Emily's Introduction
Emily at her orphanage in Nicolaivka, Russia in 2005 I love my family because family important to me and also my family care about me and they give me life. I believe…
Tag
Child Neglect
Better off Without International Adoption? Not Hardly.
Oksana lived in half of this "Duplex" with her five children and three other adults. Of course there are days when I am ashamed of some of the people on my side…
When Mothers’ Day is Hard for Children
Mothers Day Hard for Children My adopted daughters struggle with all of the conflicting feelings that come with a Mothers’ Day fraught with memories of a birth mother who brutally abused them,…
A Mistake Adoptive Parents Never Need to Make Again
As Seen on Huffington Post Oh, I talk the talk. I try to walk the walk. When it comes to difficult circumstances, I always try to focus on what is best for…
The Real Reason for a Decline in Adoptions
As Seen on Adoption.net Recently, my Google alerts for “adoption” and “international adoption” went crazy. It seemed that every news outlet in the U.S. had picked up on the story. International adoptions…
How to Fix Your Child With a Magic Wand
My oldest daughter hadn’t been home from Russia for a month before we noticed her pointing pencils or other objects at us while contorting her eyes and face. Emily had come from…
Get Close Enough to Help People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Psychologists call them triggers. They could be events, objects, sensory stimulations or even words. When a person who has experienced severe trauma is confronted with anything that they have psychologically associated with…
Something we All Agree on
One of my friends says he’s “probably an atheist.” Another friend says that evidence indicates there is a creator, but not a personal and active god. I’m a Christian. I have friends…
The Term "Real Mother" Confuses Us
Mothers’ Day has always been a tough one at our house. My wife, Amy, came from a home where she was abused by her father and her mother did nothing to stop…
The Family and Me
I’m John Simmons and this is my family. On the back row we have Steve, Emily and Cory. Middle row: Holly, Amy, me, Sarah and Annie. The front row has Mike, Celeste,…