the road to inspired learning
Our first agency was no-joke with the adoption education. They did an amazing job preparing us for what is to come. I'm not so naive to think we can be thoroughly prepared, but I believe we can prepare. And we should. As much as possible . . . as should all pre-adoptive parents. I don't want to […]
This is the last day of the Picture Books for Adoptive Families Series. I've given you lists for general adoption books, transracial adoption books, and heritage books for children of various cultures. Today, I'm sharing my list of books for Asian heritage children. If you have any questions for me, or if you'd like to […]
Today I'm sharing my favorites for African heritage children. You can read my picks for Latino heritage children in this post. P.S. I am not including my favorite books about the underground railroad, civil war, civil rights, or segregation–though they are numerous. I will save that post for another day. Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers […]
This post may include affiliate links; read my disclosure policy here. For the rest of the week, I will be sharing my picks for Latino, Asian, and African heritage children. I do want to say, though, that if you adopt a child from one heritage you should still own books from the others. Our children […]
Before adoption entered our world, we had bookcases full of picture books. After a year of education and research, you'll find new additions. We've always owned books starring characters from all over the world. But now we have more. Diversity has a deeper importance now because we are choosing to add a child of a […]
I love books. I mean really. I know I should not throw the word love around, but I love books. And I love childrne's books most of all. And I love to give my children books. And I love to read to my children. And they love to read. I might be a little picky about […]
Well-written and beautifully illustrated picture books are at the tippy-top of my list of favorite things in this wide world. Next week I am starting a five day series merging that love with the topic that has consumed me for the past 14 months: adoption. I have spent hours in the library looking for just […]
I wrote this post about a month ago, but never posted it. I decided to finally post. We responded to ICBF in April and have been waiting 8 weeks for a reply. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]
Today's topic is 10 Little Things That Make My Day. I was going to skip this one, but then I got to thinking. As usual, I'm going to bend it a bit. Or maybe a lot. Right now we are in a time of waiting and unknown. Some days are hard, and honestly, my sanity […]
We don't know when we will get a referral. So . . . we don't know when we will travel, but we do know that we will be in Colombia for almost two months. We will need something to do! I'm a resourceful person. I could probably turn some used water bottles and pipe cleaners into a […]
Our agency prepares a service plan for each family, and our service plan required us to read and review a lot of books. I wanted to record some of my thoughts about each book here on the blog to help other adoptive parents who are in the preparation stage. My five favorite books are pictured […]
When I started looking for fundraising ideas last spring, I dreamed of bumping into a list like this. Now that I've baked hundreds of giant cookies, sold fair trade jewelry from around the globe, had the largest garage sale in the history of the world (that may or may not be a slight exaggeration), and […]
What's the best way to figure out the right fundraiser for your family? Pray. Then keep your eyes open. Last June we were up north visiting family, and we went to a European style market. As we were walking through, I remembered chatter on Facebook about an Open Air Market starting up in a nearby […]
I say, "Garage Sale." You sigh. You cry. You plea, "No, not a garage sale!" Let's get the obvious out of the way: It is an insane-crazy-lotta work. It's also insane-crazy-lotta worth it. I spent about 100 hours unpacking, sorting, pricing, and repacking stuff. This was no easy task for me; stuff makes me shudder; […]
When we were looking for our first fundraiser, we needed something that was no-risk. We didn't want to get stuck with 49 leftover t-shirts. Or invest a few hundred dollars we didn't have. Some random Google search landed me at The Apparent Project's website. I had never heard of these bracelets . . . never known anyone […]
In 1994 I arrived on the campus of Liberty University. My friend, who had to get back to Indiana in a hurry, dropped me at the door of The Vines Center one late afternoon in August. I had two suitcases, some bedding, and a garment bag. I walked up to the entrance and my made […]
We have another opportunity to partner with an awesome organization, Threads of Hope, to raise support for two causes at one time (their organization + our adoption). Threads of Hope bracelets are made by families in the Philippines. Please watch this short video to learn more about who they are and what they do. We […]
2013 will be the year of waiting and I don't like waiting Wait. Lord, I can't possibly choose wait as my one word. It's ugly. Can you give me something {anything} else? I like to rush. Hurry. I want things done fast. With furry. Lightning-quick. Speedy. But I know I will have to wait . […]
Note: I took this post down once we were finished selling, but The Kwagala Project is interested in partnering with other adoptive families (hooray!), so I'm adding a few more details and putting it back up! These beads are made by girls and women living at the Kwagala Project in Uganda; these precious lives are […]
Well, we aren't expecting. But we are expecting. Nope, not a baby. But children. From Colombia. Yes, our feet are on the road to adoption! It will be a long walk, and I will chronicle our story here. And we are expecting God to do great things. Please pray for us. I am asking that […]