Frequently Asked Questions week

A rather outspoken member of my family said that I was wrong to adopt from Russia with so many needy children in “ Our own backyard” Many people asked why Russia? Our story has less to do with why we decided to adopt from Russia and more about why we decided against a domestic adoption. I think people make assumptions about both routes and each has its negatives & positives. I don’t see one as better than the other.Adoption is all about Love. In the end a child gets a loving family.

People choose the route that... more

All this week I decided to address frequently asked adoption questions. I have some posts saved up for future use and doing theme type weeks now & then helps me to organize them and hopefully make this blog easier to read.I would love to learn more about you.. my blog readers. Which I suspect is just my Mom,Inlaws,my cousin,some loyal friends, fellow bloggers and My Hubby checking this blog 200 times a day. Have you adopted?Are you adopting? thinking about it? are you a friend or family member of someone who is going through the process?... more

The more I read and the more I write for www.adoptionblogs.com the better informed I become about the bazillion issues related to adoption.

I have visited and revisited a number of adoption topics over the past several months and each time I come away with an a-ha moment, or a different way of looking at the very same issue. Today...this morning actually, very early in the morning...that topic is respectful adoption language (RAL). I have always been a language sensitive kind of person. Using affirming,... more

If you're a regular reader or a newcomer please take the time to read the bio on Lauri, our new Adoptive Parenting blogger. I can't speak for Lauri but I know receiving comments on a post would be a terrific welcome to a new site if it were me . So, when she starts posting think about leaving a comment or two. I'm excited to have another valuable perspective here and am looking forward to hearing about her adoptive parenting experiences. Welcome Lauri, looking forward to working with you!

Dr.G.

I will be interviewed on Let's Talk Adoption with Mardie Caldwell on August 23rd at 12:00 Pacific Standard Time. You may recall a while back I wrote a post about Let's Talk Adoption entitled Adoption Talk Radio: Now why didn't I think of that! Well, lucky me. I didn't think of it, but while I was away on vacation I received an email from (ahem) their people inviting me to be on the show that airs via the internet. "My people" (ummm...that would be me) worked out the details with "their people" (that would be Layne Kuhn, their media coordinator) and I will get... more

Hello all. We have returned from our two week family vacation to Atlanta to visit grandparents and extended family. In my last post I indicated that I would blog about our vacation experiences the best that I could. Ha. Written by a woman who, obviously, has never tried her hand at vacationing with three small children and blogging at the same time. After about the second day it became apparent that plan was going right out the window. My plan B was to keep a journal. Again, that was a flop. On my personal blog I wrote that I didn't even jot notes down on scraps of paper. I did, however, take tons of pictures with those convenient throw away cameras. It cost me right at $100.00 to get them... more

"The girls are adopted. That is their life. I can't make it be something that it's not. It is what it is." I have made this comment, or something like it, at various times since adopting the girls. It intended to end some discussion or another related to adoption that has begun to make me feel uneasy, or irritated, or just plain stupid. So when I say, "It is what it is," I don't even know what I really mean by that. I just know that when I say it, other people nod sagely in agreement, and shut up.

When people ask me how do I think my daughters feel about being adopted,... more

I have not had to deal with my children playing the adoption card in an argument, yet. I can tell you that I am none too eager for it to happen. I wonder if there is any way at all to avoid it? Is there anything that I or their father can do so that they will not "go there" in the middle of an otherwise typical parent-adolescent conflict? Are we loving them enough? Am I talking to them enough? Am I there for them, enough? I don't see any inkling at all of either of the girls feeling resentful about being adopted, or insecure about their status in the family, or uncertain about... more

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on the Older Adoptive Parent Blog about Bette Davis's quip on old age, "Old age ain't for sissies." I went on to say that older adoptive parenting wasn't for sissies either. Now that I think about it adoptive parenting ain't for sissies. Parenting ain't for sissies. Heck, life ain't for sissies! I am a big proponent of the "roll up your sleeves and figure it out" approach to even the toughest of situations in life. That works well for some people, not so well for others.

For the really tough stuff of adoptive parenting it... more

One of my favorite parenting rituals as an adoptive parent is the telling of The Story of how we became a family. I've written about this before, but, every time it comes up I always find it moving. My kids seem to enjoy repeating The Story, or, hearing about it from me when we are spending special time together. Take holidays and vacations for example. It is just a given that one of them will end up talking about how we became a family, or asking me to tell The Story during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has become a part of our holiday ritual.

Also, I've noticed that it comes up when we are away together on vacation. That happened just this week when we took off for a short two... more