Welcome to Adoptive Parent Partners, a site that I put together at the end of 2010 when I truly felt like I had reached the end of my ability to function due to sustained, high levels of family stress.

I'm not yet ready to reveal my entire story or describe the cumulative effects of stress that impacted me at different stages of our adoption journey--adopting four children out of foster care, having two teenage boys as guardians, and becoming a young (very young) grandfather. And, no, that's not me in the picture.

October 2010 was a month that felt to me like the end of a particularly grueling race that consumed me after my wife and I had guardianship of our granddaughter and worked to maintain relationships with each of our children.

I withdrew from many of my normal social activities and involvement at church. I put on hold creative pursuits in acting and writing. My career was headed nowhere. I knew that if I packed my bags and left home, all that my wife and I had instilled in our family since 1989 would be wiped out.

But during this time that seemed so bleak, I still knew that families were needed to provide homes for children of all ages and needs.

If you're seeing this site now in January or February 2012, I want you to know that I'll be rewriting the content to help families who are considering adoption, provide general guidelines for families in different stages of growth with their children, and help couples relate to each other.

I want to offer you a picture that the social service agencies won't when they're recruiting; or what well-meaning groups like Focus on the Family don't say when celebrating National Adoption Month; and I'll help you understand the ups and downs of choices we made as parents -- something that your pastor or counselor won't be able to comprehend.

Ultimately, I want this site and any future content I produce in digital or print form to prepare families and those around them to understand the profound commitment needed to infuse hope into someone traumatized -- and to proclaim that an adoptive family likes our is just like any other family (with numerous and intense exceptions).

Adoptive Parent Partners shares from experience and research so adoptive families can choose find resources that meet their unique needs.

The Getting Help page introduces services.

Moms, dads, and kids can find a fun way to manage health and nutrition.

Free presentation Thursday, October 28 7pm in Altadena.

1603 Morada Place
Call Don at 818-667-1789.

Check out these adoption articles for further reading.

Click on the Adoption Blog to learn our real life experiences in parenting special needs kids and keeping relationships with our adult children.

Would you like to share your experiences and knowledge? If so, please let me know and we can set up a community or forum page.
Email: don@adoptiveparentpartners.com