Reflections on Parenting from the Inside Out

I’m currently listening through the Empowered to Connect track of this year’s Summit.  The first presentation is Michael and Amy Monroe’s Parenting from the Inside Out. I’ll be honest.  I’ve heard it before.   A couple times actually.  It convicts me each time.  Then I ignore it. Let me back up.  I’ve alluded to their […]

{#36} Children are children no matter how small international

If you venture down the path of international adoption, someone will inevitably ask “Why go overseas when there are so many needy children here?” Here are some common answers (we’ve only ever used the first one): God called us to fill in the blank with the country from where you are adopting. It’s a personal […]

{#35} The Waiting Kids

Adoptions are often characterized by waiting.  You wait for people to get paperwork to you, you wait for a referral, you wait to travel, you wait for your child to adjust. For most international programs, the majority of wait time is wrapped up in getting a referral.  In our area, there’s actually a decent wait […]

{#34} Consider traveling with your kids

The six of us stood with a week’s worth of luggage and looked from the small Korean mini-van to our fearless driver.  Panic began to set in when I realized Holt was not used to seeing such a large party arrive to pick up a child, and there was good chance we weren’t all going […]

{#33} All agencies are not created equal

Now that we’re a couple months into our second adoption process, I can say that not all agencies are created equal.  In our case, I can’t qualify one as better than the other…yet.  They’re just different.  Our first agency has been around for 60 plus years.  They’ve been doing international adoptions for over 30 years. […]

{#32} Know a Notary

*****PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***** There is a giveaway going on until midnight.  Don’t forget to enter. ******************************************* You’d think since we’ve adopted before that we wouldn’t be daunted by our second paper chase, right? Wrong. Korea’s process is drastically different than most other international programs because the family does not adopt in-country.  Instead the trip is pretty […]

{#31} Adoption Language

Positive adoption language is to the adoption community as politically correct is to the rest of the world. While I agree that adopted children and children who physically grew in your womb should not be valued differently, there is a distinct difference between the adopted children and the non-adopted children in your home that no […]

{#30} Draggees

In adoption stories, more often than not, there is a dragger and draggee.  For whatever reason, spouses are rarely on the same page at the same time when it comes to adoption. The good news for draggers is that your draggee has a good chance of catching up.  I talk to a lot of folks […]