May 7th

Their National Adoption Awareness Calendar features ideas and activities that are fun for the whole family. And I am twittering out each tip each day from @scrapbkadoption so be sure to follow me and they will be easy to ReTweet to share with others who care about adoption!

Adoption Day Celebrations

National Adoption Month is an ever evolving month-long celebration of adoption that focuses on the needs of children who are currently awaiting their forever families in the U.S. Foster Care System. If you’d like to learn more about adopting from foster care, please complete the Homestudy Request Form and someone from your local state agency will contact you regarding the next steps required in your area.

Here at ScrapbookMyAdoption.com we have our brand new store open. Come on over for easily shopping and selection, including the Adoption Awareness Month Celebration transparency!

Adoption Awareness Month Scrapbook Page Transparency

Related articles

• November is National Adoption Awareness Month (prweb.com)
• Presidential Proclamation for National Adoption Month – November (chicagonow.com)

All children have a desire to hear how they became a part of their family. Children who are adopted provide parents with a unique opportunity to intentionally tell the story of how God brought mom, dad and child together.

“Adopted and Loved Forever” by Annetta E. Dellinger is a delightful chance to introduce children to the gift of how God works out his plans for our lives, as well as increase their own sense of belonging by seeing their story in print.

As with any adoption book some people love it and some do not. There is a constant conversation in the adoption community about terms such as “natural parents.” Or do you show photos of a child who is the same ethnicity or different. Is the child born in the USA or another country? Does the child meet the parents at the airport in the USA or do the parents fly to the other country and pick the child up?

You will never find the perfect book that tells your child’s story exactly as it is, which is why it is important to create an adoption scrapbook album or lifebook that does that. But other books on adoption like this are wonderful supplemental stories that share about the many ways adoption brings families together.

In comparison to a personalized lifebooks parents help put together (for example, LifeBooks : Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child)or a book like the Adoption Scrapbook Baby Album that make a child feel “special,” adoption books such as “Adopted and Loved Forever” by Annetta E. Dellinger and Janet McDonnell (Hardcover – Jan. 1, 2009) remind a child that she or he is not alone–many families are made through this process called adoption and although they are special, they are not “weird” in any way. They are part of an amazing, blessed group of people who have changed our world.

As an adoptive mom I was elated to finally discover a book that so closely resembled our family’s adoption story. Having it Christian- based is a wonderful bonus. The illustrations are comforting and not corny. I liked the tone of the book.

In reading the variety of reviews of this book I was reminded again how –even as parents–we desire to see OUR story, as well as our children’s story, in a book. It gives it credibility. It makes it real. It tells your child, “if this is in a book, we really are a forever family.” But every adoption story is completely unique, and for those who have adopted more than one child, you know that each child’s story is unique as well. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to finding the perfect adoption book, because some piece of it will not be exactly like our story was or is. I find is heart-breaking to see adoptive moms say a book is lacking just because it doesn’t represent their story perfectly.

Which is another reason to create your own over at ScrapbookMyAdoption.com [hint, hint]

But I can tell you that I personally liked this book and it will quickly become a treasured book in our home.

Adoption Transparency for your Adoption Scrapbook

One a diet? Well, if you need an excuse to go to Wendy’s and get a Frostie, this weekend is it! Or, if you want to stick to the diet, you can send a virtual frosty out and still help raise some money for this awesome organization.

This week is the annual fundraiser for the Dave Thomas Foundation, founder of Wendy’s hamburgers. According to the foundation, 123,000 U.S. children are in foster care ready and waiting to be adopted. These children have all been removed from their homes due to reasons such as child abuse, neglect or abandonment. They just want a family.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption works on behalf of these children, “because we believe every child deserves a permanent home and loving family.”

Each year on Father’s Day (and the Saturday before, June 19 & 20th) you can get a Frostie at Wendy’s hamburgers and the proceeds go to support the Dave Thomas Foundation. What better reason than to splurge on a chocolate shake?

From June 7 through June 20, you can even help the foundation “virtually” however, by spreading the word. If you are on Facebook every time you “treat it forward” $.50 will be donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation by Wendy’s. You can also send your friends are virtual frosty! As I’m writing this nearly $25,000 has been given through this Facebook application alone.

Settle In Adoption Foster Care Transparecy Scrapbook Overlay

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• The World Celebrates Father’s Day, How Do Kids Without a Father Cope? (pamil-visions.net)
• Father’s Day Frosty Weekend: Treat Dad to a Father’s Day Frosty and Help Change the Lives of Children in Foster Care (newswire.ca)
• Wendy’s Goes Social: Frosty Style (socialtimes.com)

Adoptive Families Magazine recently had an excellent article on how to pack for traveling to the destination to pick up your child!

For domestic adoptive parents, the call to travel to meet their child doesn’t often come with much warning. In a recent AF poll of domestic adoptive families, 18 percent of you said you had less than one week to prepare, and 28 percent had to travel at a moment’s notice, because the call came after your child was born. But last-minute travel logistics aside, it is an overwhelmingly emotional time. Will this match work out? Will we really be parents in a few days? How do we care for a newborn? Prospective parents often admit to being reluctant to prepare for the trip, for fear of jinxing the situation or getting their hopes too high. >Read more here “Trip of a Lifetime:Tips for–and from–domestic adoptive parents on preparing for the emotional journey to meet your child.”

