Parenting After Adoption

My children are: Z (8), L (7), K (6), R (6), C (5) and D (3). Z, K and D were born into our family, L joined us almost two years ago, and R & C are waiting for their adoptions to be completed so they can join us, too. (more…)

I am the new blogger here at Parenting the Adopted. I am checking out everything and getting settled. I edited my bio so you can learn a little more about me. I’ve read through quite a bit of what Marci has already posted. I will attempt to continue where she left off while adding my own voice and experience. As a quick bio: I am a 30-something mother of four going on six. Three of my children came into our family via birth, one came through adoption, and two will hopefully arrive by the end of the year. My six children range in age from almost 4 to almost 9.

© Copyright 2007 Rebecca Wilson. All Rights Reserved.
Used with permission.

This site is currently in need of a writer. If you have any interest in writing on the topic this site covers, feel free to submit an application at 451 Press. Thank you.

451 Press, Adoption, Writers Needed

I have decided to leave my position here. I am in the process of beginning in home childcare and I just don’t feel I have the time and attention this site needs. I am sad to go because I feel like I still have a lot to say! It has been wonderful writing for this short time and I have enjoyed all the comments and feedback I have received. I will miss my readers, but I need to focus on my husband, my son, and my new little business. I am sure you all understand. Thanks for supporting me!

Today I will touch briefly on the adoption tax credit. I do want to preface this by saying I am not an accountant and have not yet even been able to claim mine, so please consult a tax professional about this and don’t just take my word!

A lot of agencies quote you a price after the tax credit. For instance, they will say an average adoption costs 15-18k, approximately 4-7k after the credit. This makes it sound so much more affordable. Here is the catch: you still have to pay the full amount up front and then wait and claim the credit. And a lot of people cannot claim the full credit at one time. (more…)

I promise, only a few more days of the letter A!

Today I will cover two A’s. They are not really intertwined, yet they both have slightly shorter explanations. The first is alcohol. (more…)

Today I will be covering advertising. Some prospective adoptive parents choose to search for an expectant woman on their own, rather than through an agency, attorney, or facilitator. Some also choose to search in addition to working with another entity. When looking on their own, they have to advertise. This can mean many things. (more…)

Okay, here it is. The promised adoptee blog! This week I am featuring a blog that is new to me. I have several friends who read this blog and I have, from time to time, looked at it. I just went back and read through several posts in an attempt to catch myself up. The blog is Ungrateful Little Bastard. (more…)

Today I will tackle two more A words. These are both methods of adopting. The first is agency. From my personal experience, most people choose to use an agency. In domestic, they give feedback on your profile, advise you as to how to advertise and network on your own, and give support. They also do most of the work. For example, we worked with an agency. They did our home study. They did our profile. (I think they want all to be equal so one artistic family is not chosen immediately while a non-artistic family waits for years.) Then they looked for potential birth moms to show our profile to. (more…)

Today I am officially beginning my ABC’s series. A will take me a few days because there are a lot of terms to cover that begin with A. The first is, of course, adopt and all its derivatives. I covered in a previous post that adopt is a verb, not an adjective. So, I will not repeat myself here! (more…)

Today is my first Fourth of July as a mother. Last year we had friends over for a cook-out and to watch fireworks. This year, we will sit in our drive way with a baby monitor in our laps catching whatever fireworks reach our home. We are so truly blessed!

One year ago, I had no idea my life was about to change forever. (more…)

I am beginning a new series called ABC’s of Adoption. I will work through the alphabet one letter at a time explaining and exploring everything adoption. Some letters will need more than one day as there are a lot of words beginning with the same letter. (A is one example.) Other letters, I will be stretching to find anything to fit.

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This week’s Monday Manifesto is another birth mother blog. (I promise to get to some adoptee blogs, but I figured it would be easiest to start with the blogs I regularly read, so this is what you get!) (more…)