I have written previously on selecting an agency, and I have highlighted the obvious advantages of using a large, reputable agency.

This week I learned a little lesson. While normally it is to your advantage to use a large agency, there are some special situations where a large agency isn't always best.

Of course there is the obvious. With so many clients, you risk becoming a number, a file, without a face or feelings attached. You may find communication difficult with the agency servicing so many different clients.

What hit me over the head like a ton of bricks this week is that with special needs adoptions, a large agency may not always be best. Why? There are... more

Today I was reading through some of the posts on the Kazakhstan Adoption Forum, and there was a comment about this blog. Someone simply asked, what is a blog?

I think I have probably made an improper assumption that everyone is as tech-savy as the kind folks who host this blog. Quite frankly, I am not. They tell me what functions to use and I do it, but up until a few months before I started writing this blog, I didn't even know what one was.

Today's post also reminded me that those new to adoption probably aren't familiar with alot of the abbreviations and adoption terms that get tossed around. I put together... more

One of my best friends is an excellent mother, and child psychologist. Before we adopted our son, I met with her and talked about some areas of parenting an infant I had questions about. My friend is very knowledgeable on child development, and she gave me the following tips on parenting an infant that I would like to pass on to you all, maybe someone will find this helpful.

BABY ITEMS AND NOTES

1. Booster Chair-use at around 9 months, look for one that reclines 2. Bottles-Avent are good to prevent gas 3. Nipples-regular and cereal 4. Cereal-Gerber-start with rice 5. Snugli-to promote bonding 6. Baby Foods-start with single foods, starting with... more

As many of you know, I am a big fan of the Kazakhstan Adoptive Families Website, especially the Families section. In this section you will find link to individual family websites that detail their adoption journey.

Unfortunately, there are not as many recent links as I would like to see. I don't know if it is due to the delay last fall or other factors, but even with the delay last fall, we should be seeing more families travelling. The Kokshetau region seems to be processing pretty smoothly.

If you and your family have recently travelled to Kazakhstan, or will be travelling in the next year, could you please take... more

Well, the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. You have checked your email no less than one thousand times per day, checked your home phone messages from work and work messages from home, and called your agency almost daily to check if that coveted LOI has arrived. And today, you got the call!!! You are leaving in a matter of a week or two, and it's time to set the wheels in motion!

Now, if you have read some of my previous posts, you know that there were plenty of ideas out there meant to help pass the time until your LOI arrived, but that doesn't mean you got it all done. I found the period from LOI to travel extremely busy, trying to make travel arrangements,... more

Today I am starting a new category on this blog. This morning I was glancing through the various posts on the Kazakhstan Adoption Forum, and I realized that many of the questions that were being asked have been previously covered by my blog, and those issues that haven't merit some discussion. So, once a week, I am going to scan the posts and questions over at the forum, and dedicate a post on here to answering those questions. Certainly, I am not an agency representative, nor am I a representative of any State government or Federal government. Obviously, those people are the final source of authority on many issues. But I... more

This title isn't meant to shock anyone. I really do consider our family's infertility a gift. A very big one.

Today, my husband and I were reflecting on how fate really saw us through to our son. Literally, I saw his face and knew he would be ours. We then started working backwards through our lives...and concluded with, wow, if we hadn't been infertile, how much we would have missed.

Of course, the most obvious gift and blessing from infertility is our adopted son. That goes almost without saying I think. But beyond... more

Ah, yet another celebrity has decided she will likely adopt. MSN is reporting that Halle Berry will likely adopt in addition to having biological children. Berry is the latest in a string of celebrities to complete international adoptions. Here is the list included in the MSN article, some of these are recent adoptions, some are not:

Angelina Jolie-adopted Maddox from Cambodia, and Zahara from Ethiopia Meg Ryan-adopted a daughter from China Hugh... more

As any adoptive parent will tell you, the worst part of the adoption process is the wait. It is unpredictable, frustrating, and draining. Many times, we are told to expect X by a certain date, and it simply doesn't happen. We are quick to search for someone or something to blame. The truth is, with international adoption, there are always delays, and there is little we can do about it.

Now that we are in the middle of our second adoption, I decided to take a second to reflect on how different my emotions are towards the "wait" now that we have been through an international adoption. Of course there is the obvious: I have a two year old boy to occupy my time. But beyond that, knowing... more

Well, tonight is the night. Our son turned two a week ago, and we decided to give the "Big Boy Bed" a try.

Now mind you, we didn't just jump into this without any forethought. Oh no. We researched this transition in our various baby and toddler books. We started a few weeks ago by simply putting his big boy mattress on the floor, next to his crib, and read books in it nightly. Then, we started snuggling with him in it until he fell asleep, but putting him back in the crib (we were worried he would wander around at night). But... more