As I have often stated, Satan is really getting a run for his money! He’s trying to do every little thing he can to disrupt this adoption and claim a victory. So, tonight, after a wonderful, wonderful day filled with family that have traveled to be here with us for our adoption proceedings tomorrow morning, we came home to a thunderstorm!

My daughter had a full-blown meltdown. Just everything you have heard about in children who rage – the oppositional behavior, throwing things, whining, insistent, disrespectful (of property and people), and saying all the “button-pushing phrases.” I heard what a... more

After reading another of Jenna’s great posts, I admit this one had me really thinking. Honestly this young woman has such an exceptional way with words! I really feel she won’t be at a loss for those words when her daughter needs to hear from her heart, but I could see what she was trying to express.

I have no doubt that birthparents fear that day, the day when their old enough child is able to verbalize the question that perhaps they fear the most. WHY?... more

The Forgotten Foster Children

Adoption through foster care can be time consuming and workers seem unprepared. There is not someone to guide an adoptive parent through the process and tell them what kinds of questions to ask or how to receive services such as college paid for, full medical coverage, and monthly subsidies. Making the public aware of these services could open a lot of doors so that older foster children could be adopted. It can be overwhelming to a... more

As discussed previously, the church family here had “doin’s” for us after services yesterday. Most of the congregations stayed, and I cannot count the number of people who came up to us to say how much they will truly miss the children. It was heartwarming to know how much love they have been lavished with these past two years!

During services yesterday, before the “doin’s,” my soon-to-be youngest son turned to my oldest son and said, “You’re my best friend” and it melted my heart!

After services and the potluck, we went to the kids’ former home to pick up the last of their things. ... more

Older foster children are being abandoned by society and the foster care system. Their parental rights are being terminated and then being left orphans to age out of foster care. There are some very damaged foster teens that are facing severe struggles in their daily lives which can be difficult to parent. Then there are foster teens and older children that do not have major issues and could quite easily fit into a family if given a chance at adoption. We have to remember not all foster children have major behaviors, disorders, and need the seasoned parents.... more

In many cases of stepparent adoption the child is not only losing one of his or her biological parents, but half siblings as well. Even when the children do not know one another very well due to the distance between the two or the infrequency of contact, the loss of the relationship that they could have had with each other is a very painful one for the adopted stepchild.

It is important that both the custodial parent, as well as the adoptive stepparent remember that the child is going to grieve the loss of his or her sibling, along with the loss of the biological parent. The parents are going to have to watch the child... more

Obsessions are a wonderful thing. Or at least they are very interesting. LuLu has been “Mufasa” for quite some time now, obsessed on everything Lion King. This particular obsession lasted a long time (6+ months). Long enough that LuLu was lobbying very hard to have her actual birth certificate changed to reflect Mufasa as her “real” name.

But just as quickly as it came, this obsession was overridden by Mighty... more

In my last post I started writing about some of the "icky stuff" that often comes along with international adoption. Lice, scabies, ringworm and Giardia and conditions that are common in internationally adopted children and can cause big headaches in parents.

Having a basic knowledge of these conditions and their treatments can help adoptive parents be prepared for the creepy crawlies.

Ringworm - Ringworm, despite it's name,... more

There are several conferences that occur every year that I would love to present at, but finances preclude me from doing so. It costs between $500 and $1000 each time I travel somewhere to present, and the ATN budget doesn’t come close to allowing that. One of those conferences is the American Adoption Congress annual conference. I spoke there a few years ago. It is a conference that is supposedly aimed at all three members of the triad, but there are far more birthmoms and adult adoptees... more

If your sibling is learning disabled, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your children will be learning disabled. That may depend on the cause of your sibling’s learning disability. Was the LD caused by a random chromosomal abnormality, hereditary, or a physical outside source?

If your sibling’s LD was caused by a random chromosomal abnormality then you don’t have to worry about passing it on to your offspring. You cannot pass it on, however your LD sibling has a fifty-fifty chance of passing the mutation on to your nieces or... more