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3
Apr

Education Opportunities Continued

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in Resources
A continued list of adoption conferences for 2013! We will continue to update the list as more conferences approach. MLJ’s Crossroads of America Adoption Conference will return to Indianapolis in 2014. Until then, here is a list of upcoming adoption conferences around the US. These conferences give adoption professionals and adoptive families a great opportunity ...
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2
Apr

Book Review: Born for Love

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in MLJ Adoptions
The goal of Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz’s book, Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential and Endangered is to demonstrate how our modern lifestyle is limiting our ability to feel empathy and build connections with others. In the process of making the argument, they thoroughly explain neurological development from pregnancy to adulthood. Although ...
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1
Apr

Adoption Referrals: Dreams vs Reality

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in Support Services
As a prospective adoptive parent, many of you have dreamed at length of what “your” child may be like and what it will be like to be their parent. Many of us romance the reality of “and they lived happily ever after” as our goal. But what happens when the child you meet is not ...
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28
Mar

Education Opportunities: Adoption Conferences for 2013

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in Resources
Adoption education is something we take very seriously at MLJ. We are constantly learning new and important things about adoption. Our dedicated staff is always eager to learn more, and share that knowledge with others.   Before bringing your child home, MLJ provides Adoption Preparation Education to prepare families for the entire adoption journey. But ...
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27
Mar

Somewhere Between: The Movie

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in MLJ Adoptions
Somewhere Between: What a perfect title for a movie that examines the complex topic of identity of the transracially-adopted child, a core issue which challenges several of my kiddos from time to time. Before sharing with you why I feel you should see it, let me state my biases: white adoptive parent of two Chinese ...
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26
Mar

Willie Mays – Baseball Legend and Adoptive Parent

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in MLJ Adoptions
Baseball season is just around the corner! Come Opening Day (March 31), jerseys, foam fingers, peanuts, Crackerjacks, crazy fans, and the smell of ballpark hotdogs will fill Minute Maid Park as the Texas Rangers take on the Houston Astros. As players continue to push through Spring Training and look forward to games in the coming ...
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25
Mar

Hurry Up And Wait

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in MLJ Adoptions
The most stressful part of any international adoption, indicated by all adoptive parents is the waiting. Waiting on a referral of a child, waiting on your legal process in the sending country to be complete, waiting on approvals and waiting for your child to come home drive even the most patient individuals to be impatient ...
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21
Mar

ADOPT as an Acronym

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in MLJ Adoptions
As a college student, I have found one of the best ways to study and memorize material is by creating my own acronyms, or mnemonics. Most of us use acronyms everyday… whether it’s texting “LOL” for laughing out loud, or using “Roy G Biv” to remember the colors of the rainbow. The adoption process can ...
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20
Mar

13 Travel Tips for an Adoption Trip

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in MLJ Adoptions
Top 13 Things to remember when traveling for an adoption. Trust your foreign staff and agency. They want you to be safe and are protecting you. Often during an adoption trip your emotions and stress levels are elevated, so be sure to be extra cautious with your actions and words. Read your travel information from ...
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18
Mar

Nicole Skellenger: Knowledgeable and Kind

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in MLJ Adoptions
Kind and knowledgeable are two of the sentiments most used by people describing Nicole Skellenger, JD, the COO at ML Adoptions, Inc. The balance of these two characteristics make her an amazing professional, and it is my pleasure to work beside her and learn from her. I respect and admire her balance or professionalism and ...
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15
Mar

Family Spotlight: The Binns Family

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in Adoption Stories
We’re so proud of and thankful for each and every one of our families, we’re giving them the chance to show off a bit. We’ll be shining the spotlight on families by letting them introduce themselves and tell us a little about why and how they got involved with adoption. Today we’re letting the Binns ...
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14
Mar

What Is A Pilot Program?

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in MLJ Adoptions
Typically, when a new international adoption program is opened, it is introduced as a “pilot program”. Pilot programs are exciting news in the adoption network. MLJ Adoption’s Samoa and Haiti programs are considered pilot programs. A pilot program means that it is new and for the most part, the country and/or the agency have not ...
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13
Mar

Photo Prints for Post Adoption Reports

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in Photo Of The Week
I must say that one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to see the beautiful pictures that families submit with their post adoption reports. It is great to see how an adopted family is adjusting and adapting to their new life together. I completely agree with the proverb “a picture is worth ...
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12
Mar

Human Trafficking and International Adoption

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in MLJ Adoptions
There are some that think International adoption promotes human trafficking. There are some that think international adoption is "big business" thus equating it in ways to human trafficking. But there are others that strongly believe that international adoption is one of the solutions to human trafficking. I am one of those believers. I first began ...
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7
Mar

What is Going on in Haiti: An Update

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in Haiti
On January 17th of this year, Haiti’s Central Adoption Authority, Institut du Bien Etre Social et de Recherches, known as “IBESR” announced the nineteen agencies approved to do adoptions in Haiti. As we have previously shared, we are happy to announce that MLJ Adoptions, Inc. is one of those nineteen agencies! Since our announcement, there ...
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6
Mar

What Do Lucky Adoptees and Irish Luck Have in Common?

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in MLJ Adoptions
It’s March and Irish-Americans and their admirers are gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day, celebrating “the luck of the Irish.” It’s a great time to discuss the oft-overlooked “adoption stereotype”: The Lucky Adoptee. As in , aren’t you so lucky to have been adopted? Why Calling Adoptees “Lucky” Misses The Mark The well-meaning and the ...
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