Once a child has had time to get acclimated, parents may wish to bring the missionaries into their home for formal lessons. (It’s hard for me not to call them “discussions” anymore!) If the child speaks English, this is a relatively simple thing to accomplish and can easily be incorporated as the family’s weekly Family Home Evening, for example. If the child does not speak English, or has very limited English, you really have just two options: one, wait six months or so until the child’s English skills are more established, or two, find a translator. ... more

Children who are adopted before the age of eight can be prepared for baptism in the usual fashion, but children who are older than eight at the time of adoption must be taught by the missionaries if they desire to be baptized, just as any other investigating person would do. Obviously, baptism isn’t a topic that’s necessarily addressed by adoption experts, so I thought I’d offer some advice and information based my own experiences and the experiences of others.

Many adoptive families are anxious to achieve the earthly pinnacle of their family-building... more

Today was our daughter, Lulu's, 8th birthday. It was a wonderful day, and one I hope she will remember for a long, long time. I always find myself feeling a little emotional on my kids' birthdays, and especially on their first birthdays. In many ways, today was Lu's first birthday.

Over the last few days, most of my children had come to me privately to ask what their dad and I had purchased for Lulu's birthday. We normally don't share such secrets because they tend not to stay secrets for long, but I was struck with their reasons for wanting to... more