Continued From Here I walked away from the blowout that would continue with or without me, and I held my crying 11 year old son for 30 minutes until he calmed down. He let me hug him, progress from a porcupine. I’ve spent so many years tending to the destructive, raging kids who may or may not ever improve, that I feel guilty about the good kids losing out on the needed, deserved attention. I went straight to him, the one who gets good grades and is trying so hard to learn... more

My last blog chronicled our tasks in preparation to leave.

Though our flights were uneventful, the time spent at one very large and very famous airport, was not. Maybe not everyone is crazy like me and travels in the middle of the night, however, they were woefully understaffed, and there was no clear signage. So everyone went around asking everyone else, “Is this the line for…?” “Is this where I…?” “Where is…?”

Thankfully, because I had checked in online and printed our boarding passes, we were able to speed right through, once people began getting clearer directions as to... more

Beth was quite the hit at the NACAC conference last week. She was outgoing and charming without being manipulative. She had most of the other exhibitors eating out of her hand, and showed me on the plane ride home the light-up pin given to her by “the Pin Man”. At a reception held on Thursday night, she played pool with a couple of “older” boys, and proudly informed her dad via telephone that she won one game! In response to his question of “How many games did you play?” she didn’t hesitate to say, “Twenty!” The next day, even more... more

I wrote awhile back about the Ethiopia distance runner Meseret Defar. She won medal at the Olympics in 2004, and continues to have much success in her athletic career.

This year she set a world record for two miles at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. Days later in Oslo, Norway, she broke the 5,000 meter world record that she herself set in the U.S. in 2006. She is now training for the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan at the end of August.

Meseret recently moved into a mansion... more

In my recent blog titled “Once you have been matched” a reader wrote a great comment regarding reading a child’s profile and case history.

Also look carefully for gaps, or holes in the information. It is better to play connect the dots, and try to get a whole picture BEFORE your child comes home, rather than when they are with you and in crisis.

That is a GREAT answer, and one I wish I could convince parents of, but... more

Now that I've settled in to all the information I gathered on Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency, the condition that put my former foster son in hospital last week and scared the beejeezus out of all of us, it's time for an update on him.

The short version ... he's great. His color in normal again, his pee is... more

For information on Bulgarian adoption from the US Department of State, click here. This will give a look at how adoption in Bulgaria is conducted ... rules, regulations, laws, etc. ... when international adoption of a Bulgarian child is being conducted by law-abiding citizens, adoption professionals and potential adoptive parents hoping to add a Bulgarian-born child to their family.

The BBC has aired the results of an undercover operation conducted... more

This afternoon while I was visiting my friend Karen and her 5 month old baby, Rachel, I watched the amazing mother/child dance unfold before me in living color. Although Karen is an older first time mom, and she has been concerned about her ability to parent her child and meet her needs appropriately, it is clear to me she is doing a fabulous job. She knows each different cry uttered by her daughter, and trust me, Rachel doesn’t cry often or for long periods of time. Every time Karen responds to Rachel, you can see how the baby instantly settles... more

It is mid-afternoon and I am sitting on the couch at my friend Karen’s home, with my lovely Beth sitting next to me. We both just awoke from a much needed nap, and we have about two hours before we must leave for the airport. We are still in Tampa, after wrapping up the NACAC conference at lunchtime. Julie was with me at the conference, but she left before sun up to fly to Atlanta and then hop in a car and start her drive to Kansas for our conference next week.

I thought this morning might... more

Summer is almost over. Are you looking forward to the kids going back to school, dreading the ending of beautiful summer weather, or a combination of both? For me it’s both.

If you have a vacation coming up yet this summer, maybe you’d like a good book to read. I have a knack for stumbling across adoption themed books, even when I don’t mean to. Sometimes I will actively go searching for adoption themed books though.

My day is so filled with “work” helping parents, conference planning, parenting, and various other... more