We had just set down at the restaurant when my cell phone vibrated. It was our 15-year-old son, whom we left in charge, calling. “Mom, the phone just rang and it was a man with a deep voice. He asked if my father was home and I told him he was busy. Then he asked if my mother was home. I said, ‘May I ask who is calling?’ Then he just hung up. What if he is outside and he was trying to find out if our parents are at home? He probably wants to break into our house.”

Maybe I should back up for a minute and tell you how my day started. I had to go into work at seven... more

What kind of boundaries should adoptive parents set for their grown children? What if these children have a long history of stealing, lying, hurting others and remorseless, manipulative and anti-social behaviors?

I’ve heard from several parents lately of their very difficult grown children. Here at Christmas they’ve shown up expecting gifts, never acknowledging the damage they’ve caused, maybe not even recognizing that fact.

When a kid is so damaged as to not comprehend the ramifications of their vicious behavior, it’s a little difficult to... more

A Maryland blended family whom has been looking forward to completing a stepparent adoption to legally make nine year old Cheyanne, the daughter of Timothy Webber. Yet while the family was anxiously awaiting to become the legal equivalent of what they felt in their hearts, disaster was looming, and it was thanks to little Cheyanne, that her soon to be adoptive stepfather is still alive today.

After spending an evening together in a remote area of town, the two were getting ready to leave the Hunt Club, when Timothy began to have chest pains. He continued on his way home when he realized that he was having a heart attack, and could no longer drive the car. Quick thinking Cheyanne,... more

I know it is inevitable that older adopted children will return to their birth family, but it is painful for the adoptive family to watch, and it does not make any sense from a logical standpoint. My now adult children have been flocking to their birth families’ houses on holidays and birthdays since they turned 18. Even though we adopted them through the foster care system, we maintained contact with the birth family members because of their ages at the time, nine and 15. Only one aunt sent cards and notes every single year for Christmas and birthdays so... more

Oooooo-klahoma. I know you're singing it with me. Any time the name of the state is mentioned, someone in the room is bound to burst out with that song. Laughter is sure to follow. It's a feel-good kind of song! But are the laws regarding Post-Adoption Contact Agreements in the state of Oklahoma as "feel-good"?

Let's see.

What may be included in postadoption contact agreements? Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 10, § 7505-1.5 If a child has resided with a birth relative before being adopted, the adoptive parents... more

I have one more transcultural adoption article to share with you. Several days ago the Chicago Tribune had this article titled, "Muhammad's special reception". The article tells about Chicago Bears wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad and his wife, Christa, who recently brought home two new children that they adopted internationally from Ethiopia.

The couple already has three daughters and a son at home, and I was not able to find any details about the ages or genders of the two children the couple adopted from Ethiopia.

While the article in the Chicago Tribune is short... more

I’m on vacation…only it’s not the same kind of vacation most people think of. There’s no Club Med, no airline tickets, no cruise ship and I don’t even have to stop the newspaper from being delivered or board the dog. I’m giving myself permission not to do what I would normally be doing. And that, by my meager definition, is a vacation.

I realized today that our tribe didn’t take a “true” vacation this year. The only traveling we did as a family was a trek to Missouri for the ATN conference in August and some visiting with my family while there. It’s been... more

My February edition of “Creating Keepsakes” magazine came in the mail the other day. As I was enjoying flipping through the pages and daydreaming about all the beautiful scrapbook pages I would suddenly have the time to create, I came across an entire section dedicated to scrapbooking about adoption! The writer of the piece, Heather Jones has a cousin who was adopted domestically and she remembers meeting her for the first time. Being touched by adoption, I assume she was inspired to explore how to best scrapbook about ones... more

So having a leaky gut can lead to all kinds of conditions and illnesses. What can be done about it? Well, one of the first lines of defense is a change in diet, removing all the foods that have antigens that filter into your bloodstream and cause an allergic reaction. The two biggest culprits…casein and gluten. Both are proteins and are similar to the carrier proteins that transport the vitamins and minerals.

The problem with this is that maintaining a gluten-free/casein-free diet is very difficult. People with Celiac Disease are put on a gluten-free diet.... more

Many people can have leaky gut, and it can develop at any time in your lifetime. The diseases and conditions it can lead to are different in each person. And many things can cause this imbalance in your system. Here are some of the culprits:

1. Exposure to environmental toxins. Toxins in foods, like growth enhancers, pesticides and other chemicals, or environmental toxins you breath can cause inflammation and overload your immune system, causing a break down of the mucosa lining of your intestines. 2. Yeast. Many believe... more