Minnesota Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Mike & Jess

Introducing Minnesota Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Mike & Jess. They are with Catholic Charities of Winona MN in Rochester, MN.  You can view their profile on parentfinder.com here http://www.parentfinder.com/MikeandJess

 

 

Would you like to become a Featured Member to raise your visibility? Click below for more information. http://www.parentfinder.com/page/membership_matrix

Talking about adoption

Closed, semi-open and open adoptions; As you talk about adoption, build and revise your profile, that topic is always on the radar.  For many adoptive parents talking about adoption with their child is as uncomfortable as talking about sex.  Yet the conversation is important because as your child grows a strong sense of self is so important.  Starting that discussion early can set the stage for open dialog as your child enters their teen years.  How helpful it is to know “that” discussion isn’t looming on the horizon.  How helpful it is to a teenager to know they can have frank discussions with their parents.  Trust me. I’ve been there…three times.



Your Adoption Journal

Monday is a great day to update your adoption journal with your activities from the weekend.

Here’s an example.

This July our vegetable garden is overflowing with green beans.  So far I have picked twelve gallons.  Raising 3 biological children my wife and I made our own baby food with vegetables from our garden.  We used butternut squash, broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and apples.  Using a small food processor we would puree the veggies after blanching or baking them.  Then we would freeze them in small containers.  It’s convenient, nutritious, and pure. 

This weekend I canned 6 quarts of green beans for use in the winter.  We also eat them fresh sautéing them with onions or blanching them then serving with a dash of salt and butter.

Your Adoption Journal - help

Two years ago we bought a bee hive and bees from Purdue University.  Two of our neighbors have hives.  Thinking it would be good for our flowers, fruit trees, and garden we were excited to watch them work and grow.  Now we have three hives. Last week Keely harvested about 50 pounds of honey from one of the hives.  She spun it from the honey comb, filtered out the chunks of wax, and we ended up with 20 pints of honey.  We’ll use some and give some to friends and family.  We don't live on a farm.  This all happens in a quiet neighborhood fifteen minutes from downtown.

If that were an Adoption Journal entry it took me 5 minutes to write.  It is 107 words in length.  It goes right along with other entries I’ve made about our flower gardens, veggie garden, and our yard.  It’s a snap shot of Greg & Keely’s life that paints a picture, but didn't take that long to capture. 

 

 

Thursday - feeling inspired

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain.

Kentucky Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Heather & Jess

Introducing Kentucky Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Heather & Jess. They are with Heart To Home Adoption in Lexington, KY.  You can view their profile on parentfinder.com here

http:// www.parentfinder.com/HeatherJess

 

 

 

Would you like to become a Featured Member to raise your visibility? Click below for more information. http://www.parentfinder.com/page/membership_matrix

Your Adoption Journal - gaining wisdom from older generations

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why.- Mark Twain  

 Drawing from the wisdom of older generations is a great way to gain perspective. It helps me to find my center and enrich my life.

 

Reflecting on Monday - Your Adoption Journal

Nurturing our girls as babies, I created this plan in my mind of everything I wanted to teach them. Developing their own identities, personalities, likes and dislikes as they grew, one day I realized that for all I wanted to share with them, they’ve shown me more.  Becoming my little teachers they enriched my life beyond any dream real or imagined.  Rather than imposing my beliefs on what they should do, I let them guide me to their passion.  Then I helped them make it happen.

Your Adoption Journal

The creation of a thousand forests is one acorn -  Ralph Waldo Emerson

I like this quote because it applies to ideas too...like the ones you share in your adoption journal.
It always starts with that first step.  That's when you make it real.  One step after another makes it happen.  Capturing who your are, bit by bit, makes you real and increases the opportunity that a birth mom will read your journal and connect with you.

Your Adoption Journal

A creek flowed through the neighborhood where I grew up.  It was wide with shallow rock filled rapids, sandy bottom with calm water,  and deep boulder lined holes that held big fish and adventure.  When I was young, I would wade in the shallows with my mother.  Pausing to let me lift rocks she let me discover crawdads, little minnows, and a passion for nature that grew throughout my life.  I share that love with my kids. 
What memories from childhood do you hold dear?  Times that were so special they call you to be passed along to a new generation?  You should share that in an Adoption Journal entry.

