Category - Resources

3
Jun

Autism Advocacy: Fight the Good Fight for Them!

In March 2017 my husband, daughter and I welcomed our son/brother into our family through international adoption. Anthony and I were beyond grateful for Nightlight Christian Adoptions, our home study agency and our adoption agency, MLJ Adoptions International Inc. requiring so much education prior to traveling that gave us the tools to begin the attachment ...
29
May

DON’T WAIT TO CONTACT ADOPTION PROFESSIONALS FOR HELP!

This seems like good advice…….Right? Yet so many adoptive families simply do not do this. We understand……… Maybe you just want to try to solve the problems on your own.  Maybe you are embarrassed to tell others that this adopted child you waited so long for is creating havoc in your home. Maybe you don’t ...
20
May

Creating One-On-One Time

After school, I play goalie for my youngest son who’s practicing his shooting skills for an upcoming soccer game. Then I help one of my kids with their homework and help another one study for a test. I watch my daughter jump on the trampoline and practice her front and back tucks. I make dinner ...
15
May

One Million Words

I recently read an article by Psychcentral which stated that “Young children who are reading five books a day from birth will begin kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to…”. Re-read that sentence again.  Let that information sink in. OVER ONE MILLION WORDS DIFFERENCE!! Crazy, huh?  And ...
13
May

Risks Involved in Adopting Internationally

As most of you know, adopting a child internationally is not a simple process. There are many steps involved in bringing a child home to a forever family. At times, the adoption process may seem slow, tedious, costly or even frustrating. Many prospective adopting parents tend to ask, “Why does this take so long?” The ...
22
Apr

Starting Your Adoption Journey

International adoption – a type of adoption in which an individual or couple becomes the legal and permanent parent(s) of a child who is a national of a different country. MLJ Adoptions International is an international adoption agency that assists families before, during and after their adoption. As the Client Intake Specialist  at MLJ, I work with ...
27
Mar

The Lucky Few – Finding God’s Best in the Most Unlikely Places – Book Review

Written by Heather Avis Zondervan Publishers, 2017 “As parents we can only do what we know while continuing to learn.” If “knowing it all” was a prerequisite to adopting children or even having biological children, the human race would quickly disappear! Heather shares her family’s story in an honest, transparent way and most importantly, what ...
20
Mar

Challenges and Benefits of Homeschooling Your Adopted Child

To home school or not to home school? This is a question that many adoptive parents, myself included, consider for their children. Parents want the best education for their children and unfortunately there is not a “one size fits all” solution. For many children who have grown up in institutionalized care a traditional school setting ...
13
Mar

International Adoption: Looking to Belong Miles Away from Home

Belonging is a feeling of closeness, togetherness, “fitting in,” or feeling like a significant member of a group. Belonging is closely connected to a person’s identity and who they believe they are and how they are connected to others. Under the word “belonging” in the Merriam Webster dictionary the example of the word used in ...
6
Mar

Bigger, Stronger, Wiser, and Kinder

Recently I was reorganizing and discovered a journal with notes I had taken at a conference for adoptive parents. There was no date, no title, no speaker’s name to share, just the following quote: Regarding adults and children – adults are ALWAYS bigger, stronger, wiser, & kinder. Ouch! Those words felt like a punch to ...
4
Mar

There’s More to Doing Hair than Style

My daughter has very thick beautiful curly hair. Her hair often needs a little extra care and attention. But she (understandably) isn’t always a big fan of the detangling process or the time and siting still that taking care of her hair requires. As a white mom with straight hair I’ve had to make it ...
20
Feb

Grocery Store Chaos and How to Avoid it

I recently stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work as apparently so many other locals decided to do as well. The warnings of a polar vortex coming our way sent the masses to “hunt and gather” for the remaining cartons of milk, loaves of bread and toilet paper. For me, just ...
18
Feb

Coping with Fears and Trauma in Adoption

When I was in first grade, I was attacked by two of my neighbor’s rottweiler dogs. For the longest time I was extremely afraid of dogs. Unfortunately, dogs could sense my fear which caused me to be bitten by multiple other dogs during my childhood. When I was little and encountered a dog my body ...
11
Feb

Black History Month – An Ongoing Discussion

“It’s Michael ‘X’, right?” “Excuse me?!” “You know, the guy Denzel Washington played in the movie!” This is an actual conversation I had with a teenager who was asking for assistance with her history project for Black History Month. This was a disconcerting realization that not only is our education system deteriorating, but I, as ...
9
Jan

Book Review: Lillian Thrasher – The Greatest Wonder in Egypt

Lillian Thrasher – The Greatest Wonder in Egypt is one of a series of biographies, “Christian Heroes, Then & Now,” written by Janet & Geoff Benge who are adoptive parents. My 25-year-old daughter, a passionate adoptive sister, heard about Lillian Thrasher and remembered this set of biographies in our home library. Following her suggestion, I ...
27
Aug

What Immigration Approvals Do I Utilize During the Adoption Process?

The adoption process is one that can be extremely confusing, to say the least. That is why MLJ is here to help and provide you with guidance and resources that will help ease some of the confusion. Being able to differentiate between the Orphan and Convention processes is the first step in discovering what path ...
23
Jul

Resources for Families Considering International Adoption

Many families begin scrambling for adoption resources as soon as they make the commitment to pursue an adoption. They begin asking questions of their friends, family, adoption agency, and other adoptive families. They begin researching over the internet or in local libraries for information on processes, countries, child behaviors, USCIS requirements for immigration, and grants. ...
21
Jun

Affording Adoption Ideas!

At first, the cost of adoption can feel insurmountable. Yet, the vast majority of families who begin the international adoption process are not “rich.” Very few families who decide to adopt have the finances to do so at first, but they are committed to creating a plan and working the plan to achieve their goal ...
30
May

Fundraising for Hosting

It’s often said that financing is the biggest hurdle to adoption; it may be the same for hosting as well. However, there are some easy funding options to help you get started and to get the word out, so that your friends may share in giving an orphan a life-changing, cultural trip to the United ...
19
Apr

Overview of the International Adoption Process

International adoption involves state, federal and foreign entities including social workers, adoption professionals, government officials, judges, attorneys, caregivers and immigration workers. Before you get overwhelmed because, “Man, that’s a lot of people involved!” let’s walk through the process. This is a general overview, and each country program will differ, but hopefully you’ll gain an overall ...
28
Dec

Older Child Books

The decision to adopt a child is one that usually involves research, time, planning, and depending on the family, prayer. Families considering the adoption of an older child may find that there’s even more research and planning to be done before arriving at a decision. There are many great resources available to families considering adopting ...
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