Natasha and I recently toured a food bank. I was amazed to find out that about 11% of the United States population are food insecure.

I delighted in Natasha's very developmentally appropriate behavior during the tour. Natasha is now 10 years old and came home from the orphanage 6.5 years ago.

Her longest lasting post-institutional... more

The two most common challenges that families experience with post institutionalized children relate to sleep and food. I knew this prior to adopting my darling daughter. But I didn't realize sleep or the lack of sleep would be an issue for both of us.

Natasha came home with PTSD which severely interfered with her ability to sleep. I had always read that sleeping pills were addictive or ineffective for... more

Last week I asked Natasha to create a picture. (It is posted on the right.) I wanted to see her mental life. What does a life filled with nervous feelings (anxiety disorder) look like?

Feelings can be difficult to explain. Over the years I have discovered that Natasha can draw her feelings and thoughts. And once she has the picture, she can describe... more

I mentioned about a week ago that my darling daughter came home from an Ukrainian orphanage with PTSD. She has been home for about 6.5 years now. She is a happy and loving 10 year old with an average IQ.

Her neurological issues and her mental illnesses are invisible to most folks. Heck, some were invisible to me. Natasha picked up a couple of new labels in the last... more

Natasha was adopted at 3.5 years from a Ukrainian orphanage. She came home with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A condition in which victims of overwhelming and uncontrollable experiences are subsequently psychologically affected by feelings of intense fear, loss of safety...

From: Helpful Adoption Terms to Know

Before I adopted my daughter I spent... more

My daughter Natasha was adopted from Ukraine when she was 3.5 years old. And for some reason today.... I asked her what she thought was an important topic concerning Ukrainian adoption.

Her answer:

You have to do lots of paperwork... the process... the procedures.

And then you have to travel on a plane.

And then you do more paperwork to complete the adoption.

But then.... after a while... that is when love grows. That is the important part.

My darling is a smart cookie.... more

I really hate this story. I have been sitting on it since it came out on April 4, 2007.

I haven't blogged about it because it makes me sad. I knew John Krueger via email. I thought he was one of the good guys.

The reality... John is a convicted child molester. He hurt at least 4 children.

John is a 53 year old single man who lives in California. His first Ukrainian adoption was in 2001. I think his second Ukrainian adoption was in 2003.

John... more

I was waiting for the flurry of emails from the US Embassy in Kyiv to stop. It all started with a March 22 2007 email.

The US Embassy announced that adoption laws were changing and would be implemented within a week or so. The Parliament of Ukraine passed bill #2562 which would... more

Here is official news from the US Embassy on the Ukrainian adoption law changes.

Everyone still is uncertain about how Ukraine is going to enforce the maximum age difference between parent and child. Does it apply to the youngest parent or oldest parent?

I am mainly hearing that the oldest parent cannot be more then 45 years older then the child.

Earlier I heard that this bill becomes law in May... but now I am hearing it may be next week.

All I know is that I won't be adopting... more

I posted back in December 2006 that the Ukrainian adoption had become much more difficult. And the SDA was limiting singles to adopting children 7 or older. And the SDA refused to take dossiers from single men.

Then in Jan 2007 the SDA refused to take dossiers from single women.

March 20 2007 it got worse. Ukraine has just passed a bill making single foreign adoption illegal. Single Ukrainian citizens will still be able to adopt.

I am single... more