Janelle @AdoptionToLife pairs up with Richard @Adoption.Adventures for a back-and-forth on what we’ve learned from adopting an older child from foster care in our respective countries.
Category: Trauma
I’d thought… one day, when the “story” is done being written… I could help the next person. Encourage them. Strengthen them. And so on. But now, what I’ve learned is that EVEN in the middle of the chapter… even when we are about to turn a page that will surprise us all… my story matters NOW.
Stomach pangs from hunger were familiar. Emptiness was familiar. …But I couldn’t feed him. Mealtimes still felt like hostage negotiations; “Take a bite AND chew, and we’ll fly in your escape helicopter filled with bags of cash!!”
Though I don’t have a toddler, listening to Natasha Daniels, host of Anxious Toddlers Parenting (AT Parenting Podcast), is a total joy to listen to ….
Janelle and son talk with Francie Salazar of Adoption Advocacy Podcast on how sibling separations affect children – especially the oldest child, and some reasons why the separations are necessary.
If the idea is to promote healing, educate and empower families to restore relationships and make a better future for themselves, then this is the direction we need to be telling the lawmakers to go.
Official release date: Feb. 1, 2020.
Ranked #35 out of 2.2K memoirs, #5 for foster care and #5 for special needs books on WattPad! (9/18/19)
Play therapy for mediating difficult conversations using Jenga blocks. The premise is this: ANYONE can talk about ANYTHING for one tiny moment. Let’s deal with this subject in bite-sized pieces… knowing that the conversation will not last forever. When you stack your block, you will figuratively and literally “unburden” a little.
I’m so excited to be growing in community and seeing my stories go *beyond* myself. If you are looking for me, here’s where I can be found…
After months of acclimating to our foster son and trying to help with his emotional preparations for the upcoming adoption, we were at a point of acceptance. Who he was and who he wanted to be, were at odds, however.