With Father’s day just around the corner, many parents are excited and ready to celebrate, but holidays such as these, can be very hard on an adopted child. With the media storm circling around the holiday, whiles stores stock up on every item for Dad’s special day, with advertisements everywhere you look, along with date reminders on everything from the internet to billboards, there is virtually no escape for the child, on what very well could be a very touchy, and in fact hurtful subject for him, or her.

Holidays such as Mother’s Day, and Father’s... more

To read Part One of this story please click HERE

The counselor that we have found after our move has been an absolute angel for our family. She has helped each and everyone of us so much, that there is no way that we could ever repay her, or say enough 'thank yous' to her. My adopted stepson has grown so much this past year, and made so many leaps and bounds in so many areas that it has been wonderful to watch, as well as be a part of. Having him on medication... more

My adopted stepson has just finished up his last year of middle school. It is hard to believe that he will be in high school in just a few short months. While our relationship is strained at the moment due to my simply being burned out dealing with behavioral issues on a day-to-day basis, I am doing my best to see this summer vacation as an opportunity to bond with him, and not as a stress ridden few months.

While his behavior is always better when he does not have to deal with the stress of school, since he has poor social skills, and is an easy target for... more

To Read Part One Please Click Here

He even relaxed his shoulders as I rubbed the cool gel on his back, and both of us could feel that the tension between us was fading away. I have had the pleasure of being requested to rub lotion on him a total of three times so far, and it couldn’t make me happier. We spend the majority of the day cleaning out, and organizing his closet together, talking, joking, and finally acting as a true family.

Now when I look at him,... more

Yes that is right, a pretty pink sunburn all over my adopted stepson is what was finally able to break the invisible wall of uncertainty that the two of us had build up around one and other. I, afraid that he would reject me as his mother figure, withdrew from him in order to protect myself from getting hurt. He, scared that I would not accept him as a true son, held himself away from me, never allowing me a peek inside the real him.

The two of us had become locked into a circle of mistrust, and fear. The two of us, each too fearful to extend the first olive... more

The condition of a marriage is the foundation for the health, and well being of the family, holding it together, and giving each member of the family a place from which to draw strength from. If the foundation begins to crumble, so shall the family shortly follow in tow. Children can pick up on tensions and feelings between parents, even when things are being left unsaid.

Below you will find the many benefits for all, in keeping a happy and healthy marriage alive. Children need a strong foundation to stand on, but the benefits for the parents are just as... more

Well once, again I was going to write something very different today, but the mood just didn’t strike me. My husband has to work late tonight, and because we live so far away from his office, he may end up just sleeping for a few hours at work, once he finishes up, and then start his day tomorrow already at work.

I have had my hands full all day with the kids. Luckily for me, both boys are very well behaved, but it has still been stressful since I haven’t felt well all day. I have had a horrible headache all day, and no matter what I try to do, it... more

I came across this little list on the National Clearinghouse On Child Abuse and Neglect Information. I thought that it was a wonderful list, especially for adoptive families who are dealing with older, emotionally damaged children who have a hard time with the words “I love you.” This list shows both parents and children how to say and show each other that each member of the family is loved and cared for in many different ways. By having so many different ways to show and say “I love you,” there... more

It can be very hard to get emotionally damaged children to open up and get their feelings and emotions out. When questioned about their feelings they tend to stonewall, and spit out short one word answers, usually “no,” and “fine,” and if you are lucky you will get the favored “I don’t know” with a blank stare, response.

Emotionally damaged children do not trust others. They see opening up as unsafe, which is why they are so good at clamming up. As parents we know that those feelings, emotions, and pain must come out, and it can be extremely frustrating as well... more

One of the downfalls that adoptive stepparents are faced with, when coming into an already made family, is that they have missed out on a number of years of the child, or children’s life. Years of the child growing, learning, laughing, and making memories, are only stories to hear, and pictures to see for the adoptive stepparent. The child already has a partial history that was spent without the adoptive stepparent, and now the adoptive stepparent has to somehow merge him or herself into that child’s history.

It is important for the adoptive stepparent to make memories... more