March 23, 2018 adopting a boy, Blood Conditions, Faith, hemophilia, hemophilia A, March 2018 Feature - Blood Conditions, Medical Momma 0 Comments

It’s hard to believe that our oldest son has been home for almost two and a half years. Before we adopted him, my biggest worry was his medical condition. He has Severe Hemophilia, a genetic bleeding disorder. In a nutshell, this means that his blood is missing one of the proteins that help it to …Read More

July 12, 2017 Attachment, attachment activities, attachment challenges, Faith, first year home, July 2017 Feature - All About Attachment, Newly Home, parent-to-child attachment, rejects mom, Trust Based Parenting 7 Comments

I’ve started to write this post many times. Each attempt has found me closing my computer, and telling myself that this part of my story is too real, or too raw, or maybe just too much. But over and over again, as I’ve spoken to moms who are living out this journey, I realize that …Read More

June 3, 2017 adopting a boy, adopting again, adopting as first time parents, Attachment, attachment activities, co-sleeping, cocooning, Faith, parent-to-child attachment, Trust Based Parenting 4 Comments

We still co-sleep. That’s right. My 3.5 year old, not-a-baby-anymore, rapidly growing in every way, sweetest little boy still sleeps smack dab in the middle of our California King sized bed. (My husband is 6’5”, so that pretty much predetermined the bed size for us, but, yes I do recommend a big bed if you …Read More

May 3, 2017 Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, Faith, recipes 1 Comments

The Dragon Boat Festival (Duānwǔjié, or 端午节) falls on the fifth day of the fifth Lunar month each year. This year, the festival falls on Tuesday, May 30. For adoptive families in the paperwork process, that means that the CCCWA will close down for a couple of days in observance of the holiday. China will …Read More

April 6, 2017 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, adopting again, dossier, Faith, homestudy, paperchase, pre-adoption, Theraplay, waiting for referral, waiting to travel 0 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

February 15, 2017 Agencies, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, switching agencies 0 Comments

You may have seen that an adoption agency with a program in China was recently “temporarily debarred” by the State Department. Some of the violations by this agency included (I am paraphrasing): Charging families in-country fees that were different than what they had previously quoted. Charging fees that were unreasonably high in consideration of services …Read More

January 3, 2017 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year, Faith 2 Comments

Last year, we had been home for a couple of months when Chinese New Year rolled around. Still adjusting to our new normal, I remember frantically ordering a few decorations from Amazon Prime to celebrate the occasion. This year, I wanted to be much more intentional about how our family celebrates this important holiday, so …Read More

December 3, 2016 adopting a boy, December 2016 Feature - Adopting a Boy, Faith 2 Comments

When we started our journey to China, we wanted to adopt a little girl. When we filled out our Medical Conditions Checklist, we specified girl only. I had visions of picking out a glorious name for my daughter-to-be, dressing her in the most beautiful clothes, and decorating her room. This baby girl would be my …Read More

October 5, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, dossier, Faith, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral, waiting to travel 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

September 20, 2016 Faith, Meet the Contributors 2 Comments

Continuing today with our series in which we share a short Q and A with one of our contributors to give y’all, our faithful readers, a little more behind-the-scenes insight into the amazing group of writers assembled here. And it will also give each of our contributors a chance to share their heart in a …Read More

September 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, dossier, Faith, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral, waiting to travel 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

August 13, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Agencies, agency-orphanage partnership, dossier, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

August 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Agencies, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 0 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

July 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, agency-orphanage partnership, Faith, LID vs. SF, medical needs checklist, pre-adoption, referral, shared list, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 0 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 7-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

June 7, 2016 attachment activities, Faith, June 2016 Feature - Books, Newly Home, toddler adoption 0 Comments

I love to read, and was so excited to share that love with our boy when we brought him home. He’s two, so we are reading board books and picture books, and there are tons that feature China themes and Chinese people. We also like books that show both the English and Chinese word for …Read More

June 1, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 3 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

May 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 3 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

March 12, 2016 adopting as first time parents, Blood Conditions, Faith, Family Stories, hemophilia, March 2016 Feature - Blood Conditions, referral, waiting to travel, working mom 6 Comments

After a twenty-minute speech about what our daily routine would entail, followed by a list of possible complications, the Hematologist looked at me pointedly… “You know, it will be a steep learning curve for you all, but you will settle into a routine, and more quickly than you think. You’ll see. He’s just a boy.” …Read More