If you just adopted a sibling group then you are very busy parent trying to establish a routine. You are trying to get used to have two, three, or four times the number of people in your family. Of course, that means more cooking, more grocery shopping, more laundry, more cleaning, and more transporting. It can be down right hectic at times and you could use some support. The last thing you need right now is another thing on your parent “to do” list. If your life is anything like mine, you don’t have time to watch television, read magazines, or even file your fingernails.

What... more

I have been babysitting my grandchildren while their parents work during the day for the last few weeks. They are currently one and two years old. They are the children of my oldest daughter, now 25. She came to us as a 13 year old with her younger sibling and joined our forever family by the miracle of adoption at 15. My youngest daughter by the miracle of adoption is one year old and falls right in between the ages of my two granddaughters. The three little girls have always loved each other, but lately they have been becoming best friends.

In the morning when they first... more

British researchers are saying that fifty percent of a person’s sense of well-being comes from inherited personality traits. If you adopted a child with just the right genetic mix then that child’s happiness could almost be assured. Researchers found that they needed to understand personality in order to understand happiness. The personality genes, those that allow a person to be extroverted, emotionally stable, and conscientious are responsible for half of a person’s long-term happiness. Researchers further elaborated that being outgoing, calm, and reliable provide an affective... more

I still struggle with wanting to be the perfect mother for my older adopted children. I know they have witnessed so many failures over the years by their loved ones. They have been let down and disappointed to the point of expecting it. That is why I have tried to be a super mom over the years. The mom who never changes her mind, misses an appointment, or reneges on anything. It is a tough calling; obviously none of us are able in our own power to pull off such perfection. I have gotten a little better over the years because our children also need to know that it is ok to fail.... more

A reader asked me recently about enrolling her adopted children in sports. Another mentioned that her adopted child didn’t have the social skills to play a team sport. Rarely, in our 14 years of foster care, has a child come to us already active in any sport. Most of those children also lacked social skills. Our family, like Cindy’s over at the older child adoption blog, enjoys soccer. We also love floor hockey. Every child that has come through our doors has been enrolled in soccer, hockey, or both.

On the soccer field... more

Whew, am I glad that the children behaved at dinner last night. There was a mother at the restaurant sitting at a table across from us with a little boy. Just the two of them were eating dinner together. I looked over at them several times because Super Dad thought he recognized the boy from one of our children’s previous hockey or soccer teams. Ty plays hockey twice a year, one organization in October and November, and city in January and February. I did not recognize the boy, but Super Dad was quite sure so I kept looking. Tonight, was Ty’s first practice for... more

On Sunday afternoon, we attended the annual church harvest party. It was another one of those great bonding opportunities where adopted siblings could make memories with their new family. Sometimes children who are newly adopted to your family feel left out when a sibling is reminiscing with “remember when,” phrases. That is one of the reasons I love these fun outings with our church family. It creates some “remember when” scenarios for all of the children.

When we arrived, some children were already going on hayrides. They were sitting on stacks of straw, loaded on a wagon,... more