It can be quite an emotional time and I remember all those mixed feelings quite well. Do you have any tips to pass along to other parents who are adopting?

We're Going to Meet Our Baby!

The Hotel Where We Stayed

Moms and dads across the country are now looking for ways to tell the world that they are thrilled with the children they adopted from the former Soviet Union. They’re banding together to ask Russia to stop punishing the thousands of childless couples in line, just waiting to bring their new son or daughter home, and lift the ban on U.S.- Russian adoptions.

Adoptive parents are coming together from all parts of the U.S. to tell their stories to anyone who will listen. Radio and television media, social networking websites, and print mediums are all abuzz with the Russian adoption success stories of ordinary people who did not once think of packing their bundles of joy onto an international flight with a note pinned to their jackets saying effectively, “return to sender.”

My husband and I are one such couple – happy, ecstatic and thrilled with the children of our Russian adoption – and we want to help others achieve such an uplifting, life-changing experience. Considering the recent controversy regarding Russian adoption we, like so many other couples, are offering our journey as an example of success and hope.

Russian Adoption - Scrapbook Transparency

We are the proud parents of two of the most perfect boys adopted from Russia. Although our Russian adoption success story started with tragedy, it found its way toward a fairytale ending. After losing twin boys from an in-vitro pregnancy at 19 weeks, and then undergoing two more failed IVF procedures after that, we needed time to recover emotionally. It was during this time of healing that we decided that adoption was our calling as parents.

We initially received conflicting information regarding various aspects of foreign adoption, including Russian adoption. But we found that each agency has its own guidelines and specifications. After much determined research (mostly on the internet) we fortunately found an excellent adoption agency 3000 miles away from our home. The agency, based in California, had Russian babies available for adoption. Since we had already completed our state-required “homestudy” process and were approved as adoptive parents, we were immediately e-mailed photos of the two little baby boys that are now our sons. The process was quick and scary… we signed contracts, mailed checks and, after extensive paperwork, were off on our first trip to Siberia, Russia.

Although the trip was an emotional roller coaster, we met and welcomed these two emaciated and frightened babies as our sons. We wanted to take them home with us immediately, so knowing we had to leave them in that sad, desolate place and return to the U.S. to complete more paperwork was the worst feeling in the world. Fortunately, within two months, we were back on our second trip to Russia and we met with the judge who awarded us custody of our children. Two more weeks in Moscow to finish more paperwork was exhausting and stressful, but most of all it was a bonding experience because our two beautiful baby boys were with us all the time. Finally, touching ground at JFK airport in NYC was the happiest moment of our lives. Just knowing that our boys were not only officially ours but also US citizens gave us immeasurable satisfaction.

After an adjustment period, our boys Dylan and Hunter began thriving. These beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed boys are not only intelligent and athletic, but most of all happy. They are our pride and joy. We are extremely fortunate to have been eligible for a Russian adoption. We plan to give our sons the gift of having every opportunity to grow into wonderful young men. But the gift these boys have given us is the most priceless of all, the gift of being a family.

We urge you to come forward with your Russian adoption success story – tell it to the U.S. media and tell them to tell it to the Russian government. By sharing our journeys, we can help others achieve their dream of having a Russian adoption success story to share for a lifetime.

Dr. Richard and Sharon Simons – www.momatlast.com

Hi, I’m Sharon Simons. I am a mom at long last. When my husband and I could not conceive naturally, we turned to in vitro fertilization. After 3 unsuccessful attempts, it seemed we would never get the opportunity to be parents. Finally, we decided to adopt and, after a couple of trips to Russia, came home with two beautiful baby boys that I would not trade for the world! Read my story and that of others at MomAtLast.com about new moms stories, IVF support and adoption success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Simons

China International Adoption Scrapbook Transparency

First Fridays China Adoption Journey is a Christian ministry that was founded by Dan and Susan Chapman of Acworth, Georgia after the adoption of their daughter Mimi four years ago. Dan and Susan realized how much they needed the support of their family during (and after!) the journey of adoption process. Plus, they were delighted to find that there was an amazing “community” of people who were adopting or had adopted a child from China.

Their web site shares the following about their organization:

The purpose of First Fridays is to bring together mentors and families who are in the process of adopting. The gatherings provide you with a fun place to connect, learn about China adoption preparation, find support, and have a good time throughout the entire adoption process. You will meet other like-minded people who are in the “waiting” period of the adoption process or who have already adopted. By attending the First Fridays gatherings, you and your family will grow and learn from other families who have already traveled the adoption journey.

At FirstFridaysChina.com you will discover all sorts of information about the adoption process, China travel and agency resources. Perhaps most important however, is that you may also request prayer, and connect with other families. You will hear wonderful stories about how their children changed their lives!