Mention November and most folks think of Thanksgiving. For us here at GIFT—Growing Intentional Families Together—November brings thoughts of National Adoption Month and our gratitude for the blessing of family. Here are some ways to celebrate adoption.

National Adoption Day

November 22, 2014

Celebrating the adoption of children in foster care

“National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. This annual, one-day event has made the dreams of thousands of children come true by working with policymakers, practitioners and advocates to finalize adoptions and create and celebrate adoptive families.

In total, National Adoption Day helped nearly 50,000 children move from foster care to a forever family. Communities across the county celebrate the This year the National Adoption Day Coalition expects 4,500 children in foster care to be adopted on National Adoption Day, on November 22, 2014.” They are sponsoring various events

World Adoption Day November 9, 2014

FIRST EVER WORLDWIDE CELEBRATION OF ADOPTION

The Day to Celebrate Family

On Nov.9, 2014 post a photo of yourself, your family and your friends with the hands up smiley face with the hashtag:

#WorldAdoptionDay

It is appropriate that we celebrate National Adoption Month during this season of Thanksgiving. As parents, we have been entrusted with the privilege to raise children born to other women. We love and nurture them with an awareness that our greatest joy: their presence in our families--began in significant loss for them. This year while giving thanks for your many blessings, remember the birth parents who made such a commitment of faith in us. Continue your education as high AQ--Adoption-attuned--families. Deepen your understanding of the unique needs that adoption creates in a family. Live and love with an eye to the joy of the present moment and a heart filled with empathy, kindness and respect. Books offer a great resource to adoptive families for strategies, a sense of community or a great read for the children. These authors write about the journey that is adoption and as a National Adoption Month Special, the kindle versions will be available for $.99. We invite you to explore these books. (Excerpts from Amazon)

Gayle Swift - ABC, Adoption and Me http://amzn.to/19SgUr3

Named a Favorite Read of 2013 by Adoptive Families, (the award-winning national adoption magazine.) Named a Notable Picture Book for 2013 by Shelf Unbound in their Dec/Jan 2014 issue; Honorable Mention - Gittle List of 2014; Finalist; IPNE 2014 Book Awards , Honorable Mention 2014 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

A child's review: "Most adoption books only talk about the good part of adoption. ABC shows adoption from the kid's side." ABC, Adoption & Me expresses their complicated feelings in a way that makes them feel normal and which makes it easy for them to discuss with their families. Includes a parent guide. ABC, Adoption & Me celebrates the blessing of family and addresses the difficult issues as well. Exuberant, multicultural illustrations depict a wide range of families

Jody Dyer - The Eye of Adoption www.jodydyer.com

"No one just adopts." From the very first steps of acknowledging adoption as a choice to the final document that seals the deal, Jody Cantrell Dyer paints a raw, warm, heartbreaking and eventually triumphant portrayal that narrates the entire adoption process through compassionate and humorous prose. Dyer’s candor and soul color each page of The Eye of Adoption. She directly addresses the sorrows of infertility and the demands of adoption while consistently word-weaving a life rope of assurance, humor, and optimism for her readers. A middle-aged wife, mother, and teacher, Dyer “tells it like it is” in hopes that waiting adoptive parents, birthparents, adoptees, and those close to them will find kinship through her story."

Tim Elder - 7 Steps to Domestic Infant Adoption http://www.infantadoptionguide.com/author/telder

This take-action resource guide will save you TIME & MONEY as it shows you what it takes to go through the domestic infant adoption process. It is packed full of over 100 links, tips, articles, and my personal adoption stories.
My name is Tim Elder – I’m an adoptive dad. I've been in your shoes. My wife and I went through a miscarriage and years of infertility before we adopted our children. We were blessed to adopt them as newborns – one in 2007 and one in 2012. After going through the domestic infant adoption journey twice, I have a strong desire to help others - like you - get through it so I created this guide to help you.

Deanna Kahler - From Pain to Parenthood http://goo.gl/EQUZtx

Follow one woman's incredible and heartfelt journey from the pain of miscarriages to the joy of becoming a parent through adoption. Witness the many struggles that can permeate your life in the aftermath of pregnancy loss. Take a glimpse at the overwhelming desire some women have to become a mother. Celebrate the joy of overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams. Filled with honest, raw emotions and helpful coping tips, "From Pain to Parenthood" promises to touch your life with a real story that shows the power of the human spirit and the beauty of a mother's love.

