International adoption is becoming a route that more and more parents look to when they wish to have children. This increasing popularity has led to their being an increased awareness about the specific needs and situations of adopted children and their families. I was recently contacted by a graduate student at Harvard who has created a survey for adoptive parents that will aid her in her studies.

Wendy Valentine is working towards her graduate degree in human development and psychology at the school’s graduate school of education. Being the older sister to two sisters who were adopted internationally from China, she has an interest in the area of international adoption and sought... more

Welcome to the Viet Nam Adoption Blog Roll. Any blog authors who write blogs concerning adopting from Viet Nam are more than welcome to join us over here. There is so much for us all to learn from each other, and blogs are an excellent medium in which to share our lives, experiences, families and memories of Viet Nam. Families at all stages of the adoption process who have blogs are encouraged to join our blog roll.

I plan to keep this list going and will repost it as needed, as sites are added. If you would like to be added to the Viet Nam Adoption Blog Roll, please post your link in the comments section below or email me at rebeccah@adoptionblogs.com

If... more

I have a secret that I only just tonight shared with my husband. There’s a part of me that wishes we would find ourselves faced with the opportunity to live in Viet Nam for an extended period of time. There is something about leaving behind all of this American life and experiencing Viet Nam from a different level that is incredibly appealing. Honestly, this is shocking to me. I’m a homebody, I love my friends and family and don’t like to go long without seeing them, yet I have a secret desire to live on the other side of the world!

Some American adoptive families who... more

Ha Long Bay (which means Bay of the Descending Dragon in Vietnamese,) is a popular day trip for adoptive families staying in Hanoi. Located in the Quang Ninh province on the Vietnamese coast of the South China Sea, the area is made up of fishing villages where the locals live in floating houses. It is comprised of over a thousand islands and inlets, many of which are uninhabited, lending to their overwhelming beauty. The limestone pillars in the seascape are said to be breathtaking.

The journey to Ha Long Bay starts with a car or bus ride to the site where you will board... more

There are times when I am quick on my feet and fully able to answer someone’s questions about adoption with answers that leave both the questioner and I satisfied. There are other times that I’m left feeling unsettled about the exchange and I wish I would have answered differently, phrased something in another way or offered information that I hadn’t thought to at the time. At a holiday gathering last week I was faced with a situation that fell somewhere in the middle of those two scenarios, but ultimately came out on the positive end.

While chatting with a family friend,... more

I’ve recently made a foray into the world of digital scrapbooking and I think I’m hooked. I’m certainly not going to give up my paper scrapbooking, but this is an awesome creative outlet and I find it easier to make the time to do because I don’t have to drag out all of my supplies, find space to work and ensure that no babies or cats get into my work. Digital scrapbooking is done completely on your computer. There are many fancy (re: expensive) programs that you can work with, but I’ve found a free program (Scrapbook Flair) and free items to work with and am excited about it. Since I still haven’t completed Ella’s lifebook, I’m thinking about working on a digital one for her.

Digital... more

Even if you consciously chose to slow things down this year and not go overboard for the holidays, it’s likely that your child can sense things are more stressful and fast paced than usual during this winter season. If your child was recently adopted, has only been home for a short time or is just very sensitive to changes, the holiday season can wreak havoc on their emotions and behavior.

With the holiday rush behind us, it’s time to unwind and come down from the crazy days leading up to the winter holidays. Children who are newly adopted may be feeling overwhelmed from the... more

We have accomplished another step in our second process to adopt from Viet Nam. Our I600 Petition has been submitted to our local USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.) Our petition will be help until our final home study report joins it, which should be soon. Our home study agency had forwarded our home study to our placement agency for approval and was in... more

My February edition of “Creating Keepsakes” magazine came in the mail the other day. As I was enjoying flipping through the pages and daydreaming about all the beautiful scrapbook pages I would suddenly have the time to create, I came across an entire section dedicated to scrapbooking about adoption! The writer of the piece, Heather Jones has a cousin who was adopted domestically and she remembers meeting her for the first time. Being touched by adoption, I assume she was inspired to explore how to best scrapbook about ones... more

There’s something about the holidays that make me nostalgic, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Since Ella has entered our lives I have an extremely strong urge to capture her holiday experiences, especially from these years when she’s so young that she probably won’t remember them. Doing some holiday themed scrapbooking is the perfect solution to document these memories and help your child to look back in the years to come.

Here are some ideas on how to scrapbook your family’s holiday memories:

Focus on your favorite moments, not necessarily the moments that you... more