Adoption Blog

Be Bold or Go Home

Life as a visible family can be challenging, but it's never dull

Teaching Kids to Care

The terrible earthquake in Haiti prompts one mom to consider what her kids have learned about giving -- and what they have to teach her about generosity.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Being There

Lessons about bigotry and racial discrimination are ones I'd just assume my children never learn. But, in the end, it's better we tackle them together.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 3 months, 2 weeks ago
When Mommy Gets the Flu

When I caught the swine flu recently, our children's old memories and lingering fears of parental trauma rose again to the surface.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 4 months ago
The Reluctant Soccer Mom

On that soccer field full of 8-year-olds, I found no trace of the pale, thin, worried little girl we brought home from India almost three years ago.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Our Sacred Responsibility

It's clear that letting D. go to a more attentive home had to be one of the better choices Anita Tedaldi made in the course of her adoption journey.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 5 months ago
The Sanjaya Problem

We never considered changing the kids' names. Those beautiful names belonged to them, and their identities were already formed when we adopted them... we just never anticipated the Sanjaya problem.
- Posted by Sharon Van Epps 5 months, 2 weeks ago
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California

I have recently adopted or am adopting from...
Ethiopia, India

What’s True and Not
from The Yin and the Yang
She pouts a little looking at Jonathan, Kathryn, and me. "You are Americans. I am the Chinese." She sounds lonely. A player without a team.
Celebrating Family Anniversaries
from Straight to Bunk Beds
"We know that this is something we want to celebrate, but we are still trying to decide exactly how. We know there are many ways to mark this big milestone... We have read about gotcha days, family birthdays, and the like. But for some reason, none of them really feel…
A Birthmom Picked Us
from Inconceivable Family
Anna stopped being a theory and started to become a younger sister, a real baby, an honest adoption story. The pieces took shape and my heart beat faster. I remember very little of the details to our conversation, but I recall with incredibly accuracy the way my jaw felt paralyzed,…
Double Bind
from The Yin and the Yang
I walk a fine line of parenting with my daughter who came from far away. I am on the lookout for what may get overlooked, for what may lie beneath the surface, for what may need some extra care. It is a delicate balance between too much and not enough.
First Weeks of Motherhood
from Painting the Nursery
I think the disappointments we faced with miscarriages and the failed adoptions really prepared us for whatever parental challenges are ahead of us.