Queen Latifah’s new movie “Joyful Noise” casts her as a strict single mother of two teenagers, which can be seen as a bit of a stretch for the kids-less Latifah.

But then again, maybe not.

“I would like to [adopt]. Why not?” Latifah responded to “Access Hollywood” when asked about her plans for a family. “You know, why not?”

It’s a good enough answer for us. But it’s not the only reply Latifah has delivered on the subject.

Last year, she gave More magazine a much more definitive explanation when the subject of being a mom came up. “I’m definitely going to adopt — or have — a child. I’ve wanted to adopt since I was 17 or 18-years-old,” she said.
No word yet on the timeline of Latifah’s planned adoption. She did, however, provide more insight on the kind of mother she would be, comparing her nurturing skills to those of her character in “Joyful Noise.”

“I would be like Vi Rose in a lot of ways. My kids would be raised properly,” said Latifah, who rarely discusses the details of her personal life. “They would be raised with values and morals and God, but I don’t think I would be like Vi Rose in the other ways. I would probably allow them to be themselves a little more and explore their gifts and their talents. I’d try to be more like my mom.”

“Joyful Noise,” an uplifting film about a choir competition starring Latifah alongside Dolly Parton, hits theaters on Jan. 13.

Deborah Mumm

http://www.everythingforadoption.com

We celebrated the end of 2011 and the new beginnings of 2012 by having our local Adoption Support Group over for a little party. It was a great time. A dozen kids, all adopted, got to meet other families created by adoption. The parents all seemed to enjoy talking about their kids, their adoption stories and more!
The common theme I heard was…’Parenting is great but full of challenges, whether your kids are adopted or not.’
I do realize, speaking from experience, that being an adoptive parent can be more challenging if your adopted children come to you with issues. (This is not to say that biological kids don’t come with issues, but sometimes Adoption issues are created by ‘adoption’.) To be adopted means that someone gave you away. I know this is actually a choice for many women, and a wonderful one for the child in most cases.
Adoption is a journey and it doesn’t end once your child is home. Many times things come up that we need to deal with because the child suffers from an inner loss of some kind, usually brought on by the idea of being adopted. Therapy by someone trained in Adoption issues is my first recommendation. Healing can come with time!
It was wonderful to see so many kids in my home that are adopted! We had some from the USA and some from Russia and China. However, they all blended beautifully together.
My 18 yr. old daughter, adopted from Russia was found in her room surrounded by little girls, from China, Russia and USA. So she did what any ordinary teenage girl might do…paint all their nails. The little girls were thrilled!
I am attaching a photo of all the kids at the party. It was a great way to start the new year! All of us….Blessed by Adoption.

Deborah Mumm
Everything for Adoption

We put up our Christmas tree with Christmas music playing. When we are done we sit down by the tree with some hot cocoa and cookies. My teenage daughter helped me with everything this year. Dennis sets up the tree each year, but I find my boys are not very interesting in doing the decorations.

We have a chili or soup supper on Christmas Eve, play games and then go to Midnight mass. We open presents Christmas morning followed by some type of breakfast casserole. This year we had a praline topped French Toast casserole. Delicious.

Now with my older boys married, they come over when they can. This year Travis & Katie came over about 10 am and did presents exchange again. By noon, Brandon and Pam arrived. Travis & Katie left, and we then did the presents exchange again.

Finally, we all got some showers and headed to Grandma & Grandpa’s place for a Family Christmas. We just did snacks and appetizers followed by a Gift exchange game. We all had fun with that..and then headed back home.

We fixed a great Prime Rib supper, which was delicious. Afterwards we changed into our Packer clothes and watched the Packers destroy the Bears. (Usually we play a lot of games, which I prefer…but it was football this year)
All in all, we had a fun day. Fun to be able to spend time with family…to talk and laugh, etc.

This year there was no snow in the Chicago area in December. Very disappointing for Alex, especially.
Otherwise everything was perfect.
Hope your Christmas was special at your house!

