The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation recently announced to all embassies with diplomatic and consular missions in Cambodia that the Cambodian government has decided to delay the date that it will begin receiving adoption petitions until January 1, 2013. The Cambodian government is still working to establish the necessary internal child welfare structures to function as a Hague partner.

The Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, met with the host government officials in January 2012 regarding Cambodia’s ability to meet obligations for conducting intercountry adoptions. The United States continues to support Cambodia’s efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that fulfills its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention. We welcome Cambodia’s efforts to fully implement its new law on intercountry adoption.

Updated information will be provided on www.adoption.state.gov as it becomes available.

More info here!

Blood does not determine a family.
Probably the most common concern I hear from people who are considering adoption is whether or not they will be able to love a child that isn’t “their own”.  I can tell you, though, that the moment my first son was placed in my arms, he was very much my own. My love for my children is not dependent on our biological connection.  Adoptive families, step-parents, and blended families know well that family bonds transcend biology, and that family connections can be formed in many ways.

Read the rest of this article here!

The Ministry of Education and Science, the Central Authority of Kazakhstan, has confirmed approval of two U.S. accredited adoption service providers (ASPs) to process Hague Convention adoptions from Kazakhstan to the United States.

The ASPs are:  Little Miracles and Across the World Adoptions.

Approval of ASPs was the final step needed for Kazakhstan to complete its implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention.  Each of the U.S. ASPs approved by the Government of Kazakhstan may begin accepting applications for adoptions under the new procedures on its date of authorization.

The U.S. Department of State is pleased to have the opportunity to work with Kazakhstan as a Hague Adoption Convention partner and to complete Convention intercountry adoptions of eligible children from Kazakhstan by qualified adoptive parents in the United States.

Please click on this link for more information or to register: http://helponechild.org/nancy-verrier

This class will benefit anyone who is part of the adoption triad: birth parent, adoptive parent, and social worker as well as the adoptee who is mature enough and inclined to be self-reflective.  Ms. Verrier will address such topics as the connection between adolescent “genetic confusion” and acting out, distinguishing coping mechanisms from character traits, and other tools for managing difficult behavior.

The Big I: Identity

.                   Adoptees: looking for similarities, finding differences
.                   Always be aware of loss (of first family)
.                   How to get underneath the anger to the pain
.                   Which is it– personality, adaptation, or coping behavior?
.                   How to address the power struggle
.                   How to deal with intimidation or people pleasing behavior
.                   Complicity in child’s avoidance of responsibilities: writing things down
.                   Addressing cause and effect and why it is so difficult for these kids
.                   Addressing impulse control and teaching self-regulation
.                   How to learn more about what your child thinks/feels: the words to use.
.                   Parents as guides, not friends
.                   The use of “projective identification” to learn about child’s feelings
.                   Challenging the child’s belief system
.                   Honoring agreements to gain trust
.                   Parents’ self-knowledge to avoid projecting on children

Real Life Stories. Expert Advice.

Live Webinar

Tuesday
May 22, 2012
7:00PM Central
Q&A: 8:00PM

Join us for a guided discussion on the impact adoption has on identity formation. A panel of adult adoptees will share personal stories from their childhood and teenage years, reflecting back on how adoption factored into their identity formation. Lead by Dr. Gina Samuels, a researcher, educator and adopted person, the panel will give adoptive parents practical insight into how they can best support their children to form a healthy sense of self.

• Learn the challenges your children may face when forming their identity
• Hear stories and examples of how others have faced these challenges
• Pose your own questions to the panel

Co-Sponsors

Submit your questions for Dr. Samuels here or by tweeting them to @adoptiontweet using #adoptionid.

We have learned about trauma.

We have learned about attachment.

We have learned about emotional regulation.

We have made all the appointments, met all the therapists, researched all the diagnosis, completed the mounds of paperwork, put our lives into a big fishbowl for others to review, run all the errands, made all the beds, started the laundry, dinner is on the stove, and the day is gone.

How did that happen? I thought I had planned well enough that I would have a couple of hours before the kids get home….and oh my, summer break is just around the corner.

I love my family, my children and my role in life.

And, I AM TIRED, stressed out and depleted at times.

Many parents have written to me over the years asking for ways to calm, work on their own stress and for suggestions for free or low cost means to feel better. I offer my response~

But, there is a catch.

I can share 10 tips for easy stress reduction; ways to help you get and stay more emotionally regulated and they will do you absolutely no good unless you practice them daily.

We have to intentionally take care of ourselves. Talking about it will not help. Doing it will.

What’s Breath got to do with it??

The emotional experience of stress triggers a chemical reaction in the brain. The chemical reaction impacts our physiological system. Now we have a brain/body reaction to stress.

The brain loses its ability for clear thinking, decision making and rational thought. We become impulsive, irrational and we do and say things that we soon regret.

The body becomes rigid, down to the cellular level we constrict under stress. Muscles tighten up, the jaw clenches, we often sweat as our heart rate increases and blood pumps more quickly under fire from the stress response system.

All of this happens for good reason! It primes us to respond to the stress~prepares us to take action through fight, flight or freeze against that which is threatening to us.

However, when we are pumped up, ready to fight, we simply add to that which has stressed us to begin with. A fight is not what we typically need in our day to day lives to bring the situation back to calm. Fighting against a person fighting just gets us more fighting! We make bad decisions, we add to the anger and tension and we suffer in our emotional and physical being.

Breathing, deep breathing is the connection between our body, mind and spirit. It is through deep breaths that we bring both our emotional, physical and spiritual being back into regulation. Stop right now, take 3 very deep breaths, exhaling slowing and intentionally. Allow your body to relax a bit as you do. You will understand clearly how powerful a simple breath is to our Peace and healing.

The brain learns through repetition, the more you do something the more natural it becomes. I started practicing deep breathing years ago, now I unconsciously stop and breathe to bring myself to regulation all through the day. My stress is extremely low, my impulsive, frustrated, intolerant reactions are almost non existent. I can function from a state of love and calm even in the midst of the storm, which I, like you, have daily.

Integrated into the 10 tips for stress reduction for parents is breathing, lots of breathing. I encourage you to pick 2 or 3 of my suggestions and begin to practice them daily. You will change. Your life will change. When you change for the better, so too, will your family change. Try it for 30 days, you will be glad you did!

See the ten steps here!