Some of the worst times in life are when we feel like we are alone. When we are up against the unknown and don’t know what to do or where to turn to, finding out that there are others who have been through the same thing, and know how you feel. Just knowing that there are others out there who share similar experiences and feelings can be a huge relief for new stepparents, or for stepparents who are facing challenges that they do not know how to deal with.

TheStepfamilyLife.com has a wonderful list of blogs about stepfamilies and step... more

My youngest son just turned five-years-old this weekend. Not only did he have a great party at Chuck E. Cheese with all of his little friends, and get his very own bicycle amongst a slue of other cool toys, but he also got to sign up to play soccer! It just so happened that the team that his little friend is on, was short a player. Since the boy’s parents are good friends of ours, and they coach the team, we were... more

Ah Mother’s Day, one of the absolutely most dreaded days of the year in the world of older child adoption. A day that signifies the importance of having a mother in our lives, and to honor her for all that she lovingly does for her family, as well as a day for children who were adopted at an older age to look back into the past, and to feel that deep pain and loss of a mother who is no longer in their lives.

Many adopted children dread... more

So far, the week leading up to Mother’s Day, has been extremely uneventful. Usually by now we would have received calls home from the school, either unhappy with his performance, or behavior, as well as being frustrated by inappropriate behaviors at home. Yet this year, after the first experience of wonderful fall and winter holidays, again... more

Ah yes, the very looked forward to, as well as the very dreaded holiday for many adoptive parents and families. Before we have our children, we look forward to the day when we can celebrate with our kids, to the one-day a year that they will step back and appreciate what it is that we do for them on a daily basis. And then we have kids, and realize that all that dreaming was just... more

No, not in the house or the children’s rooms this time, it’s my blog that is in need of some tidying up! We are in the midst of a little bit of spring-cleaning here at adoptionblogs.com so things may look a little different than you are used to. New categories to this blog are going to be added, while there may be some that disappear. Don’t worry about the articles, none of them are going to be deleted, but many of them are going to be moved around to different categories and sub-categories so in... more

Finally completing a stepparent adoption is a joyous occasion for the entire family. After going through the pain, heartache, and frustration of a parent who does not wish to be in their child’s life, for one reason or another, as well as jumping through one legal hoop after another to complete the adoption, having an end in sight, something good to look forward to, is a wondrous release and certainly a reason to celebrate!

When children are born, parents send out birth announcements. Excited with their new addition to their family,... more

Today I spent the morning reading through my old journals. I had the intention initially, of just flipping through one of them, but ended up reading page after page, and then pulling out the next journal, and reading that one almost cover to cover as well. It was interesting to look back on life, and read events that I had forgotten about, and look at my emotions at the time, versus how I feel about things now. There were events that I still felt very much the same over, but there were... more

Two years. Two years ago today, after hounding the courthouse with three calls a day for about a week, we finally heard the news that we had been waiting with baited breath to hear, the judge had signed the papers, everything was legal, finished, and final! Two years ago today my stepson, became my son, and it still gives me chills up and down my arms to think about that phone call with the clerk, whom I had gotten to know quite well from my oh so frequent calls, when she told me that the... more

Tomorrow, along with a few inches of snow and bitter cold that will be waiting for us in the morning; we will have bigger and better things to distract us. Tomorrow is the adoption anniversary for our family. Sometimes referred to as our family birthday, we are all very much looking forward to the day. With the snow coming, my adopted stepson may have the day off from school, which is wonderful! We will be able to be together as a family and celebrate all day long. And while I am not happy about... more