First-time parent at 41? If this is my mid-life crisis, I couldn’t have hoped for a sweeter one.
“Thankfully, My Son’s Personality Didn’t Come from Me”
When people have kids, they are often hoping their child will be just like them. In our case, we’re happy our son has beautiful characteristics that are all his own.
“Mr. Tooth Fairy”
We had known about this tooth for many years, before we even met our daughter.
Music Is Our Family Tradition
We’ve been discussing family traditions lately. The other night at dinner, our 10-year-old, Yakob, said, “You know, we should have family movie night. We could each pick a movie to watch.”
“The Longest Mile”
“It’s been almost five months and my husband and I are still in labor. The pregnancy was even longer—twelve months. When will this baby come, we ask ourselves.”
“Family Is Now”
What if my daughter doesn’t choose me? What if she grows up and moves to live near her other mom—her birth mom? I think about that and I get scared. Then I think, so what if she does? I can’t worry about that; I can only parent now.
2016 Cover Photo Contest Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Adoptive Families Cover Photo Contest! See the nine photos selected from more than 1,000 entries, and read stories from the proud parents.
“Front Porch Children”
Being a foster parent is not for the faint of heart. Your heart swells, loves, breaks, and heals with each placement—and it is all, every moment of it, worth it.
“We Are All Adopted”
From my own search for my roots through adopting older children from foster care, life has taught me to treasure my children’s biological connections while knowing that we don’t have to look alike to belong together.
“Logging On for Love”
Many of us wonder if the Internet is the adoption wave of the future. Here’s one family’s story.
“Finding My Place in the Family”
Though society doesn’t know what to do with birth mothers, I knew I had a place with my son’s parents. At his second birthday party, I learned that I had a place with their family, too.
“Adoption Is Not Second Best”
Near-strangers feel compelled to tell me about friends who got pregnant after adopting and say, “There’s still hope….” But I don’t hope for a biological child; I hope for a healthy relationship with my two kids.
“For the Love of My Child”
When Elizabeth was young, closed adoption was comfortable. But my outlook changed the day my teenage daughter said, “I want to find them.”
“My Child, Myself”
What do we teach our children, and what are the born knowing?
“A Birthday Gift for Grace”
It wasn’t until my daughter’s first birthday that it hit me: I was grieving her birth mom’s loss. With that realization, I was able to celebrate as she would have wanted.
“Sweet Sand”
After a late-summer day at the beach led to wistful new questions, this mom learned that talking about adoption with her child isn’t always straightforward.
“Bonding with My Teen in the Baby Department”
My daughter came to me at nine years old, so neither of us knows what she looked like as a baby, but walking these aisles is a way for us to recreate what we both lost.
“An Unexpected Family”
For eight years, my wife and I watched our chances of having a baby evaporate. Then our eleven-year-old niece came to live with us, bringing with her a bittersweet deliverance.
“Let’s Be Fair”
At nine, my daughter is becoming aware of the many ways in which the world is unjust, and is doing her part to promote fairness where she can.
Listen to the Children
A callous foster care system deprived her of parents and siblings and gave precious little in return.