About the AuthorAuthor of the best-selling Penny Rushmore novels, including “A Sandwich Short of a Picnic”, Felicity Price has also written several other published novels, the John Britten biography “Dare to Dream” and a couple of company histories. Sandwiched (like Felicity's fictional character Penny Rushmore) between the emotional turmoil of elderly parents, teenagers, a demanding career and a badly-behaved spaniel, Felicity similarly tries to juggle with jelly and often feels it slither between her fingers.

    This is the real stuff: dynamic, messy, baffling adoptive parenting, rooted in domestic life.Award-winning columnist and adoptive parent Sally Donovan offers savvy, compassionate advice on how to be 'good enough' in the face of both day-to-day and more bewildering challenges – how to respond to 'red mist' meltdowns, crippling anxieties about new routines and, most importantly, how to meet the intimidating challenge of being strong enough to protect and nurture your child.Full of affecting and hilarious stories drawn from life in the Donovan household, The Unofficial Guide to Adoptive Parenting offers parents a refreshing counterblast to stuffy parenting manuals -- read it, weep, laugh and learn.

    Far away in North America, the sun rises over four homes as the people who live there get ready to start a long, exciting journey. This lovely story of people who travel to China to be united with their daughters describes the adoption process step by step and the anxiety, suspense, and delight of becoming a family. Told with tenderness and humor, and enlivened by joyous illustrations, The White Swan Express will go straight to readers’ hearts. Afterword.

    With simple text and bright cut-paper art, 'Pablo's Tree' captures the special relationship between grandparent and child.

    Little did she know how life-altering it would actually be. Later, she applied online to be considered for the cast of MTV’s hit show 16 & Pregnant . The show responded quickly and her story will be told as the season 2 finale in a special 90-minute episode aired in December 2010. Her memoir takes the viewer further back and further forward, and chronicles the tortured indecision she faces as she decides whether its best for her baby to give her up for adoption or take the dramatic step toward motherhood.

    When her parents try to explain that she is adopted, her world becomes an uncomfortable place. She becomes angry and withdrawn. She wonders why she was given up, what her real name is, and whether other children have parents in faraway countries. Allison's doll becomes her only solace until she finds a stray cat in the garden and learns the true meaning of adoption and parental love.

     Rachel McCracken gets the heartache and the sorrow of the desolate valley called Infertility. She gets the dedication and work that it takes to blend a family. She gets the commitment and purpose needed to help children rise from the ashes of abandonment and fear. For anyone who wonders: What is an orphanage really like? Can you really bond with an adopted or foster child? What is it like to lose a child who is reunified with their birth parent? Can you love an adopted or foster child as much as a biological child? How about fertility treatments, are they actually that bad? Why don’t people just adopt? What’s the big deal?​ Chasing Kites answers all of these questions and more. Going from zero to four adopted children through a Colombian orphanage and then from four to seven through the US Foster Care System, Rachel writes a masterful memoir of the good, the bad, and the beautiful with purpose-driven life lessons learned from each. If you have ever experienced loss, grief, or heartache this book is for you. If you are struggling to create a family or to blend a family this book is for you. If you are trying to support someone you love through any of these things, this book is for you. Lose yourself in this delicious tale of love both lost and found.

    A tough exterior is her claim to fame, and necessary for the life she lives. But even the toughest have been known to let their guard down at Christmastime. Hilarious by nature, Pharo is the perfect match for Des. And though he wasn’t exactly looking, fate doesn’t care about that. When chance encounters with a stranger happen twice in one day, it's too big to be a coincidence and he's smart enough to know it. Join these two on a hilarious, heart-filled, nutmeg scented journey to love in tight spaces!

