From time to time since I took over this blog in January, I have seen stories around the Internet of families who found, and adopted, the biological siblings of the first children they adopted from Russia. You might remember that, back in May, I alerted you to a re-broadcast of the Dateline NBC piece about Lisa and Hythem Salem. The couple adopted two Russian siblings, only to discover that there were four more siblings still back in Russia. They went back and brought all four back... more

If you live or work in New York City and you want to get involved in a new philanthropic effort for Russia's orphans, head to the Times Square area today or Saturday.

St. Malachy's Church/Actors' Chapel Square is hosting a two-day exhibition and sale of art work created by orphans in Saratov. The church is located at 239 W. 49th, which is between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a piano concert from... more

This is the hardest time of the year for me to accept that my little guy is color blind.

Thanks to some sharp-eyed observations from one of his teachers, I suspected pretty soon after he came home from Sakhalin Island in October 2005 that he wasn't seeing colors the way the rest of us did. He was overtly fond of yellow--had to have yellow sneakers, yellow boots, a yellow Polartec--but lots of little kids love yellow. Subsequent testing by the two most fabulous pediatric ophthalmologists on the planet has confirmed that he is red-green color blind, the form of color blindness... more

There were two interesting stories about older children adopted from Russia in the last week, and I'd like to tell you about them both.

The first appeared in The St. Cloud Times, under the headline "Prep soccer: He's from Russia, with (game) love". Now, let's just agree to pardon the pun, which is getting a bit tired. Headline writers can be pressed for space and they often revert to the obvious, even when it has nothing to do with Sean Connery.

The story is about... more

This past weekend was the best of times--and the worst of times. Ordinarily, I'd say the less said about the latter the better. But to understand the highlights, you have to have seen the lowlights.

Look folks, there is no way around it. A child adopted at an older age is different. They have seen things and have had to do things that most middle-class American kids have not. And when you are different, your differences can be a focal point for taunts. And when your English is still not up to par with the other kids your age, you can't parry those taunts with words. So... more

I did a bunch of interviews yesterday to catch up on several issues surrounding Russian adoptions now. A point that one of them made has been bothering me, and I wanted to share it with you.

This individual was of the belief that the slowdown in adoptions caused by the new accreditation procedures has cost many children their chance to be adopted. "The children who lost their opportunity lost it forever," this person said.

Forever? No, I don’t think so. There are only a few times in life when I accept finality, and the current state... more

We spend a lot of time without shoes in my family. We have a "shoes off" policy year round when we enter the house, which cuts (but by no means eliminates) the amount of mud that gets tracked through.

But in summer, it's hard to keep the shoes on wherever we are, inside or out. And when I was looking at my little guy's toes the other day as he got ready to head outside, I was struck by how far he has come since coming home from Sakhalin Island in October 2005.

Then,... more

There is some very insightful writing on the Russian adoption blogs this month and I wanted to pass it on.

Jenni writes about the two children she adopted from Murmansk in December 2005 at "Four Feet More". In a post early this month entitled "Vika And The Bear" she relates what happened when her daughter's kindergarten class read Nikolai, the Only Bear. If you haven't read this book, it is a good one to have on hand... more

I don’t know why it is that the key conversations in our family seem to occur in traffic. It's not like we spend a lot of time on the road; I probably have fewer miles on my three-year-old car right now than most families have after 12 months.

But you might remember that my older son, who was adopted from Vladivostok, started asking questions about his birth mother... more

It's Monday night, which means it is finally time for me to read the Sunday paper. And what do I find in the Sunday magazine that accompanies The New York Times but an article on the very issue I addressed Saturday night: Holding a child back before kindergarten.

I had, ironically, opened up the magazine to read a piece called "Boys Gone Mild", about grownups now having to teach children how... more