Hello, my friend,

First... one of our faithful readers kindly let me know my download link for poems and quote didn't work! Here is the correct link!

Second, one of our other wonderful readers sent in a photo (above, top right in banner) of her beautiful daughter. She shares, "My daughter's name is Jona Pierre and she is 9 yrs old. She lives in Haiti. This picture was taken at Club Indigo were my husband performed a wedding ceremony for a missionary couple from our Church. We met Jona and fell in love with her in December 2008 when we took Christmas presents to the orphanage were she lives. We came home and went to work to bring her home. We took our Dossier to Haiti on June 19th 2009. We pray for a speedy process there. Thanks and God Bless PS I love your scrap booking pages!"

We are so excited for you and will pray for a lack of any red tape so she can be with you soon!

Okay... next section!

Do you ever get tired of people saying, "So, have you heard anything yet about a child?" Oh, I used to hate those questions, because, no, if I had you would be able to tell by the look on my face (big smile!) but yet, when they didn't ask it made me kind of sad too. I wasn't pregnant... but I was a mom-in-waiting wanting to be asked about my child even if I had no answers. Ever have one of those days? If so, this is just a reminder that you aren't alone.

I like to stay in touch with adoption scrapbooking and one of the ways I do that is to do some research and write articles. Below is one I think you will like. One mom said although she had lots of information about the birth family, she still got some great scrapbooking ideas from it!

But first, here is the new July Special!

And here is the article. . .

If you would like to reprint this on your own blog, web site, newsletter, etc. Please feel free to; just keep the footer at the bottom with my bio info.

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Creating an Adoption Life Book When Information is Slim
By Lisa Copen

We have this book!

Crafting a life book may seem like a overwhelming task. If you aren't a particular crafty person or don't have much information about your child's life before he or she became a part of your life, it can be hard to figure out where to start.

Adoptive families vary in the extent of information they may have about birth mother of their child. While some families actually have the birth mother over to baby sit the child occasionally, others meet at a park for a few hours each year. Other families have no relationship with the birth family, perhaps even nothing more than a name on paper if that.

Many families have two or more adopted children and the relationships of the different birthmoms with the family vary. One birthmom may be very involved, while others have no contact at all. When this happens, oftentimes a birthmom of one child will go out of her way send notes or small gifts to the sibling of the child to make sure each child feels included and loved.

If you have a good relationship with a birth mom you may be able to get any information you wish for your child's adoption album. She may even be eager to assist to help dig up information or answer questions to help your child have an amazing book.

If you don't have very much information about your child's birth or birth family-if any at all-don't worry. You can still design an incredible book that helps your child understand his or her history.

Case in point, one of the most important parts of the life book is about the biological mother, but you may not even have a photograph of her. One idea is to include a quotation or poem about how birth moms typically feel. Then journal something like, "Birth moms and dads give their special DNA to their children. I'll be your dark shiny hair came from your dad!"

Sometimes you may not even know the birth date of your child or where he or she was born. Rather than calling attention to this fact, write something like, "You were probably born sometime during the winter of 2005 because when you came to the orphanage you weight about the same as the other children born about that time."

Understand that it's the amount of love and effort that you put into the life book that will most impress your child. As he grows older and starts to ask more questions, plan to do some of the research together to help answer the questions that arise. Until then, get started and don't let a lack of information thwart you from crafting a loving adoption scrapbook album for your child. Kids love reading stories about themselves and they have the best imagination, having fun make up their own stories to fill in any blanks.

[ http://www.scrapbookadoption.com ] The Adoption Scrapbook Album is a quick, easy way to create a professional lifebook. Use transparency overlays and friends will rave--even if you aren't crafty. Free downloads from Lisa Copen at [ http://www.scrapbookadoption.com ] Scrapbook My Adoption

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Thanks for taking time out of your day to join me. I know how easy it is to just click the delete button without reading the actual newsletters you get, so I appreciate you!

Lisa Copen
Scrapbook My Adoption
http://www.scrapbookmyadoption.com