Illinois Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Tom & Agnes

Introducing Illinois Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Tom & Agnes. They are with A Catholic Charities of Chicago IL.  You can view their profile on parentfinder.com here

http:// www.parentfinder.com/agnes_tom

 

 

Would you like to become a Featured Member to raise your visibility? Click below for more information. http://www.parentfinder.com/page/membership_matrix

Hopeful Adoptive Parent Profiles

"Your own words are the bricks and mortar of the dreams you want to realize. Your words are the greatest power you have. The words you choose and their use establish the life you experience".
- Sonia Choquette.

I saw this quote and immediately thought about hopeful adoptive parent profiles. Just how much every description, every thought that makes you unique...matters in a beautiful way.

 

Your adoption profile - Journaling

Sunday I worked in our vegetable garden weeding around our tomato plants and picking 3 gallons of green beans.  Late in the afternoon I cut one of our heads of cabbage and some thyme from our herb garden.  Cutting the head of cabbage in half, I saved half in the fridge for dinner Monday and used the other half for braised pork with cabbage and carets Sunday night.  The thyme goes in at the last minute for an added bouquet of flavor.  We serve it over pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese. (I was born with what’s called an intention tremor.  My hand shakes too much to take a good photo)

Think about your adoption journal.  What did you do over the weekend that you’d like to share?

Wisconsin Hopeful Adoptive Couple Eric & Lauralei

Introducing Wisconsin Hopeful Adoptive Parents, Eric & Lauralei. They are adopting independently.  You can view their profile on parentfinder.com here:

www.parentfinder.com/ericandlauraleiadopt

 

 

Would you like to become a Featured Member to raise your visibility? Click below for more information. http://www.parentfinder.com/page/membership_matrix

Your Adoption Journal & Social Media

How do you reach a bigger audience, by casting a wider net.  Don’t underestimate the power of social media and a few well-placed words that help an expectant mom gain insight into who you are as an adoptive parent.  Not into social media or blogging?  Not sure how to use twitter effectively? Call us.  We help families like you every day.

Miracles

Miracles happen every day.  Bearing witness depends on your ability to recognize tiny messages, your willingness to have an open mind and your ability see with your heart.

Your Adoption Journal

Sometimes it's the little things you do that have the greatest impact.
Seizing the moment, my daughter captured this picture over the lake
as we were boating over the weekend.  She called it, “The Rainbow Cloud”.
Later that day she sent the picture to me in a text. 
The spectacle of nature’s art, captured by a gift I treasure.
A nice reminder of a wonderful afternoon.

Your Adoption Journal

Landscaping our yard is something my wife and I plan each year.  We were married on earth day.  Each year our anniversary is spent at the nursery buying plants and talking about beautifying part of our yard.  We have a master plan for the whole yard.  We pick a small part and plant for it each spring.  Here is a shot of one of our beds in the back yard.  You can see it in the spring and fall. 
We want our yard to have color spring summer and fall.  So we think about different plants, their blooms, fruit, and fall foliage. 
Our yard also hosts kickball games, hide and seek, trees for climbing, fruit to eat, flowers for bouquets, butterflies, and bees.  When the blooms die the seeds attract songbirds.  Our yard is our sanctuary, playground, and we use it to attract nature.  Think about your Adoption Journal.   Tell us about your yard and family plans.

Your Adoption Journal

The week of July 4th is a time that brings our family together at my mom’s house on a lake in the northern part of Indiana. Our family has spent summers on this lake for 4 generations. I’m the father and uncle taking daughters and nieces ...skiing and tubing. We have a raft that we push to the drop off and make silly dives into the deep water. I drive the boat to watch fireworks launched over the lake. Does the 4th of July represent family tradition for you? If so write a journal post describing your traditions and what you hope to show a new generation.