Finalist, 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Parenting/Family

Carol Lozier - Devotions of Comfort and Hope for Adoptive and Foster Moms http://goo.gl/p5EuKK www.forever-families.com

Adoptive and foster moms have a pretty tough job raising children with a history of trauma and/or loss. The devotional is co-written by Carol Lozier LCSW, an adoption therapist, and Lisa Edmunds, an adoptive mom. The 120 devotions offer information, hope, and comfort to adoptive and foster moms as they trek through this journey of healing alongside their child.

Also by Carol Lozier - The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide: How to Heal Your Child's Trauma and Loss http://goo.gl/xKCU6x

Lonely? Feeling judged? Parenting an adopted or foster child may be the hardest work you will ever do! In addition, families experience a lack of understanding from family, friends, and their community.  The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide is a supportive and loving guide for families. The book is an easy read, and explains ideas through stories, scripts, and practical strategies. The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide teaches families as well as professionals, in a step by step approach, how to heal a child's past trauma and loss. The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide touches on many topics, including: attachment styles (attachment disorder), dysfunctional family patterns unique to adoption and fostering, birth families, how to create healthy attachment, maintaining calm, and managing a team of professionals.

Debbie Michael - But the Greatest of These is Love http://goo.gl/xasFwR

On a March evening in 2000, an unexpected and unsettling thought came out of nowhere, disrupting Debbie Michael’s comfortable life—adoption! It was neither her idea nor her desire to adopt; she was already the mother of three. Instinctively, she knew God was speaking to her, but she did not want to listen if His message required action as life-changing as adopting an orphan. Dread lingered in the aftermath of the disturbing suggestion, and a debilitating fog of uncertainty settled over her life. A journey of a thousand miles (or five thousand, in this case) might begin with a single step, but Debbie was not eager to take that first step. Though God was relentless, she remained adamant. She was determined to ignore the nudging. But God would not be ignored! God pried Debbie out of her comfortable existence and opened a door to a life she didn’t know existed. But the Greatest of These is Love is about much more than adoption. It is a story about the powerful and astonishing ways God uses ordinary people to accomplish His divine intention that we love one another.

Kristen Nicole - Our Road to Family http://goo.gl/0PXyVO

“My husband and I are adopting. Does anyone know what that means?” There was more than one answer to that question for Kristen and Dan, and this remarkable story takes you through their adoption journey from beginning to end. From fertility issues to two successful adoptions, Kristen eloquently sheds new light on each step of the adoption process. With an inviting and friendly style of prose, she guides readers through the heartache of having to let a child go and onto the joy of holding her child for the very first time. An honest portrayal of a different road to parenthood, this story affirms the real blessing that adoption can be.

Sharon Simons - Mom At Last http://goo.gl/2czPfv

Her biological clock ticking louder each day, Sharon Simons felt her heart sink as yet another "Mr. Wonderful" turned out to be a frog---not the prince she was waiting for. But when the right man did come along, their journey toward parenthood seemed more like a machete trail through a jungle than the smooth path of her dreams. Enduring 3 failed IVFs and the loss of their unborn twins, Sharon and her husband decided to adopt---taking a whirlwind trip to Russia and navigating the rough waters of international adoption red tape. Their journey ended, or rather began, when two baby boys were placed in their arms for the long trip home.Part love story, part adoption memoir, and all heart, Mom at Last is the story of one woman's fierce determination to become a mother. Full of setbacks and emotionally devastating pitfalls, ultimately the journey leads her to true love and pure joy. Mom at Last will inspire women who find themselves on that sometimes difficult journey to motherhood, giving hope that motherhood is possible and encouraging women to never give up on their dreams. While every journey to motherhood is different,Mom at Last lets women know they are not alone in the struggle toward motherhood.

Authors whose books are not reduced.

Patty Lazarus http://goo.gl/vtDWTB

Lori Holden www.LavenderLuz.com

In this week’s blog, we continue last week's exploration of Difficult Conversations in the context of adoption. GIFT—Growing Intentional Families Together—is pleased to include another important voice from the wider adoption community. Beth O’Malley M.Ed. She is a lifebook expert. Her life experience as both adoptee and adoptive parent infuses her writings with compassion, and understanding of the adoption journey . Sign up for her free newsletter at www.adoptionlifebooks.com copyright 2014 Beth has written three books. (See the links at the end of this post.)

