Many teenagers were adopted as infants and might be the only adopted child in the family. Therefore, they wouldn’t have a clue what their parents went through so many years ago to adopt. Danea explains it quite well. “From the time your parents decided to adopt you, their lives have been scrutinized, analyzed, and picked apart by total strangers. Their destiny, and yours, was at the mercy of these strangers who searched for flaws in their personalities, abilities, intellect, and potential parenting skills.” That is pretty much what our adoptive family has gone through... more

There is an interesting article in the Florida Orlando Sentinel that I hadn’t thought of before, but it makes sense. I don’t know why this hadn’t crossed my train of thought.

A poor economy leads to an increase in child abuse. Many families are struggling, even those that are considered “middle class.” I know our family has had to tighten our budget and it’s been a downright horrid winter here.

Fuel prices are up, which means it costs me more to put... more

This has been weighing heavily on my mind since just before Easter. I think I've finally put enough thought into it to, hopefully, make sense in blog format. The truth is that there are no guarantees that your child will be raised the religion you assumed that they would or keep that religion into their adult years.

Many expectant parents do not consider these issues when researching families in which to place their child. In fact, many expectant parents base their search heavily on religion. I find this to be scary! While many would like to believe that... more

This story from Houston has me wondering about the logic behind social services some days.

A change in the fire inspection process for foster homes has some foster home deciding to close, or take in fewer children, both of which are detrimental to foster care.

The couple profiled in the story takes in medically fragile children, who are probably among the hardest to place, and now this couple has had to reduce the number of children they can take, all to avoid astronomical... more

As I’ve blogged about before, just about everyone in our immediate family has some sort of special condition. How can you keep track of it all?

I’ve been pretty up-front with the fact that I have ADD, and organization is not my strong suit. Therefore, I have to work doubly harder to have a system. Most people who don’t know that I have ADD think I am incredibly organized (ha!), so I guess I’ve developed a system that works well for me.

At the crux of my system is my... more

Do you have any baby socks that you saved from when your child was in the hospital or perhaps your child’s adoptive parents gave you a special pair as a keepsake or something? I do have a pair of Charlie’s socks that he wore while he was in the hospital. I kept them and put them in my “Charlie memory box.” There is just something so sweet and precious about those tiny little baby socks; especially now that he is getting so big!

I came across this really cute keepsake craft involving... more

Please offer your honest opinion as adoptive parents and as birthparents. Is it mean to deny an adopted child sugar? Would your answer be different if the child had plenty of sugar before entering your family as an older adopted child? Then would it be mean to deny the child sugar until adulthood? Would your answer be different if the child was a birth child? Honestly, I struggle with this issue. My teenage daughter entered our family as a four-year-old foster child and we adopted her at the age of six. Several years ago, we realized that sugar has a profound effect on her... more

On the way to monthly individual appointments with the psychiatrist, I always tell my adopted daughters to be honest with the doctor. Each month I remind them that the doctor cannot help them if they are not honest with him. Neither the doctor nor mom can know exactly what is going on in their brains. The only way to find out if a medication can help them is to tell the doctor what they are thinking or feeling. Mom can only give the doctor her observations, which probably isn’t an accurate assessment of her daughters’ thinking. When children have suffered trauma as my adopted... more

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Part 2

Part 3

Our final set of questions will focus on the child’s behavioral and school issues, how the child feels about adoption and other miscellaneous questions.

Behavior

• What is personality and disposition... more

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Part 2

When it comes to physical and emotional health, you will have many questions about your child. Some questions can be answered. For others there may not be information available. Birth parents should fill out a family medical history, but not all parents do, and the information is only as reliable as the person filling it out.

The... more