by GIFT Coach | May 21, 2014 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Blogs by Joann DiStefano, Faith and Values, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
Remember when we were kids and we craved our parent’s attention? We’d call their names and plead for them to watch whatever we were doing: a cartwheel, an energetic dance or, perhaps leaping high into the air. It was as if, our actions lacked value until our parents...
by GIFT Coach | May 14, 2014 | Blogs by Gayle Swift
Adoption is an emotionally intense topic. Nurtured in love but with its roots firmly planted in loss, it is important to respect the feelings and sensibilities of the adoptee, his birth parents and his adoptive parents.Through our cherished children w are forever...
by GIFT Coach | May 6, 2014 | Blogs by Gayle Swift
Mother’s Day is a particularly poignant one for adoptive moms. (It goes without saying, that it is a special and poignant day for birth mothers as well!) Mother was a title we yearned for. Once accomplished, it was a role cherished all the more because it was so...
by GIFT Coach | May 4, 2014 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, Blogs by Joann DiStefano, General Discussion
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale of adultery and unwed motherhood, Hester Prynne was required to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing as punishment for her sin. This publicly branded her and allowed the community to judge and ostracize her (and...
by GIFT Coach | Apr 23, 2014 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, Blogs by Joann DiStefano, General Discussion
Adoption related ideas pop up in the most unexpected places. While discussing some excellent novels—none of which had adoption themes— GIFT coaches came across quotes that placed them in an adoption frame of mind. Consider these lines from Allegiant by Veronica Roth:...
by GIFT Coach | Apr 16, 2014 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Blogs by Joann DiStefano, Faith and Values, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
Intentional Families recognize the importance of having fun as a family. Creating special family holiday traditions is a great way to accomplish this. Whether the event is religious like Passover and Easter, or secular, holidays are important events in a family’s...
