Part 2 of 3

In the previous post, I reviewed Nancy London’s book for first-time moms over forty, Hot Flashes, Warm Bottles. Today, we’ll look at some common-senses reminders from the book that all parents will find helpful.

Set clear-cut, well-established limits. Doing so provides “the means by which we can meet our own needs without having to resort to erratic, unpredictable behavior,” writes Nancy London. She recommends... more

Part 1 of 3: Book Review

Books for menopausal women assume that their children are grown and that they have time to themselves. Books for first-time moms assume that the moms are young and energetic. Hot Flashes, Warm Bottles bridges the gap. It’s for midlife mamas—first-time moms over 40.

Midlife moms are those who watch Sesame Street with bifocals. They’re the ones who are reading... more

In Patricia Irwin Johnston’s book, Adopting After Infertility, the author discusses the mixed reactions people have when we inform them we’ve decided to adopt a child. She lists 14 common adoption myths:

Adoption is second best. Birth parents don’t live up to their real responsibilities, children don’t live in real families, and adoptive parents aren’t real parents.

Birth parents... more

Part 2 of 2

In the previous post, I overviewed the emotional state of infertile couples, as described in Patricia Irwin Johnston’s book, Adopting After Infertility.

Today, we’ll look at six ways others can support an infertile couple. Here’s a recap of Johnston’s tips:

Information. When a well-meaning friend makes a blooper, diplomatically point it out. Every... more

Part 1 of 2

I’m re-reading Patricia Irwin Johnston’s book, Adopting After Infertility. Early on in the book, she discusses how to deal with family and friends in regards to your fertility impairment.

Johnston points out that infertile people tend to be moody—every month, there’s that cycle of hope followed by despair. Events that other people celebrate, such as baby... more

In the previous post, I explained how Susie Krauter, a songwriter from the Seattle area, was inspired to compose a song on behalf of a family from her church who was waiting to adopt a son from China.

The lyrics to the song, “Love Found Me” are below. You can listen to the song at Susie’s Web site, Tru North Music.

Shelbe Knapke, who was 14 at the time the song was recorded, sang the vocals and the choir is comprised of former orphans (one of them, the boy who is the subject of the song)... more

Susie Krauter loves to write music. And when God puts a song on her heart, she listens and responds. Not long ago, a family from her church in the Seattle area, who had already adopted one child from China, learned about a 10-year-old boy, living in a Chinese orphanage, who had a cleft palate. They ached to adopt him.

When Susie heard her friends’ story, she says she “asked the Lord for a song for this family.” One day, as she was sitting at her son’s soccer practice, words for a song started to flow from Susie’s pen. She scribbled the words as quickly as possible and completed... more

In the previous post, I included an excerpt from Joseph Bentz’ novel, Cradle of Dreams. Today I reflect further on one part of the home study process.

Part 1: Adoption Fiction: Cradle of Dreams

As we checked off the boxes, we wondered whether we were somehow limiting God by declining to accept a child He may have... more

In Joseph Bentz’ novel, Cradle of Dreams, an infertile California couple decides to pursue independent adoption. The experiences of the main characters, Paul and Laura, paralleled my own in many ways. I related to Paul and Laura’s consternation as they pored over the nine-page questionnaire that was supposed to help them define the parameters of the child they hoped to adopt.

Here’s an excerpt from the... more

Lately on my Exploring Adoption blog, I’ve been posting a 7-part series called, “An Author’s View of the Book-Publishing Process.” As some of you know, I’m writing a non-fiction book for prospective adoptive parents called, What’s So Great About Adoption?

People are always asking me questions about how to get a book published, so I thought I’d lay my experiences on the line in this series.

Here is a brief overview of each installment in the series, along with a link to the post:

Part... more