Over the past few days, I have been sharing the stories of three different women who each wear more than one “adoption hat,” meaning they hold dual “roles” in the adoption triad. I’ve shared with you the story of Lisa, who is a birthmom and an adoptee and I’ve shared the story of Kacy, who is a birthmother and an adoptive mother. Today, I’ll share the third story in this short... more

Viet Nam Adoptive Family Interviews : An Introduction

How did your child adjust to their new life in the US?

The Engelbrecht Family - She adjusted very easily. She is just very adaptable

Christina - I was amazed at how well Zeeb adjusted to his new life. It wasn’t instant perfection of course, but considering how many changes he had to deal with and just all the chaos of coming... more

From what I can tell, the answer is “no”. In our case, LuLu has been unserved by our local public school for 18 months now. During those 18 months we’ve had 13 days in court and 4 IEP meetings, but no education provided for LuLu. Meanwhile, she’s been at home with me, in Ladybug Elementary, doing our thing.

When a due process complaint is filed (either by the school district or more often by the parents) a rule called “stay put” is generally evoked. Stay put means that the child’s placement and services remain the same as was outlined in the last... more

Or should I say she’s going to school, virtually. She is officially enrolled in the Georgia Virtual Academy, with school starting on September 4. This is the first year that Georgia is offering a virtual school for grades K-8 (some districts offer online high schools). The program is run through a national company called K12, an organization that is running virtual school programs in 17 states and three metropolitan areas.

I found out about the Georgia Virtual Academy by near-accident,... more

Do you have a ‘powerful’ kid? One who will argue you under the table rather than follow your instructions or admit he was wrong? I have a few kids like that myself.

These kids tend to be highly intelligent. They can very easily become entirely devoted to and obsessed with getting their own way, and won‘t hesitate to wage emotional war on mom in the heat of trying to avoid consequences.

I have at times succumbed to the power of 'you don't love me!', especially in the case of my adopted ones, fearing adoption/attachment issues. When I hear that, I do address that and try to make sure that is not truly a fear.

However on mulling it all over in regards to my kids,... more

Many of you have read, on this site and on others, accounts of what life is like in different parts of Russia. You've read stories about what prospective parents experienced as they traveled through places like Moscow for the first time. What they felt when they saw the town and the orphanage in which their child was living. What they were thinking when they met their child for the first time.

But what if you could see it all yourself?

Thanks to the Internet, increasingly, you can. There are a number of videos made by families... more

In my last post I let you in our secret, and announced that we are adopting again from AHOPE.

As I said, I had no idea when we first met Solomon that he would be ours. In fact, we believe that he already had a family committed to him. (Which is probably a good thing, because at that point I was so consumed by Belane and her adoption process that I never would have even considered another child).

We got Belane home, she settled in perfectly and life got to feeling "normal" really quickly. I volunteered to be the supplies coordinator for AHOPE, and I got involved with Project HOPEFUL,... more

People talk a lot about the conspicuousness of families formed by transracial adoption. There's no way around it - people always notice you. The white dad with the Asian kids. Sidelong glances at the playground. Furrowed brows at the cash register. It's something one has to get used to in this situation, parent and (moreso) child. So how about when the curious gaze comes from a camera wielded by someone who knows how to make an image that lasts longer than the barely noticeable sidelong glance?

The outstanding... more

I promised I would let you all in on what we are up to, so here is the big announcement.

We are at it again! We have committed to an absolutely beautiful little boy at AHOPE, whose name will be Solomon Tsega Eyasu H. He is almost two years old, and did I mention that he is beautiful?

I have lots to share about our journey so far. I have been bottling it all up until I was sure that pieces were falling into place, that it was really going to happen and that we got to tell the important people... more

My husband’s #1 concern with adoption was how much an adoption was going to cost. I assumed it would expensive to the tune of $2,000, or maybe even $3,000. I about fell out of my chair when I learned that newborn adoptions cost $13,000 at one agency (back in 1998). I was even more surprised to learn that $13,000 was on the lower end of the cost of a newborn adoption, even though this was through a nonprofit agency.

When I went to an orientation for a different agency, I was surprised to learn that international... more