Julie Gumm - Author

Together for Adoption conference insights from others

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There have been a ton of blog posts by fellow conference attendees so if you want to hear some insights from others, here’s some you can visit. Kristen’s is my favorite (Rage Against the Minivan).

Rage Against the Minivan – ” Would we be subjected to watching countless slideshows of shiny happy adoptive families set to (gasp) Contemporary Christian music?”

Owlhaven.net has several

We Are That Family – Miracles Happen when you Speak Up

Abort73.com – Though abortion and adoption are inextricably linked, it’s not a connection that everyone in the orphan care movement sees yet. Mike shares some great things he learned in one session on foster care. Loved this quote “Visiting widows and orphans does not always mean taking them away.”

Kennedy 6

Erica’s thoughts part 1 and part 2

Interpretative Art

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During the Karyn Purvis pre-conference at Together for Adoption she talked a bit about kids from hard places and how they see themselves. She showed us several drawings done by these kids and explained what they meant. There is a real science to this – extremely fascinating.

Some of the pictures showed the adopted child off to the side of the rest of the family – they didn’t feel like they were part of a family. Others demonstrated how they felt trapped or angry or hurt.

Of course all us adoptive moms had a sudden urge to go home and ask all our children to draw a family picture.

Before I could even ask, I got this.

This is me, as drawn by Beza at school.

In real life I have short brown hair. It definitely would not go in pigtails. Does this indicated I’m not the white mommy she really wanted?

She drew me with a crown. Does that mean she sees me as a princess? Or the wicked queen?

I have cape. Am I Superwoman?

Then I asked her about the bikini top. Because I don’t wear a bikini.

“It’s not a bikini mom. It’s those things….”

<long pause while she searches for the right word>

“Coconuts!”

Um yeah, because I walk around in a coconut bikini top A LOT.

Off to Austin

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Tomorrow I am off to Austin and excited not just about the Together for Adoption conference, but the chance to enjoy some cooler weather. It’s still hitting 105+ here and I AM DONE!

On Wednesday I’m attending a pre-conference with Dr. Karyn Purvis – one of the preeminent authorities interventions for adopted, foster and other at-risk children. Before we adopted I read her book The Connected Child from cover to cover and have referred back to it many times. I’m looking forward to gaining even more wisdom on parenting Luke & Beza. Goodness knows we don’t have it all figured out. (I’ll have to tell you the “Battle of the Egg” story.)

Thursday and Friday are the actual conference and I’ll be trying to balance working the World Orphans booth, attending a few sessions and networking with other organizations and the individuals at the conference. They expect over 1,000 attendees and I can’t wait.

There are a ton of great “meet ups” happening for people passionate about specific topics or countries. I wish I could be a dozen places at once.

I’m going to be tweeting and blogging as much as I can so I hope you’ll follow along 🙂