I’ve been thinking quite a bit about some adoption FAQ’s I’d like to answer. Some of these questions I’ve had people ask me and because I’m pretty much a Moses when it comes to speaking I probably mumbled some incoherent answer and came up with a better answer later and have been kicking myself ever since, and some of them are questions I’ve read online or even wondered myself prior to the whole process and now feel like I’m finally able to answer to some extent. We are only about a year and a half into the post-adoption process and I don’t even try to pretend I’ve got it all…

How has this little guy only been a part of our family for the last year? He is silly, rough and tumble and yet sweet and sensitive. He is seriously the funniest two year old I have ever known, he makes me laugh out loud every day. He loves to make everyone laugh and his smile is absolutely contagious. Tomorrow, November 17th, is one year since we passed court and Ephraim officially became our son. I feel like the year has gone so well. When we met with our social worker way back in the beginning when we started our homestudy it felt like she really warned us about attachment and all…

We recently passed the nine month mark of Ephraim’s adoption, what a whirlwind these past months have been! (Ha, apparently a whirlwind because we are actually closer to the ten month mark by the time I actually got around to posting this.) To be honest, I wasn’t prepared for the amount of time we’d spend dealing with some medical issues with Ephraim . . . overall he’s healthy but he’s had quite a few smaller things that add up to approximately 21 doctors appointments, one ambulance ride and one night in the hospital in the last eight months (with more appointments in the future and surgery in the next year or…

Ever since I was a teenager I had a fairly clear overall purpose in life. I knew God had put Africa and orphans in my heart. I knew that desire would one day lead to adoption and also strongly believed I would do missions work in some capacity at some point. For 15 years I had this clear vision in life, it’s one of the reasons I was able to persevere throughout the ups and downs of our adoption process. Then this last winter as we completed Ephraim’s adoption I also felt like I completely lost my purpose. Honestly, it felt as though God took that desire away, as though…

This Sunday marks six months of Ephraim being a Klassen! It’s crazy to think that six months ago we were arriving in South Africa and hadn’t even met him yet and now it’s like he’s been a part of our family forever. Ephraim has been adjusting so well. If you talk to anyone about adoption for more than a few minutes you’ll probably hear the words “bonding and attachment”. In a nutshell after adopting you need to make sure that your child knows that you are his parent and main caregiver. This can be tricky with some kids just going to other people willy-nilly and struggling with bonding and attaching to…

I know there has been a little delay in this series but I wanted to wait until we had been home long enough before I wrote this all out in hopes I would have lots of information to share. The adoption announcement has come and gone, the family finally got their long awaited referral, now they’ve just arrived home. Exhausted, jet lagged, hungry and happy. How do you help them now? GIVE THEM SPACE Chances are they need a little time to get over their jet lag before being bombarded by company. How long this is varies based on the family, if you don’t know if you are welcome or not,…