I was listening to my favorite Christian radio station this morning. The morning DJs are young adults because the station wants teenagers to listen, so they give them people to whom they can relate. Actually, the music and contests are geared more towards teenagers as well, but I like the music. So, the DJs were talking about Mother’s Day and wondering what some of their listeners were planning to do for their moms. A teenage girl called in and said that her mom didn’t want anything for Mother’s Day. The DJs made a couple of suggestions, which did include housework. The... more

Our whole family was getting ready to head out to our church last night for our annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The children all look forward to playing with their friends and talking without constantly being shushed. Each family that attends brings a snack food, a two-liter of soda, and their favorite game. We always purchase a few bottles of sparkle juice for the event because our children think it is a great treat. This year the children tried for days to talk me into letting them open a bottle of it early. Buck made plans to take his PS2 and have friends bring their games.... more

I realize that Christmas day is getting way too close for the amount of shopping I have completed this year. I am also having difficulty wanting to choose individual gifts for some of my children whom I have had a difficult time with this year. One of my readers mentioned family gifts and Cindy Bodie did a blog on family gifts recently as well. Because over the years, we have parented nearly 100 children, we practically own every toy, book, and gadget known to modern children already. Not to... more

If you are an adoptive family who celebrates Christmas, do you use it as a behavior modifier? One of my friends has adopted a sibling group of three. While the children have been in this adoptive home for four years, they were actually adopted 10 months ago. She uses a credit and reward system similar to the one I use to modify unacceptable behavior. I have included the form and instructions that we use in some recent blogs, so you may be familiar with the system. Her system also involves losing presents, whether they are for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, or one of the various other... more

Be realistic about what you can do for the holidays when you are parenting children new to your home and family. Stress can lead to depression and can ruin your holidays and hurt your health. Your children may not be ready for big holiday parties that include many extended family members. You probably have the desire to make the first holidays together perfect for your new sibling group. You may want to make up for everything they have missed. What they have missed, is having a family, now that they have that, they have the best gift of all.

Some traumatized children can’t... more

Last week I participated in a county wide emergency preparedness drill. I received a letter from our local hospital asking me to help out with this drill since I am a teen volunteer. The drill was very confidential to the hospital staff, local police, and ambulance service and area fire departments. The only people that knew of the drill were the volunteers, chiefs of police, fire and emergency medical technicians and a few organizers at the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital the morning of the drill the volunteers and I... more

I have to post about Gracie’s second celebration of Independence Day here in America. I am sure it will take her several years to realize the importance of this special day. I am appreciating more and more the cost of our freedom but I do not think I will totally grasp it in its entirety. Vietnam Veteran Joseph Popvich wrote, "Freedom has a price that the protected will never know. Those who haven't spent time at war can't imagine the atrocities nor can they understand the oppression under which others live," he said. I... more

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. This is the perfect time to teach your siblings about the true meaning of Easter. When I was younger I remember my Sunday school teacher baking Resurrection Cookies and bringing them to class to explain the Easter story. This recipe needs to be prepared the night before Easter and is a wonderful way of making the Easter story come alive to little ones. So grab your apron and have fun!

You will need: 1 cup whole pecans 1 teaspoon vinegar 3 egg whites A pinch of... more

Sunday marked the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is known as the Lunar New Year. The appearance of the new moon marks a new month according to the Chinese calendar. Each Chinese New Year is symbolized by 1 of 12 animals. The 12 animals are the rat, ox, tiger, dragon, rabbit, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. 2007 will be celebrated as the year of the pig. Chinese folklore is said that if you are born under this sign then you are a splendid companion, an intellectual with a very strong need to set difficult goals and... more

Xin nian yu kuai (Mandarin) or Sun nienfai lok (Cantonese)! Happy Belated Chinese New Year to everyone. As I have said in many posts before, we adopted my sister Gracie from the country of China. I have added a new section in the Adoptive Siblings called “Plugging Into Siblings Culture.” In this section I will write about ways siblings can interact with their brothers or sisters by doing activities that involve the country they were adopted from. I would really love members of Adoption Blogs and our readers to tell... more