Search Results for: blog our inspiration to adopt

Book Review: Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul

Published just last year, Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul is another in the series of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books which seek to offer comfort and healing to the spirit. As many of you know, the series includes fifty-plus books offering this classic comfort food for the souls of…..couples, single parents, teens, preteens, kids, mothers, scrapbookers, sports fans, brides, shoppers, college students, fishermen, dieters, horse lovers….and more. The series’ founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, co-edit this volume with LeAnn Thieman, herself an adoptive parent as well as a nurse who was caught up in the Operation … Continue reading →

How to Name Your Pet

This month I’ve focused on adopting dogs, because October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. For anyone who has taken the time to visit a shelter this month and welcome a new dog into their life, “Bravo!” Yet, October isn’t the only time of year pets come into our lives, and dogs aren’t the only types of animals we welcome into our families. No matter when we add to our household or what type of pet we choose, we have to name them. It’s almost as much fun as picking the pet, right? “What’s in a name? That which we … Continue reading →

Sending Countries Reach Out to International Adoptees

Lately I’ve been thinking some thoughts which would be considered quite un-politically correct in the adoption world. They refer to efforts by sending countries to reach out to international adoptees. In the past, adoption has sometimes been a shameful thing. Unwed mothers are discriminated against in employment and socially; children are teased and discriminated against educationally. Yet women who relinquish children for adoption are condemned for “turning against their own flesh and blood”. I have met both immigrants and visitors who are surprised—shocked in fact–to learn that their home countries have fairly large and long-standing adoption programs sending children to … Continue reading →

Adoptive Parenting Traits

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I frequently encounter people who tell me that they have seriously thought about adopting a child. It usually comes up in a situation like being in the waiting room in a doctor’s office, they see one of my children, and a conversation starts. It usually ends with the person concluding that they would want to be sure that they could do it and so they never pursue it. I want to try my best to promote adoption and to encourage people to at least think seriously about it. Because of that, I think now and then about things that I … Continue reading →

Our Inspiration to Adopt

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Nancy and I had known for years that we might adopt children some day. We have three birth children and would have had more had we not encountered serious health risks for Nancy in two of the three pregnancies. After the third birth, Nancy had her tubes tied. Nineteen years passed between the birth of our youngest child and the day that we received a foster child into our home. Along the way, we were inspired by couples who had adopted children. Chris and Maureen lived near us and attended the same church that we did for many years. They … Continue reading →

Financial Assistance in Adoption

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Many people do not consider adopting or fostering a child because they assume that it would be too expensive for them to take on the responsibility of having another child in their home. Most states provide subsidies to assist with the expenses of taking care of a child. These subsidies are generally not considered as taxable income. In my state, the payments are made one month in arrears. For our family, there was an added frustration in that the money was paid through an adoption agency and they sometimes held the money for an extra month. An additional problem in … Continue reading →

Seeking Inspiration for Christian Blogging

While driving home last night I asked the Lord to lay on my heart some topics to write about. As I settled in my home for the night I started getting a flood of ideas. The initial passion I had to share about the Lord came back to me. I get inspiration by: • Going to church • Looking at God’s creations • Past experiences • Books • Topics of debate • Specific scriptures • Current events • Needs of other people • Things I’d like to know more about • Studying the Word • Devotional time • My children … Continue reading →

Biblical Encouragement for Those in Waiting

The holiday times were by far the most difficult for me to bear while waiting for our boys. I know there are others that can relate to the longing feeling around this time as well. To be honest, I’m not sure how I would have sustained sanity without my faith in Christ and His ability during the dark period in my life of waiting to be a mother. Perhaps the most inspirational book of the Bible for me during this time was the Book of Psalms. David committed sins beyond what most of us have, was loved by God and … Continue reading →

“Toddler Adoption, The Weaver’s Craft.” by: Mary Hopkins-Best

When a child is adopted as a toddler things are very different then adopting an infant or older child. There are very few resources for families adopting toddlers but this book is a must have. Mary Hopkins-Best, a child development expert and mother of a child adopted as a toddler wrote Toddler Adoption, The Weaver’s Craft as a guidebook for those considering toddler adoption or those already dealing with some of the special challenges of adopting a toddler. Hopkins-Best discusses some of the strategies of dealing with the issues like a grieving toddler as well as some of the attachment … Continue reading →

Celebrate Everything

A lady from my breast cancer support group nominated me for The Inspirational Survivor award for a local breast cancer charity and I got chosen. She had to write a letter telling me why I was an inspiration and she said some wonderful things about me; I paid her a lot to say them, just kidding. The letter mentioned how we had adopted our three kids, how my husband had battled cancer first and then I did and how we were making gift bags for cancer patients as they were completing their treatments. The bags were nothing fancy just a … Continue reading →