Competition is a part of life. It is in the work place, in school, in sports, and even in our extra curricular activities. If you happened to have been raised with at least one sibling, then you started your competition training early, and right at home.

Currently we have eight children at home so competition is alive and well at our house. We also have three adult children who have moved out on their own. Should I say four? (Actually, I need some advice on this one. When people ask how many children we have should we... more

If you have adopted a child from the foster care system, then chances are your child has one or more siblings, somewhere. Sometimes you know where those siblings are, and then you can help to foster a sibling relationship. Younger siblings often emulate older siblings, and that part of the sibling relationship seems to happen even when they live in different families.

Older siblings can be a source of encouragement and unconditional love for your child. Unfortunately, once they get to those later teen years,... more

You are planning a second adopted child, and your first adoption is completely open. What if your second adoption isn’t completely open? How will your second adopted child feel when he is old enough to understand that his big sister sees her birth mother every month and he doesn’t? My husband and I have seven adopted children and four of them have ongoing relationships with their birth families.

When Buck was around six, he began to understand what adoption meant. That is when he really noticed or understood that his sisters were visiting their birth family members. That is what led to him asking why he couldn’t see his birth mother.

First, we contacted his birthmother’s... more

While some of the children were introducing themselves to a visitor, our seven year old blurted out, that’s my brother, and we came from the same mom. Now that he is old enough to understand that, not only are they brothers by adoption, but they are also brothers by birth, he takes great pride in the knowledge. He definitely looks up to his big brother and follows him everywhere.

Another cute phrase he sometimes uses when he wants a drink or a bite is we’re brothers so we can share, because brothers don’t have germs.... more

Over at the Christian Adoption blog, we’ve been talking about the love of spiritual family; the love of physical family; and the love of biological family. As we are in the process of adopting a sibling set, I’d like to speak... more

This is a continuation of my interview with Kari Fillmore, co-founder of Angel Covers. Part one of the interview can be found here.

I have purchased gift cards through Angel Covers for family members and school teachers. I have also received gift cards from others as a gift at Christmas time. My... more

As a sponsor of a deaf child in Kenya via Angel Covers, I wanted to know more about the organization and how adoptive parents could become involved. Obviously we can't adopt all of the hungry or hurting children in the world, but we can do much with our time and money to help them even as they remain in their native countries.

An added benefit to our families as we provide sponsorship money for children or even make a one-time donation, is teaching compassion to our children at home. We are teaching... more

Before you had a second child, did you have visions of your children happily playing together with nary a squabble, only to discover that they fight more often than they get along peacefully?

Do the words "It's mine!" or "No, you can't play with us!" echo through the halls of your home more often than "Sure, I'd be happy to share this with you"?

Are your children like Janene Wolsey Baadsgard's children -author of The Roller... more

My youngest 3 children struggle with letting go of some of their orphanage behaviors. As I have mentioned here, they all struggle with food issues and accepting that they will indeed have plenty to eat in our family. All 3 have known pretty intense hunger, so their fears are valid, but you would think that over time, they would be able to process that they have not known true hunger (other than Caleb's experience here)... more

All 3 of my adopted children came to our home with table manners that left a lot to be desired. At times I have thought it would be simpler to put a feeding trough on the floor than ask them for the 1,000th time to please slow down, please chew with their mouth shut, please not talk with their mouth full, etc.

In China, Caleb would spit bones all over the table when eating chicken, and we had to tell him via our guide that it might be OK to do so in China, but the practice would be frowned upon... more