Deborah Mumm
The Adoption Coach

Another photo slideshow by Smilebox

Deborah Mumm
Everything for Adoption

Sigh! Not exactly the news we needed right before Christmas.
Bah humbug….

Deborah Mumm
The Adoption Coach

My car is gone! I am stranded in my house waiting for a teenage girl who thinks I have ‘no life’ any way. Hmmm….

Until next time–

Deborah Mumm
The Adoption Coach
http://www.everythingforadoption.com

Alex at orphanage

Russian Adoption Story

Deborah Mumm
Everything for Adoption

The first major effort to promote awareness of the need for adoptive families for children in the foster care system occurred in Massachusetts. In 1976, then-Governor Mike Dukakis proclaimed Adoption Week and the idea grew in popularity and spread throughout the nation. President Gerald Ford made the first National Adoption Week proclamation, and in 1990, the week was expanded to a month due to the number of states participating and the number of events.

During the month, states, communities, public and private organizations, businesses, families, and individuals celebrate adoption as a positive way to build families. Across the nation, activities and observances such as recognition dinners, public awareness and recruitment campaigns, and special events spotlight the needs of children who need permanent families. It also includes National Adoption Day, traditionally a Saturday, which is observed in courthouses across the nation as thousands of adoptions are finalized simultaneously.

National Adoption Day is a national day of celebration of adoptive families and an opportunity for courts to open their doors and finalize the adoptions of children from foster care. Since 2000, more than 35,000 children have had their adoptions finalized on National Adoption Day.

On November 19, 2011, families, adoption advocates, policymakers, judges and volunteers will come together and celebrate adoption in communities large and small all across the nation.

Even though our two children from Russia were adopted in July, we had them baptized on Nov. 19th, so it was still a very special day.

With millions of children waiting for people to step up and adopt them so they can have a family, it is great for adoption awareness…as it is easy to get so wrapped up in daily life to forget the sad lives children are living around the world.

Deborah Mumm
http://www.everythingforadoption.com
http://www.theadoptionhub.org (for Adoption information)

This was sent to me from someone who works with adoptive families and I thought you’d enjoy it.

You may have heard the news story not long ago – an adoptive family in Tennessee put their 7-year-old Russian-born boy on an unaccompanied one-way flight back to Russia, explaining that he had terrorized their family since coming to live with them. Now, the world is in an uproar over their seemingly heartless and careless act.

This family’s decision to abandon their child is totally unacceptable, I know. But I also know that adoptions can go haywire. Adopted kids may or may not have any more problems than any other group of kids, but I think they often present a different “mix” of problems. And those problems can often be more severe, with behavior escalating to the point where a child is out of control and dangerous to himself and others around him or her.

There’s no question that typical adolescent issues like belonging, fitting-in, rejection, connection, acceptance, and peer-relationships can become particularly prominent for some adopted kids. But there are other factors that can cause just as many problems for the child and the adoptive parents.

If the adopted child was born out of a high-risk pregnancy, there is higher probability that they were prenatally exposed to alcohol, tobacco and other harmful drugs. These impediments aren’t always unmanageable, nor are they untreatable. But just knowing that there might be issues down the road as a result of that exposure might prepare you for dealing with it later on. Many kids given up for adoption have come from high-risk pregnancies, exposing them to potential for developmental delays, impulsive choices, poor choices, attention deficit, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and emotional disorders. There may be a higher risk as well for issues such as Reactive Attachment Disorder, other attachment issues, learning disabilities, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), logic sequence problems, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder.

Adoptive parents may also have to deal with anger and rages in their adopted child, just as the Tennessee parents have claimed. As a result, adopted kids might have to attend a special school, have special teachers, or need tutoring. All of this can be expensive and may go on for years. To make matters worse, an adopted child may not hug you or express love or appreciation the way you want.

