Melissa | January 28, 2012
If you haven’t done so, I highly recommend reading whatever you read before your child came home again…after the fact. We’re in the middle of 7 weeks of homework for an upcoming training and I just reread a book that I’ve always believed in, The Connected Child: Bring hope and healing to your adoptive family. [...]
Melissa | December 21, 2011
It’s times like these that I really wish there was a better way to be a fly on the wall of our life than this blog. My fear is that typed words cannot paint the picture of the story I want to tell with all its nuances and intricacies. My fear is that it’s really too [...]
Melissa | October 9, 2011
Our long home study interview was today. Each agency and country is different, but this will be 2 of 4 (our orientation meeting at our agency counted as #1).
Again, since each agency and country is different, your interview will probably look a little bit different but this is how ours went today.
Our social worker did [...]
Melissa | October 2, 2011
This is kind of a post-in-progress. We find ourselves with a strong-willed child from a hard place in our home. I’m hoping there are more of you out there.
For our purposes, I’m going to define the key words like this:
Strong-willed: Thrives on conflict. Has difficulty obeying right away…ever. Always fights to be “right.”
From a hard [...]
Melissa | September 17, 2011
Let me preface this post to say that I’m not expert on neuroreorganization. We haven’t even used it in our family…just considered it. However, I am a huge proponent of solutions for kids from hard places that do not include drugs. If nothing else, the research and testimonials for neuroreorganization are compelling and if you’re [...]
Melissa | August 6, 2011
I love technology. I love blogs, email, apps, Google, smartphones…you get the idea.
Did you know webinar technology has made it possible to explore adoption options from the comfort of your own home…for free?!?! I know when families start thinking about adoption, it can be overwhelming and intimidating to actually, phycially step foot in an agency [...]
Melissa | July 30, 2011
More often than not, adoption homecomings come at the end of a lot of agonizing red tape and waiting. Sometimes they mark the end of an infertility journey as well. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate such a joyous occasion?
However, imagine yourself as an infant who emerged into the world only to find you couldn’t find [...]
Melissa | July 29, 2011
I’m currently listening through the Empowered to Connect track of this year’s Summit. The first presentation is Michael and Amy Monroe’s Parenting from the Inside Out.
I’ll be honest. I’ve heard it before. A couple times actually. It convicts me each time. Then I ignore it.
Let me back up. I’ve alluded to their premise before [...]
Melissa | July 16, 2011
Adoptions are often characterized by waiting. You wait for people to get paperwork to you, you wait for a referral, you wait to travel, you wait for your child to adjust.
For most international programs, the majority of wait time is wrapped up in getting a referral. In our area, there’s actually a decent wait to [...]
Melissa | July 2, 2011
Now that we’re a couple months into our second adoption process, I can say that not all agencies are created equal. In our case, I can’t qualify one as better than the other…yet. They’re just different. Our first agency has been around for 60 plus years. They’ve been doing international adoptions for over 30 years. [...]
