November is National Adoption Month. November 23rd is National Adoption Day. I was recently received a complimentary copy of the book Born from the Heart by Berta Serrano to review. It’s described by the publisher as “is an emotional journey of two people becoming parents through the process of adoption, showing how some children may […]
This is the year of simplification and getting back to basics. We are making a more concerted effort to incorporate memory work review into our day and relying on great books. You can read about our routine by clicking here and detailed curriculum choices here. Below you will find booklists for the week and this […]
Forget the dust bunnies your social worker might see during a home visit. You might be disqualified for adoption if you… Enjoy sleep. Chances are high that your child’s history (even if he was adopted at birth) or elevated anxiety levels will disrupt his sleep patterns. Age doesn’t matter. We have a 12-year-old who frequently sleep walks […]
Dearest Valued Village, We immensely appreciate your compassion for our big kids over the past year. Really. And while compassion is still certainly in order, let’s not confuse compassion for pity. Compassion will keep your challenges to them kind while pity will allow them to take advantage of you. Consider this written notice that the pity […]
For a fleeting moment, I actually let myself believe we could slip into the fall schedule without drama. We had actually gone a couple months without Patrick having to come home from work, and all the kids (but one especially) had made notable forward strides. Note to self: When dealing with kids from trauma, never […]
We did something few families do (or few social workers let happen). We adopted three, unrelated, older children (all with double-digit ages) basically all at once and out of birthorder when we already had a kid from a hard place in our home. Can you count the red flags? We’re at about T plus a year. […]
The bag of tricks just keeps getting bigger. Today’s trick: Get silly! (aka…grasping at straws.) This morning, Mia got to the bathroom just before Grace. It was perceived by Grace that Mia was maliciously cutting her off. Grace: Mia, you look devil. Patrick (in a sharp tone): Grace, I don’t ever want to hear that […]
This is the fifth post in a series that answers the questions you asked. To read the rest of the series, click here. How do you spend your time before your adopted kids are fluent in English? It seems like I could handle that for a couple hours a day, but all the time would […]