The phone rang this morning and I looked at the called ID before I answered it as I usually do. Department of Human Services displayed on the screen and I vacillated on whether to answer or not. Lately, they only call when they want to offer me another teenager to foster. I answered with trepidation, which quickly turned to elation. Our adoption worker was calling to tell us that she had received consent this morning from the MCI to finalize our daughter’s adoption. Not only that, but she wondered if we would be willing to participate in National Adoption Day,... more

We all had a fun cultural experience this weekend. Our tribal representative suggested that we go to a Native American powwow that was in a neighboring town. It has been about 10 years since our family attended a powwow so some of my adopted children had never been to one.

The children were quite excited by the sites and the sounds. We watched the native dancers move to the beating of the drums dressed in feathers, bright colors, and fine leathers. Apparently, the beating of the drums made Amigrace feel like dancing too, but nobody seemed to mind.

We... more

Did sitting around like couch potatoes all day just watching TV cause the behavior problems of the siblings you adopted? There are those who suggest that TV is responsible for everything from lethargy and obesity to shortened attention spans. A new study even suggests that if you begin limiting your children’s TV viewing before the age of six, you may be able to reverse the negative effects.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids shouldn’t watch TV for more than two hours a day and children under two shouldn’t watch it at all. Researchers... more

Whether you have just adopted a sibling group or intend to adopt siblings soon, you should be extremely cautious about having them share a bedroom. If you are considering having the siblings share a bedroom with each other or with one of the children already in your home, you might want to reconsider if you have enough bedrooms. If you must have them share a room, consider hiding baby monitors under or near the beds. If you allow your children to play in each other’s bedrooms then you should also consider hiding monitors in the bedrooms so you can hear what is going... more

Looking for ideas to make your adopted children really feel like part of their new family? You probably want to establish family memories that your adopted children will enjoy, consider unique, and want to talk about later. Fun things that they will want to take pictures of and put in their life books or scrapbooks. I came across an article yesterday in the Clean Home Journal suggesting fun family autumn ideas. I always seem to put an adoption spin on things that I see and read, even though that wasn’t the author’s original intention. This pumpkin carving... more

An interesting comment was made at our daughter’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. A neighbor of theirs was attending the wedding. Afterward he and his wife approached me and introduced themselves as my daughter and son-in-law’s next-door neighbor. He indicated how much his family enjoyed having my daughter’s family next door. This neighbor also knows my other adult daughter because she watches her birth sister’s children Monday through Friday. After he introduces himself, he says, “I knew immediately that you were their mother because they look just like you.”

I smiled, agreed... more

I have to share the most amazing story of survival with you. I still cannot believe it myself, though I see it with my own eyes. Yesterday, at this time I was crying because we had found one of our favorite pets dead. She had been missing for over three months.

Today, we headed out to have a family burial. In the past when a cherished family pet has died all of the children gather around, we dig a grave, we place the deceased in the hole, we pray, and we make a grave marker. That is what we intended to do today.

Maybe I should go back to the beginning. About every... more

Whenever they are playing games, sharing snacks, or just helping others, do your children who are birth siblings always choose each other instead of a sibling by adoption? It doesn’t seem to matter how long the siblings have been in your home. Their choices never seem to take into consideration who is the most deserving or needy at the time either. It doesn’t even matter if they are passing out extra chores; they still choose their birth siblings.

As a parent, I sometimes find this phenomenon a bit frustrating. I like to think that I treat my children as equally as... more

While attending junior high or high school, did you ever look around at your classmates and think, “When I grow up, I am going to parent your children?” Hopefully, parenting children was the farthest thing from your mind back then. While I didn’t actually think these thoughts in school or ever, this actually happened to my family.

When we agreed to accept the sibling group, we didn’t know too much about them. We knew their ages, first names, and they had lived with their maternal grandparents for two years. There was a return home plan that their mother seemed... more

Do your younger children seem to pick up the behaviors and attitudes of their older brothers and sisters? Do they ever pick up the positive attributes? Maybe I’m just having a difficult week, but it seems to me that my younger children only acquire the negative attributes of their older siblings. They seem to pick up those little behaviors or quirks that annoy you and make you nuts.

One of my adult daughters always chewed her nails so short that they bled and then she would begin chewing on the sides of her fingers. Apparently, Lyn thought that was a really neat thing... more