When you adopt a new child, especially internationally, adoption specialists recommend a complete physical check-up. Included in the suggested battery of tests is a hearing screening.

I belong to a Yahoo group of parents who have adopted Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing children. Unlike most on the group who knowingly pursued the adoption of a deaf child, every couple of months a parent joins whose foundation was rocked because the child they adopted - whom they assumed... more

This is Grace and Caroline. They live in a very humble setting in Kenya, where they are blessed to go to school thanks to the efforts of a charitable organization called Angel Covers.

I have a special place in my heart for Grace because she is profoundly deaf just like my son. She also is my adopted daughter in the heart even though she will never be our daughter in our home. Instead, we sponsor her education for a mere $20.00/month... more

This is a day later than I wanted it to be, but yesterday I could not get the blogsite to work for me no matter how many times I tried to send this.

Most of the time on Mother's day I tend to gag on the sugary sweet songs that the kids in our church sing for the mothers present. Why? Well, when I hear words such as:

Mother dear I love you so, your happy smiling face Is such a joy to look at, it makes home a lovely place.

I think of all the times I've hollered at my kids or had a face that surely was not a joy to look at, and the the guilt with a capital G rears its ugly head.

Move on to verse two and the saccharine... more

This photo was taken of my children on Easter Sunday. Lynn was home from college for the day and I wanted to make sure we got a photo where everyone was included, so we went to the park for family photos. Caleb really needed to see himself in a family picture to cement in his mind that he belongs here and isn't going anywhere. He was so thrilled when we put our new family picture with him included up on the wall.

As I look at this photo of my children, I'm grateful for children who have opened... more

Much has been said about the pain that many adopted children have on Mother's Day. Theresa, on the adoptive parenting blog has a great example here of how some children react to the day. Some faced abuse in their former homes or institutions, hence Mother's Day doesn't exactly conjure up images of peaceful home and hearth in their minds.

Today, however, I would like to focus on the perspective of an adoptive Mother and how I feel about the pain... more

In my previous post on family nights, I shared with you how disastrous some of our family nights can be. This is no reason to give up on the idea, however. If you are worried that your family members don't spend enough time together and are constantly being pulled in different directions, you might want to think about establishing a family night of your own.

Our family celebrates Family Home Evening on Mondays, although we have... more

Do you ever feel that your "together time" as a family resembles The Munsters more than it does The Cleavers? I know I do! Our family tries to set apart Monday nights as time to be together without outside interruptions. Whether that becomes quality time...well that remains to be seen on some weeks.

Tonight, Taylor asked if he could go play flag football over at the park with some friends. I sighed as I answered that he knew it was family night, so no, he couldn't go until after 9 p.m.

I tire of other families trying to... more

"It's MINE!" How many times has a parent heard that from a 2 year old? Developmentally appropriate, right? What if that same statement is being yelled by an eight year old, however, or a 12 year old? That kind of comment is not uncommon from a child who came from a background where she was never taught how to have empathy and compassion for others.

Perhaps it was never modeled in the home or orphanage, or perhaps it was just a Darwinian type mentality that our children had... more

In my previous post, I mentioned that I didn't feel that glitzy resorts are reality. Please don't misunderstand. I love a nice evening out as well as the next person, but so much of the frou-frou for lack of a better word is just so fake. The women in their 500.00 evening gowns are really no better or worse underneath than the Haitian women I saw sitting on a street corner yelling "Mandarin, mandarin, mandarin" as they hawked oranges, trying to earn a living.... more

It is late spring and the school year is drawing to a close. Must mean it's prom time. Two weeks ago I was at a resort here in town helping my daughter and son-in-law decorate for the school prom where he teaches.

As the decorating wound down and guests for various functions were arriving, it felt a bit like Cinderella's ball. Evening gowns and tuxedos were abundant, and I felt slightly out of place as I went to leave in my sandals, jeans and a polo shirt. I went to the bathroom before I left and upon the gleaming granite countertops... more