Am I an expert on adoption? No, not me. But I enter the world of adoption “from the other side” because I know and have helped more than 700 adopted teens who have come to live in our Heartlight residential counseling program, and I have listened to the 10,000 questions they brought with them. My search for answers to those 10,000 questions has led me to my own conclusions about problems that can come up with adopted kids. Sometimes their struggles may be the result of prenatal issues, but mostly it’s because we’re all people who carry some personal baggage, and we bring our wounded hearts into our relationships. We all are sinners in need of a Savior … and in need of help. I am convinced that no problem is too great for God to resolve, and no relationship too damaged for Him to repair.

I believe that God in His sovereignty places orphaned or abandoned children with families on purpose. And what I have discovered is that conflicts that arise from adoption issues, whether on the side of parents or of the adopted child, can be overcome. God has a way of taking conflict and using it for our own good, and for deepening the relationship between parent and child. God doesn’t give up on us, nor does He send us back to where we came from. There are times that I believe that working through the conflict helps everyone involved move toward wholeness, and to deeper relationships.

It is good to understand the issues that surround adoption, for understanding brings a family to a different response, a calmer approach to handling conflict, and a platform to learn new ways for engaging with a child.

So, why adopt? I want people to adopt. In fact, I sit on the board of an international adoption agency. But I want adoptive parents to know full well the issues that might come up, invade, or enter the relationship with their child. Perhaps if the parents in Tennessee had known more about the potential pitfalls, perhaps they would have been better prepared for the potential for struggle.

If you plan to adopt, just remember this; there is more to the portrait of your adopted child’s life than you will be able to see. You’ll play a very important role in that portrait, and the presence of conflict, disillusionment, or hardship won’t negate the purpose of the portrait. I believe that most change in a person’s life come through conflict, difficulty, and hardship. I also believe it is worth the struggle so that kids can live in families.

God bless those who choose to give a child a new home and a new family. If you are an adoptive family, may your home be a haven of hope for a child who needs you; may God’s beautiful provision for orphans reach down to you as well, and may He give you the strength to work through any future struggles or difficulties. (markgregston@heartlightministries.org)

As an adoptive mom is going through all this….I know this to be true!

Deborah Mumm
The Adoption Coach
Everything for Adoption

Check it out at- Halloween Candy for the Troops
Have fun…and be safe!

Below find a list of Lake County Communities Trick or Treat Hours!
These town are having Halloween on October 31st, unless noted different.
Antioch – 4pm-7pm,
Bannockburn – 3:30pm-7pm,
Beach Park – Oct. 30 from 2pm-5pm,
Buffalo Grove – 2pm-7pm,
Deer Park – 3pm-7pm,
Deerfield – 3:30pm-7pm,
Fox Lake – 4pm-7pm,
Fox River Grove – 3:30pm-7:30pm,
Grandwood Park – 5pm-8pm,
Grayslake – 4pm-7pm
Lake Villa – 4:30-7 pm

These towns are having Halloween on Sunday, Oct. 30th--

Gurnee – Oct. 30 from 2pm-5pm,
Hainesville – Oct. 30 from 4pm-7pm,
Hawthorn Woods – 4pm-8pm,
Highwood – 4pm-8pm,
Highland Park – 3:30pm-7pm,
Kildeer – 3pm-8pm,
Lake Bluff – TBA,
Lake Forest – 4pm-8pm,
Lake Zurich – 3pm-8pm,
Libertyville – 4pm-8pm,
Lincolnshire – 4pm-8pm,
Lindenhurst – 4pm-7pm,
Mundelein – 4pm-8pm,
North Barrington – 3pm-7pm,
North Chicago – 2pm-5pm,
Park City – TBA 847-623-5030,
Round Lake – 1pm-5pm,
Vernon Hills – 4pm-8pm,
Wauconda – 4pm-8pm,
Waukegan – 2pm-4pm,
Winthrop Harbor – 4pm-7pm,
Zion- 3pm-5pm.
For a complete list of Halloween Safety rules go to— Halloween Safety Tips

The Adoption Coach wishes you a Happy Halloween!
Deborah Mumm
Everything for Adoption
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