In my last post, I wrote about how lately I have been trying to emphasize the brotherly bond between Noah and Charlie. I have really become how aware this bond between them is lately and want to do my best to emphasize it and allow it to grow. Since they are not typical brothers growing up in the same household as many brothers do, it will take a little creative thinking in order for this bond to grow and develop on both the parts of the adoptive mom and the birthmom with the children they are each raising.

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Some where along the way, I don’t think I stopped and took enough time to explain Charlie’s role in Noah’s life to Noah. When I was pregnant with Charlie, he was barely four years old and being shuffled between my home and my parent’s home a lot. I didn’t think he would understand very much so I didn’t really explain a whole lot.

As he began to grow up, I did explain things to him in age appropriate terms and language at times when I thought he was able and ready to learn and understand. I did explain that he and Charlie shared the same mother, but I think I failed... more

My older daughter had a hilarious if not somewhat embarrassing situation at school today.

Every Wednesday they attend Chapel first thing, and today it seems that the five year old sister had slipped her big sister’s BRA into her back pack, and was showing it around during the services (ok, and I have to be even worse and blog about it on the internet!) Danika was horrified, and managed to get her teacher’s attention so she could slip over and get the offending undergarment away from the little bandit.

All I can say is thank goodness... more

It does my heart good to see pictures like this one of my boys, big brother and little brother, just being brothers! This picture was taken on Charlie’s birthday. We take a lot of pictures of them sitting together in that chair (it’s Noah’s favorite chair in our home when he is not in our wheelchair) so it’s neat to see the progression of them growing over the years as well.

I really enjoy watching them interact as brothers and as friends. They really do act like brothers many times – they will be playing together and having a great time and then next thing you know, they... more

After the most recent visits with the birth siblings of my children, I found myself reflecting back to several interesting posts here at the blogs. Most of them talked about what those of us in open... more

Adoption, even a very open adoption, often separates biological siblings. With an open arrangement trying to keep those siblings in contact, so they can form some sort of relationship, is not always a piece of cake. Sibling contact can be worth the effort, but the adults often need to put aside their own, more grown up issues in the process.

In the case of my own three children, one child has three older birth siblings, and my two other children each have younger birth siblings, two whom we know, and another who we do not. Thankfully four of those... more