I have written and rewritten this post, and I’m having a hard time putting what I want to say in words that don’t make me sound embittered or judgmental. If it were just me that this topic affects, I think I could let it go. But this week, as I’ve talked to other LDS adoptive parents, I’ve (unfortunately) been shown that what I’m going to write about is not unique to me or my area. I hope that talking about it will help adoptive parents to know they’re not alone when they face similar sentiments, and that I can provide sound advice for dealing with negativity when it rears its ugly head.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that three other families in our ward have decided to adopt... more

In part one, I wrote about my struggles with our second adopted child and how I suffered from Post Adoption Depression. In this post, I’ll be discussing some of the things that helped me recover!

1. TIME! It was true for me that time was an excellent healer. As the days, weeks and months went by, I found myself feeling better and better. I also found that I could look back and more objectively see the progress Sofie had made with her behavior and abilities, as well as with our bonding. 2. Prayer. I prayed a LOT! I asked Heavenly Father to help me to overcome... more

I must confess, when I first heard the term “Post Adoption Depression” a few years ago, I thought it was tongue-in-cheek expression, like “Reluctant Husband Syndrome” or something. As I delved deeper into the adoption world, however, I learned that it was a very real phenomenon experienced by some people. Well, “some people” eventually included me.

When adopted our first Chinese daughter, everything went as wonderfully and smoothly as anyone could imagine. Our trip was fabulous, our first meeting was magical, and little Maizie exceeded all our expectations.

Why then, on our first night back in our own home, did I suddenly feel as though I were suffocating? For a while,... more

As we discussed in part one, many American families are choosing to delay family raising until they are older and more established in their lives and careers. Along with this phenomenon, we are seeing more and more families who have raised their children, but who have chosen to start over with a “second family” through adoption.

Wes Whatcott is the former owner/director of West Sands Adoptions. Although “technically”... more

There is a couple in our community who have 3 grown children. One child just graduated from medical school, and the other two are in college. I don’t know the parent’s ages, but I would guess they are in their late fifties. They began doing foster care several years ago, and subsequently adopted a toddler boy, and later, a baby boy. At a time when most people their age are looking forward to college graduations, marriages of children, the arrival of grandchildren, and retirement, they are coaching soccer, going to parent teacher conferences and changing diapers!

It’s... more

I love the concept of mentoring.

As we’ve embarked on our homeschool journey this school year and our educational horizons have expanded to include things the kids want to learn, I’ve begun to consider the many things that other people can teach us. We’ve found people to teach us art and Chinese, and have discussed a trade with another homeschooling family that would include my music skills for their chemistry ones. We’ve found a man from Wildlife, Fish and Game department who will do a tour and workshop for our children, and have even pre-arranged a visit to see the inner workings of the local McDonalds. While not all of these experiences will necessarily factor into the... more

Congratulations to member "colgoo" for winning our drawing for an Amazon gift certificate!

And thanks to all of you who chimed in with questions and suggestions for all your wonderful ideas! I will be tackling many of them in the month of June, and would love your input. You're always welcome to suggest topics or ask questions; I'm here to support you! :)

I realized that this Memorial Day marked something of an anniversary for our family. Six years ago, we were at the beginning stages of our adoption process. Six years seems like such a long time in some ways (my soon-to-be fourth graders were in diapers?!), but it also seems incredibly short in others. It’s amazing to me that in just six years, we’ve added five children and are working on bringing home our 6th... more

In my previous post, I wrote about a birthmother who is struggling greatly with her feelings of rejection. This birthmom was aware of her son’s whereabouts and the goings on in his life through a relationship with his adoptive parents, but she relates that she and the adoptive parents agreed in the beginning that they would allow the son to choose as an adult whether to have contact with his birthmom, so there has been no contact between them. The pain in her words reveals that although she made that... more

Please, before you read this post, read this one from the Adoption.com forums and then come back and join me. :)

For readers unfamiliar with our family’s adoption stories, I will say in the interest of full disclosure that we have not adopted domestically and therefore don’t have firsthand experience with writing a letter to birthparents, deciding what sort of adoption (open, semi-open, closed) we’re comfortable with, or dealing with any of the other decisions and issues typically associated with a domestic adoption. But thanks to some unusual twists, we found ourselves in the unique... more