We adopted our sons when they were newborns, and adoption has always been a normal part of the vocabulary around our home. When Ben was 6 years old and Josh was 3, we went to the hospital to meet one of their newborn cousins. The boys looked around in wonderment. Babies were born in hospitals!

“I thought all babies came from the adoption agency,” remarked Ben.

We have never led our sons to believe that all babies originate at the adoption agency; that was just their assumption. To them, adoption is the normal way to join one’s family; they think it odd that babies appear on the scene in any other way.

When Should You Tell Your Child Who His Birth Parents Are?

Recently,... more

I’ve just returned from a week at my favorite writers’ conference, Mt. Hermon’s Christian Writers Conference in California (near Santa Cruz and San Jose).

Mt. Hermon is considered the premier Christian writers’ conference on the West Coast, and the 400 registrants came from all over the U.S. and Canada. From novices eager to learn the craft of writing to well-known authors who’ve published hundreds of books, this conference offered something special for everyone.

What a difference a year makes My experience at Mt. Hermon this year was quite different from last year’s. A year ago, I attended with the goal... more

On Monday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 21, Focus on the Family’s radio program will feature adoptive parents Billy Jack and Anne Barrett. The Barretts have six children, four of whom were adopted from abusive backgrounds. Their Colorado farm was featured on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

You can read more about the Barrett family at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Web site.

You can also read an article about the Barrett family’s visit to Focus on the Family

To learn how to listen to next week’s broadcast, visit Focus... more

Continued from previous post

Some people “poo poo” the idea that God has a hand in bringing together adoptive families and birth families. But I’ve seen His divine hand working in so many ways in my own life during the past 13 years that I refuse to attribute it to fate or coincidence.

While my husband and I were praying for the child we hoped would someday be ours, his birth parents were also praying for him – for the family that would someday be his. The very evening we met, our prayers converged and were answered.

Our son’s birth mom has told... more

In domestic newborn adoptions, some degree of continuing contact among the birth and adoptive families is now the norm. In addition, prospective adoptive parents will likely be encouraged to meet the woman (and possibly, the man) who are pregnant with the child they hope to adopt – before the child’s birth.

As I discussed in my mega, 18-part series that detailed our own adoption story (see Part 6: “The Big Meeting”), every pregnant couple who was interested in selecting us to... more

One of my readers named Lois adopted six children internationally in the 1970s. Her children, who were school age when she adopted them, are now in their 30s.

One of her children was from the U.S. Two were from Korea and were adopted at ages 10 and 7 (they are not biological siblings) One was from Brazil and was adopted at age 7 Two were from India and were adopted at ages 10 and 8 (they are biological siblings)

Lack of bonding Lois writes, “I only wish it was the tight-knit story-book family one dreams of when going into adoption. Each has his/her own issues (probably would anyway had they been homemade),... more

One of my readers suggested that it's important to keep your child's "life book" up-to-date and full of pictures and history.

I know what a life book is but I must admit that I haven't been very diligent about creating one. My efforts to date include:

Buying a sterling silver photo album (the kind with the frame on the cover) and inserting baby pictures. I plan to give each son his album when he goes off to college or otherwise moves out on his own. Creating a 3-ring binder for each son in which I put letters from his birth family, periodic letters that I write to each child and the assorted greeting cards they've received. Keeping a computerized... more