    And why not? "Joy" in hand, tens of millions of people -- from novices to professionals -- have learned to do everything from make a meat loaf to clean a squid to frost a wedding cake. For decades, "Joy of Cooking" has taught America how to cook, serving as the standard against which all other cookbooks are judged. "All About Pasta & Noodles" upholds that standard. While keeping the conversational and instructional manner of the flagship book, "All About Pasta & Noodles" is organized into chapters that include fresh pasta, sauces, filled and baked pastas, American noodle dishes, Asian noodles, dumplings, and more. The chapters incorporate more than 90 of "Joy's" best-loved recipes -- Spaghetti alla Carbonara to Spicy Szechuan Noodles to Bolognese Sauce. You'll also find rules for cooking pasta, step-by-step information for making homemade pasta, and suggestions for pasta shapes and sauces. Add to that more than 150 original photographs, specially commissioned for this volume, presented in the most easy-to-use design imaginable.Whether you belong to one of the millions of American households that already own a copy (or two) of "Joy, " or you have never cracked the spine of a cookbook before, "Joy of Cooking: All About Pasta & Noodles" is for you. It is a spectacular achievement, worthy of its name. "Joy" has never been more beautiful."The Indispensable Kitchen Resource...All-New, All-Purpose, and now All-in-Color"

    Summoned to her childhood home to sort through Penny’s belongings, the timing couldn’t be worse. Grieving over her losses and exhausted from a demanding teaching schedule, she worries that her marriage is collapsing under the pressure. While packing her mother’s closet, Grace discovers a box filled with mysterious keepsakes and old diaries written in Penny’s hand and takes them home. After reading pages filled with typical musings of a teenage girl from a generation ago, she stumbles upon a dark secret and is devastated to learn that what she believed her whole life about her family was based on lies.As Grace digs beneath the Rose family tree, she unearths more than one skeleton buried there. All the while, she must endure the wrath of her grandmother, Eleanor, who is determined to block her efforts to find out what happened when Penny was seventeen, as well as the underlying cause of her premature death. Yet Eleanor harbors a well-kept secret of her own, one more deceitful and calculating than Penny’s sin. Grace’s journey through an emotional labyrinth of passion, shame, and manipulation not only leads to more shocking revelations but also changes the course she had mapped for her life.Through a story told in alternating voices between the past and present where old morals and double standards from the historical 1950s and ‘60s clash with modern day values, Grace must decide if it’s worth taking an unforeseen risk to reaffirm her belief in the power of love. BOOK GROUP GUIDE INCLUDED.

    She does not know that her search will uncover secrets that will both shock and thrill her. Nor can she imagine the emotions and events which await her. Some comments from readers: We have just returned from holiday where I read this book. I must say that I really enjoyed it, and in parts I could not put it down. Lynne, Ilford, Essex I find Tainted Tree very interesting and readable. The way the plot is developed is very good, the reader can't put it down. Barbara, Haslemere, Surrey Great read - I really enjoyed it - genuinely interesting, compulsive reading and so relevant to what is happening today. Susan, Pirbright, Surrey I couldn’t put it down - it was a really interesting saga, beautifully written (a real ‘tear-jerker’ at times!) and I loved the characters, especially Addie. Joyce, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex I finished Tainted Tree and LOVED IT! Elizabeth, Illinois, USA Thoroughly enjoyed the book - I couldn't put it down and loved the ending. Celia, Pirbright, Surrey I have read Tainted Tree, despite meaning to save it for my holiday in August. I couldn't resist and read it straight away in great big chunks and really enjoyed it and the twists and turns and highs and lows of Addie's search. Maggie, Bisley, Surrey I’m just coming to the end of this book and I love it. Natasha, Zurich, Switzerland I’ve got to say - beautifully written - absolutely superb - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mike, Pirbright, Surrey I thought the book was splendid. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Beryl, Hindringham, Norfolk I really loved it. I was absolutely riveted. Maggie, Woking, Surrey The book was excellent; made me cry near the end. Would have liked another chapter or two. Didn’t want to put it down. Theresa, Woking, Surrey I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sonia, Coulsdon, Surrey I’ve just come back from my holiday and I have been reading this book. It was very interesting and it made my holiday very enjoyable. Gillian, North London As to Tainted Tree I would absolutely recommend it. I found it a really interesting read, and after a few chapters couldn't put it down. It is an excellent study in human relationships in all their many forms, with a great feel for history, time and place. Barbara, Thames Ditton, Surrey Having just been on holiday, I took this book with me to read and I really enjoyed it. It was very good - a page turner. Beverley, Godalming, Surrey an excellent plot line … the author has spaced out her revelations to keep the interest going and the mystery developing. I wanted to know what would happen next - the pace was good, the writer’s ear for dialogue, excellent. Colin, Guildford, Surrey

