With a mere nine days before we board the plane for the trip that will change our lives forever, much remains to be done. Today alone I’ve spoken to our social worker and lawyer (both more than once!); my daughter’s pediatric staff, and I still have to coordinate a few more adoption-related things before the end of business today.

If you’ve read this blog with any regularity, you know I’m not so good with “the small stuff”. Big stuff, no problem – just don’t drown me in... more

I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop. (Psalm 102:7)

Here it is – almost 3 in the morning – and what am I doing? Blogging about adoption. If I’m not up thinking about the kids, I’m writing about them … or talking about them to my husband, who coincidentally, also is having trouble sleeping (and not because I’m talking to him!)

Yes, we’re a scant ten days away from departure to pick up the kids. I have a “countdown” plug-in on my internet homepage. Each morning my son comes into my room, and we count off another... more

In our Making Time series, we’ve established the need for personal time, how to make time for yourself, how to make Couple Time, and now, we’re going to round it out with how to make “One-On-One ‘Kid Time’”.

My background is in Early Childhood Education, and all... more

Now that we know why you need to make time for yourself, let’s talk about ways to incorporate this time seamlessly, painlessly, and guilt-free into your day!

Use existing blocks of time to your advantage: Do the kids still nap? If so, you nap too! As tempting as it is, do not use this time to play “catch-up!” If you can’t nap, read, knit, listen to music, or do something you find soothing. Avoid television, newspapers or... more

When you bring your adopted child home, the previous months beforehand are much like a traditional birth - a flurry of activity, with little time for rest or sleep. Now that you are home with your child, sleep almost seems like an out-of-reach possibility!

With the demands of new parenthood upon you (whether this is your first, last or in-between child), thoughts of caring for yourself seem selfish. After all, isn’t this what you signed on for when you decided to have children?

Adoptive parents are especially cursed with this type... more

You would have to be the most isolated of hermits not to have heard the recent hoopla surrounding heiress Paris Hilton. However much media saturation she has received, I’ve heard almost as much about her permissive, over-indulgent parents. Whenever there is a tragedy, such as school shootings, or something just plain “outta whack,” as is the case of late with young Hollywood, we often look to the parents.

Why is that?

Parents are uniquely positioned to offer guidance, boundaries and a philosophical or ideological construct for children until they are able to do so for themselves. When parents fail to do this, or send mixed messages, children flounder. Are kids doomed to a... more

For the last six months, I have been hesitant to schedule anything more than a week or two out, because we’ve been under the assumption that the finalization could happen “any time now…” As I homeschool, it’s been hard to schedule outside classes (particularly multi-part classes that you pay for up front with “no refund” policies!). I teach classes and camps as well, so I feel as though I am making up dates as I go along!

It’s been this way since December, so one might legitimately think I would be used to this by now, or we might actually... more

Prayerfully, our new children will be arriving soon! Though they are eager to move to California and “see the ocean”, we know that reality will set it and moving so many states away will be difficult.

My biological son has already gone through something similar. When we made the decision to adopt, it became clear that adopting siblings would mean a move for our family. Though my son really wanted sibs, he really did not want to move. He made that supreme sacrifice because of his love for them, but clearly it was extremely hard for him.

One... more

While devouring everything I can about adoption, I came across a wonderful cross-section of articles on what seems like the “Never-Ending Wait.” What is so great about these articles is that they address the fact that:

• Others have “Been There, Done That”

• Children arrived and everyone lived to tell about “The Wait”

So, while you are waiting, you can read about waiting! Many of the articles offer wonderful suggestions on how to manage the wait time. I hope you find them beneficial during your wait time!

While You Wait: A fabulous listing of many, many articles written by those “in the... more

If anyone in the Bible knew anything about patience, it would be Job. Job not only waited adversity out and won the victory through God, but lost just about everything that would matter in this human life in the process.

He lost his health, his children, and the respect of his wife and friends. His wife told him just to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Yet this same verse tells us that Job “held fast [to] his integrity.”

To really understand this story in context, it’s crucial we understand where all this adversity came from. Many... more