Julia recently posed a dilemma she is facing with her daughter in this article. It’s a difficult issue, since as Christian parents our duty is to raise our children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). We began by addressing the role of belief and repentance, in Part One of our series.

Next, let's look at the issues of confession and baptism:

One... more

Julia recently posed a dilemma she is facing with her daughter in this article. It’s a difficult issue, since as Christian parents our duty is to raise our children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

When our children reach an age in which they are able to be held accountable for their actions, they often begin to question whether or not to choose a relationship with God. If they seek our assistance in understanding the enormity of this commitment,... more

Regular readers will recall that my daughter was recently diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She suffers from extreme insomnia and nightmares. Though we have tried many things in addition to her weekly therapy sessions, she is still an extremely fearful child, and nights in particular are terribly difficult for her.

While waiting at the pharmacy to pick up my older son’s medical supplies, I leafed through a parenting periodical, and found an article highlighting personal safety workshops... more

Up to now, I’ve only had to deal with one child being sick at a time. But this weekend, all three children got that head cold that’s been making the rounds. It’s always been hard for me to contain my oldest son whenever he’s been ill, because he doesn’t realize he needs to rest, and his brother and sister are no different. Maybe all children are like this, but previously I only had one child, so this is all new to me!

For the last three days, it’s been like wrestling a slippery octopus to get the three of them to lie down! Further, they love playing with this one toy that records your voice and they love screaming into it at the top of their lungs to make silly sounds. This toy tops... more

At a certain point after the adoption is finalized, not every waking moment is consumed with a hyphenated thought – you know: post-adoption, adoption-related, birth-mother…In other words, life begins to take on a “normal” timbre – whatever “normal” is. Your children are just that – yours – and you begin mentally dropping those “adopted child,” “biological child” labels. Not that those labels meant you loved your child(ren) any more or less – but for a certain period of time, you had to make a mental shift – an adjustment in thinking. With a spouse, there was a period of courtship, where the idea of marriage and spending a life together germinated for awhile, typically speaking. With a biological... more

We had our second and final post-adoptive placement appointment yesterday. The visit went exceptionally well.

For those of you who may be wondering what types of concerns are covered in a post-adoptive visit, I’ll cover them briefly (although if you survived the homestudy, you’ll be just fine!):

Children: * General physical health (gaining in height and weight; overall good health; whether or not there have been any medical issues, or if the child has special medical needs, what the prognosis is/how things are going. * Mental heath: If there are any mental health issues, the caseworker... more

I was reading an interesting article in a parenting periodical today at the doctor's office. It was a lighthearted look at chores. Behind the humor was a real issue I think many parents grapple with.

When my family moved into this house a year ago, I made an observation about all of the houses on our block - all of the cars park in the driveway, not the garage. When you see the neighbors with the garage door up, all you see inside are boxes. Most people, including our family, use their garage space as storage spaces.... more

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)

The American Heritage Dictionary defines discipline as, “Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.” 1

Now that we are three months into this gig – the transition is over, the newness has worn off, life has settled into a routine – it was time tonight to revisit discipline.

We’ve noticed some behaviors that are beginning to slide down that “slippery slope” – having to repeat our requests to them, beginning to “negotiate” after a request has been... more

Today marks the three month anniversary of the finalization of our adoption. Here are some impressions of the last three months:

The beginning is tough! Man, those first few days and nights were hard. I absolutely cannot fathom how a single parent does this! My husband and I “spelled” each other during those first crucial and excruciating first days.

You love your children immediately, but sometimes liking them sometimes takes awhile. Don’t get me wrong – I adore all three of my children, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a mother bear who loves her cubs more – but during the really behaviorally challenging times, I had to switch to “agape-mode.” Agape is the selfless love... more

There is theory that the longer you have your pet, the more they begin to look like you. Now, I’m not comparing adopted children to pets, but it is interesting how your kids begin to take on your characteristics!

Lately I’ve noticed some of the silly made up expressions I use, coming out of the mouths of my children! They rock out to the music of my favorite 70’s band, and they have a love for my husband’s favorite band, as well.

The kids mimic their older brother, both intentionally and not. They have some of his same facial expressions, and ours as well. At first, it was difficult for my oldest son - who, for nine whole years had been an only child – to grasp the concept... more