10 Disastrous Mistakes Parents Make in Older Child Adoption

10 Disastrous Mistakes Parents Make in Older Child Adoption

We had adopted before. We had therapeutic parent training. We love teenagers. Surely, we would rock at older child adoption. Maybe you weren’t nearly as optimistic and naive as us, but chances are that there is a disconnect between your expectations and what you are experiencing. Maybe you are prepping for an older child adoption, […]

older adopted kids RAD

How to Stay Connected to Kids Not Living at Home

Maybe your kids are young adults and finding their way in the world. Maybe you have a child who needed an out-of-home placement. You may have left off on good terms or maybe you’re both hurt and angry. We’ve actually had all of that happen with all the feels that go with it. No matter […]

older child adoption

More Lessons in Older Child Adoption

I’ve been chatting with a lot of moms who are a sort of crossroads with their older adopted child. There is hurt, resentment, and bewilderment from both sides. The kids are rejecting their family in as many ways possible. The parents are wondering where they went wrong. We’ve been there. In October 2015, we were […]

podcast stories conversations

Podcast | #24 Lisa Qualls, One Thankful Mom, a Birth Mom, and an Adoptive Mom

Lisa Qualls is the founder of the One Thankful Mom blog. She is a writer and speaker with the unusual chance to have experienced all 3 parts of the adoption triad–birth mom, adoptive mom, and foster child. We’ve connected over so many similarities over the years but she’s far more gracious, wise, and compassionate than me. […]

Podcast | #13 Monica Reynolds on Adoption and Marriage

This week Monica and I chat about the things that blindsided us when we adopted, the hardest thing our marriages have survived, and how her local school system is failing her daughter right now. Connect with Monica on her blog, Instagram, or check out her new podcast–Collared Chicks. If you want to check out that […]

Podcast | #05 Kris Kittle, PhD (Part 2)

As promised, here is the second part* of my conversation with Dr. Kris Kittle on her upcoming book on older child adoption. We chat about how her daughter is doing, love languages, and her thoughts on her next project. *If you missed last week, check that out first by clicking here. If you need a […]

Podcast | #04 Kris Kittle, PhD (Part 1)

I’m so excited to welcome Dr. Kris Kittle to the show this week. After adopting an older child (age 13), she realized there were no comprehensive, practical books to guide families who had brought home kids older than 10. So what did she do? Gather up a research partners and 40+ adoptive families and wrote […]

adoption qualifications

Why our social worker should not have approved us for adoption

If you had asked me a decade ago what would make an ideal adoptive family, I would’ve responded something about a family who had open hearts and was willing. I thought love was all you needed. Five years ago, I would’ve told you that you also needed to understand trauma, want Dr. Purvis to live […]