of years ago, produced an NPR series following one highway - Route 312, China's answer to Route 66 - across China from the eastern metropolis of Shanghai to the Gobi Desert town of Korgaz on the western border. The trip is all archived here, with pictures and maps, so you can listen to the whole thing,... more

I was actually taking the month off from my book review series. I needed a mental breather from heavy topics like adoption. So I went to our library, picked up a few books that seemed like light and easy reading and got to work on the one with the pink jacket. (I judge books by their cover, it is true.)

The Bad Mother's Handbook by Kate Long (2004) launches into... more

I don't talk about Israel much on this blog. Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. I'm a very political person in my real life - I used to work in politics, I have very strong opinions on issues, and I enjoy a good debate on any topic. But here on the blog, I try to stay apolitical. Israel tends to be a hot button issue for a variety of reasons, and most people tend to have opinions as far as what Israel should be doing about this or that. So I try not to get into it.

However, I do think that wherever you stand on issues relating to politics, all American Jews - all Jews worldwide for that matter, should develop a strong connection to Israel. We should all make the effort to visit Israel,... more

Will Ukraine pass bill 2562 and make it law? This will make single "foreigner" adoption illegal. And it requires the age difference between the oldest adoptive parent and adopted child be 45 years or less.

Sitting here in America, it is hard to tell. So I keep looking for Ukrainian sources and their opinions. Mr. Karasyov has a pithy synopsis that explains why the "political crisis" has been mostly a "war of... more

Catherina had her baby today!

It's a boy, as expected, after a very easy labor and delivery ... although she's not into looking at it that way yet ... and mother and baby are doing very, very well. Father has survived the experience.

More details to follow!

Even under the best of circumstances, being adopted and traveling to another country is a huge adjustment for a child. The unknown is scary for all of us, including children. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to ease your child’s transition from his home in Guatemala to his adoptive home in another country.

Put Yourself in Your Child’s Shoes

It can be easy as an adult to forget how helpless and vulnerable it feels to be a child. Take a few moments to step into your... more

As I am feeling misunderstood at the moment, I hope to make some of my positions clearer.

First, there is a huge difference between criticizing adoption and wanting to end all adoption. For the record, my mission is not to end all adoption. It never has been, and I have said repeatedly that I do not advocate banning all adoption. Nor do I work to end all domestic or international adoption. Again, I have never suggested either.

Second, some adoptive parents seemed to feel personally attacked because I criticize aspects of certain... more

Here are the interventions we've already tried.

I really am in a quandary as to which interventions to pursue next. The other part of my quandary is that we don’t have the money to pursue any of them (but that’s never stopped me before). At this juncture, though, I’m wrestling with the following:

Neurofeedback. We have the basic equipment to restart this therapy in our home. However, it a significantly outdated model and to... more

And so little money! I continuously feel like I’m caught in a never-ending quagmire of which interventions to try first. I’m guessing I’m not alone in this dilemma. Any family raising a combo platter kid can get overwhelmed with the potential choices of interventions to help the child. The confusing thing for me has been that many of these interventions do bring about a positive impact. But not a single one has been THE magic bullet.

For the first five years... more