Search Results for: blog gotcha day 4

Gotcha!

I’ve never been a huge fan of April Fools’ Day. Honestly, it’s not the actual day I have issues with, it’s the constant anxiety I feel living with a bunch of pranksters who treat April 1st like a national holiday. My number one prankster is seven, and doesn’t completely grasp the concept of punking. Like most kids her age, my daughter loves to prank unsuspecting victims. While she is somewhat successful at doing so year-round, on April 1st most people are on high alert for pint-sized shysters. Needless to say, not everyone fell for her April Fools’ tricks. This (and … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Who Blog

Do your pets keep a blog? Do they tweet? Do they have a Myspace page? Do they chat with other ani-pals on Facebook (or Dogbook or Catbook)? Writing for your pets can actually be a great creative exercise and imagination outlet. Think about it: you’re writing in a voice that is not your own, imagining what a pet’s daily life is like, and even interacting with other imagined animal personalities. If you’ve got a reluctant writer in the house, writing as a pet might be a good way to go. Twitter is fun for the one-liners — you have to … Continue reading →

Gotcha Day #4

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In July 2004, we were informed in a surprise phone call that the birth mother of the four boys that we were about to adopt, had delivered another boy. After a brief skirmish with state social workers, it was time for Gotcha Day for Isaiah. The other boys had been brought to us, but this time we were asked to come pick our new child up. It was to be a busy day at the state office. First, the family that Isaiah had been placed with for ten days had to bring him in. We were willing to meet with … Continue reading →

Our “Gotcha” Day

For our family December and January are one long list of special days, holidays, birthdays and celebrations. When our children are a little older we may end up taking the whole month of January on a family vacation–hopefully to Hawaii! For the four of us all of our birthdays take place between January 5th and February 2nd. We literally party from Thanksgiving to Ground Hog day every single year and we have no choice about the matter. To top it all off our Adoption Day is in December and our Gotcha Day is wedged between two of the four birthdays … Continue reading →

Adoptive Families–Special Days and Family Celebrations

Adoptive families have special dates to remember and celebrate as time goes on and our children grow up. The meaning and significance of these dates are under the parents control to determine how the family recognizes and remembers them in the future. Some families make them as important as a birthday or anniversary and other families honor the dates in a personal and quiet way as parents with our children. Adopted children may feel special having these celebrations and some children may have some mixed emotions about these dates during various developmental stages of their lives. The way a family … Continue reading →

Rituals and Ceremonies For Adoptive Families

Adoptive parents are a diverse group. On average they are slightly higher income than the general population and have a slightly higher average educational level than the general populace. They come from all religious persuasions and from none. For those adoptive parents who practice a religion, that religion can be a bonding force for their new family. Families who do not practice a religion may nonetheless seek a special ritual or celebration to mark the arrival of a child and various milestones in the adoption process and in the family’s life. Some families have entrustment ceremonies when birthparents place an … Continue reading →

Are Your Kids a Target for Abductors?

It’s a question most parents don’t like to think about… unless you live in Minnesota. A few months ago some parents in a quiet Twin Cities suburb were forced to consider how easy it was to have a stranger abduct their child. Not because there was a deranged kidnapper on the prowl, rather parents and children were unnecessarily frightened because a local TV station decided to take a hands-on approach to reporting the news. Or shall I say creating the news? Thanks to some bonehead news director at KMSP, the Fox affiliate in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, reporters were told … Continue reading →

The Limp is Back

Back in November, I noticed that Moose was limping a bit on some of our walks. The limp comes and goes, but with the recent colder weather, the limp is here more often than not. In fact, during the several days of sub-freezing temperatures, Moose seemed worse than ever: He would yelp or whine at even the lightest touch near his hips or rump. He limped when he walked. He held his back feet very close together while he walked or stood. He was very restless at night, and seemed to have a hard time finding a comfortable position. He’s … Continue reading →

Residential Treatment

It was just a few days after Christmas when everything fell apart and our nearly 9-year-old daughter Makala lost all sense of reality. We were getting ready to celebrate all of our birthdays, and other important dates. It was approaching the 4th anniversary of Gotcha Day. Worse still it was about to be the 5th anniversary of the day the police had taken Makala and her baby brother Jeremiah into foster care. January is usually a very stressful time of year for our family. But, this past January was looking as if we might not make it as a family. … Continue reading →

Arrival Parties

Maybe some of you have witnessed an international adoption placement at an airport. I remember seeing one while I was in college. There were a couple dozen people, balloons, and one very scared looking tot. Many people who adopt have waited a long time to have children. Sometimes they do not have the baby showers or other preparatory celebrations that expectant parents enjoy. The adoption of their child is one of the biggest events in their lives, and they want to celebrate with everyone. Grandparents and friends are eager to show they accept and support the new family. But imagine … Continue reading →