How to Talk about Difficult Topics

Whether it's rape, suicide, drug abuse, mental health, prostitution, or robbing banks--- if it involved the birth parent, then it's part of the child's story. So do you create a lifebook page detailing the grown up situation and read?

Heck No!

You may have known about “this part” of the birth parents' history. Ugh. How to tell your child or a child on your caseload?

At what age to tell them and what words to use ?

Take a deep breath.

Step 1. Start with age appropriate discussion outside of the lifebook. You build the foundation by helping them understanding the topic. Just not in relation to them.

The topic is raised impersonally. Maybe there is a teaching moment that occurs. Maybe a bank was robbed in a nearby town. Great news.(Your son's bio dad was a bank robber)

This gives you an organic opening to talk about "ta da” —robbing banks. You can wonder out loud "Gee, I wonder what would make someone decide to do something like that?" Perhaps think out loud if there is some grown up problem like drug abuse or gambling that might bring a person to do something so dangerous.

Step 2. Talk about the bank robber as a person. That person made a really bad decision that could change his life or his family's life. But making a bad decision doesn't make him a bad person. (It doesn't make him Mother Teresa either) Maybe his parents didn't teach him about right and wrong. Maybe they taught him how to steal.

You can stop at whatever point feels right and you have planted the seed.

If your child was placed at a young age, then you'll have a number of years to build and work the foundation. By the time, you feel the child is ready and able to hear this on a more personal level----- you are not trying to explain suicide/criminal activities/drug abuse etc all in one breath.

Then you can add the lifebook page in more detail (assuming you child is older and not planning to share with the general public.)

Let’s review: The best way to start discussion on tough topics is by

Defining and discussing the topic completely separate from the child’s life. Educate them about i.e.drugs, mental health, poverty or whatever relates to their personal life story.

Next level.

1. Fact Check
Before you go ahead and present a situation as the child's truth, make sure you investigate. Locate other sources (for example if only the birth mother reported the situation). Can you talk with other birth relatives to verify? Is there a social worker or court official who might know some unwritten details? What about a police report?

2. Google It.
Google your child's birth name. Google the bio parents and sibling names, if known. If it was a front-page-news story, locate what is on the internet. Assume your child or their friend is an avid Googler.

3. Who else knows what?
If you want your child to trust you, the last thing you want is for them to learn important history from someone else. If the adoptees' birth circumstances are well known (for whatever reason) in your family or the community, then you want to stay ahead of the information. You might be sharing information younger than you had planned.

4. What is the right age?

My simple, not knowing your child answer, is that you lay the foundation starting when they enter school--- around 1st grade.

It's time to get specific around age 9 or 10. Even as young as 8. This is not easy. I started tough talks with my daughter when she was around 8. The topic had to be revisited and eventually became just another piece of life. I repeat it is not easy, but there are huge benefits to avoiding secrets!

5. For US Fost-Adopt Families
At age 18, they can read their own case records. Yes, parts are redacted, but they will have enough information to clearly see what happened. A lonely way to learn about one's life's beginnings.

In summary, I recommend make sure what you say is true, as much as possible. Google relevant names and events on a regular basis. Rethink who in your family might have information that could leak to the younger generation. Does everyone you know, or the child knows, already have this part of their story? Then arm your child with information.

As for age, I told my child hard truths around age 8 and then reworked and revisited the conversation over time. I recommend no later than age 9 or 10. I don't think it's a good idea to wait until they are about to turn 13, even 12.

Kids know more than we think.

Here are links to buy Beth’s books.

Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child

A Teen Foster Adoption Lifebook: For When I'm Famous

My China Workbook: a lifebook tool for kids adopted from China

Welcome to another installment of The Adoption Blog Carnival, a smorgasbord of adoption conversations from several bloggers. Check them all out. Each one has a useful tidbit that you'll be glad to know. We are please to participate in this group effort to support adoptive families. #adoptiveparenting

Whether you are in an Open Adoption or not, you will enjoy reading Bumber's Bumblings blog about her first post-placement visit with her child’s birth mother. Not surprisingly, both mom’s approached the visit with a mixture of excitement, curiosity and uneasiness. How did it turn out in reality? Read I Thought I Would Be Sad - Open Adoption to find out

Leslie, a blogger deeply steeped in her Christian faith writes Waiting on a Word She shared her personal “miracle” in The Long and Winding Road to Asheville, a post filled with startling incidences of things happening not only how she dreamed, but also as she needed them to fall into place. A termination process that typically takes years, was completed in under five months. In a dizzyingly rapid timeline, the foster child they loved so much became their son. If you’ve ever been discouraged by the snail’s pace that is the adoption process, you will rejoice in Leslie’s experience.

Schumm Explosion blogs practical reminders in Adoption Tax Return “A quick look at the adoption tax return and how it has effected our family. Make sure if you adopted in 2013 that you file for it on your taxes.” Who couldn’t use a financial break? Read their post to learn about several things you can do to take advantage of legitimate tax relief.

This RAD Mom talks about The Big Picture and how families and the relationship dynamics change when adoptions occur. I especially liked this quote which focuses on sustaining our family's light of hope and nurturing. “"When your wife is triggered, the first thing you should do is hug her. Your child will not want to be part of a family that he feels like he can destroy. Your marriage needs to be first." While the road to connection may be like a roller-coaster, with heart-pounding highs and lows, we know the results are worth the turmoil.

Growing Intentional Families Together blog post Unveiling Adoption invites parents to pull back the veil on adoption—not the veil of secrecy which is increasingly more transparent in the era of Open Adoption--but the veil that clouds adoptive families from seeing and validating the challenges as well as the blessings which adoption brings.

Suzanne, who blogs at Surpassing Greatness shares a limp-in-your-throat conversation with her young son. New understanding in my boy from China reflects their deeply held faith as she celebrates her son’s deepening understanding of God and their Christian faith.

Adoption is a journey for all involved. #adoptionblogcarnival

GIFT is collaborating this week with fellow travelers on their journey of adoptive life. Enjoy reading the various perspectives. Tell us how their message connected with your experience of life in an adoptive family. Please let us bloggers hear from you. What posts connect, hit a nerve or miss the mark?

The Weinrich Family Adoption Blog page highlights how a single word can shape us. Single Word:

The film Closure is a “documentary about a trans-racial adoptee who finds her birth mother, and meets the rest of a family who didn't know she existed, including her birth father. A story about identity, the complexities of trans-racial adoption, and most importantly, CLOSURE.” Read the review by Bumber's Bumblings

This Rad Mom shared her thoughts on viewing a classic family movie (Swiss Family Robinson) with her son whose life has been touched by trauma. Her insights remind us to be vigilant in monitoring how our kids respond to seemingly innocent experiences. Be a perpetual detective when it comes to identifying triggers that reactivate trauma for our kids.

GIFT’s blog post was selected for inclusion in the Adoption Blog Carnival. It focused on the complex and often conflicted emotions that adopted kids feel about holidays and other life celebrations. Revisit When Holidays Are Marred by Memories of Past Pain

Made in China, with Loveshares an honest recounting of her return trip from China, two new babies in tow. Good thing she packed her sense of humor and positive outlook. She needed it—almost as much as she needs a bit of sleep now as she juggles two new babies in addition to her other two kids.

Thanks to Weinrich Family Adoption Blog for organizing this exchange. Like what you read? Use #adoptionblogcarnival when sharing via Facebook and Twitter.

As 2013 draws to a close, it is natural to reflect on the year and to consider the lessons learned, the challenges met, and those that still remain. As you set your intentions for 2014, frame goals for body, mind, and spirit. Make connection a high priority. Carve space for self-care. Model a commitment to learn something every day. Establish individual goals as well as your goal for your family.

Does the mere thought of another item added to your “Do List” make your heart race and your knees weak? Do you feel overwhelmed and under-supported? How does the reality of your family life compare with the dream you had when you originally became a family? Are you feeling capable and excited about the New Year?

Or, do you yearn for some relief, some assistance, a sounding board, a neutral friend to listen and encourage you? The coaches at GIFT Family Services stand ready to be that resource. We are as near as your telephone or computer. Contact us today and begin the New Year with optimism and an ally. We too are adoptive parents. We understand the challenges, the commitment, and the rewards. Contact us today.