    At the same time, a vengeful mercenary company lays a trail of suspicious murders directly to Jedediah's door. Unwitting pawns to a deeper menace, both serve a centuries-long plot to steal magic's deepest secret.The bloody conflict thrusts Jedediah's family into Death's reach. As the body bag count rises and law enforcement closes in, Jedediah is forced to make desperate choices to protect his loved ones and magic itself by stopping the murders in his wood.

    Repeatedly. In this humorous and honest memoir, Ted Kluck—father, writer, and sports fan—details his adoption of his two sons from Ukraine. While not always self-flattering, his complaints and struggles will provoke laughter, some fear, and self-examination.In the first part of his memoir, Ted reveals the chaos the Kluck’s first international adoption, the adoption of his son Tristan. He includes stories of:Loads of paperwork, inspections, and prayer in the United StatesTraveling to Ukraine with tens of thousands of dollars in cash tucked in his beltUnexpected waitsConsuming uncountable numbers of Snickers bars and sodaSickness while still in UkraineLetters written to his soon-to-be sonGod’s unending faithfulness and reflections on His adoption of believersIn the second part of his memoir—the story of Kluck’s second international adoption—new struggles arise, causing Ted to process with his readers:Infertility—in a church full of pregnant women and large familiesStruggling in silenceTravel, againMissing the comfort of the United StatesA small amount of electrocution—the result of foreign electrical engineeringSpiritual depression and struggle to provide for his familyComplaint and trusting that God’s provision is sufficientThe blessing of the body of ChristIn each section of Ted’s memoir, you will feel deeply, laugh out loud, and learn. Whether you’re an adoptive parent, seeking to be an adoptive parent, or unmarried, you will enjoy and appreciate Ted’s humorous and honest stories of his adventures in adoptive fatherhood.“While Hello, I Love You is about the stories of two adoptions,in reality, the stories serve to show the trustworthiness of God despite impossible circumstances and the need to find contentment in his providential care.”-Book review by John Starke on The Gospel Coalition An Excerpt from the Book’s Introduction:            This book began as a journal—some spiral-bound notebooks that came with me to Ukraine the first time, and which contained letters that I wrote to Tristan during the experience. In the first half of the book, it reads like I’m addressing Tristan directly, while the second half is a more straightforward narrative of Dima’s adoption. They’re both love letters to my boys, and the whole thing is a love letter to Kristin, my wife.            You’ll also notice lots of frank, often sarcastic prose about cultural differences—usually with the author as the punch line, as it was my inability to deal with these differences that provided a lot of humor (in retrospect) and anger (at the time).            There’s also some tough content regarding infertility. If this is something you’ve struggled with in your marriage, I hope this chapter encourages you, and I hope you feel less alone in your struggle. If you’ve been blessed with biological children, please don’t feel guilty for having them, or in any way judged or made fun of by the observations in that chapter (see also: It not being you, but me).            Finally, the book contains lots of stories of God’s faithfulness—stories that we thought were too meaningful not to be told. Little “piles of stones” along the way that remind us of God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness. We hope that you’ll read them and not only be entertained, but be motivated to think of Christ and our adoption as His sons and daughters. It is only the love of Christ, and our hope in Him, that got us through the first, the most difficult adoption in the history of our agency’s work with Ukraine, then infertility, and finally a second adoption. And it was these adoptions, more than any other events or events in our lives, that truly taught us to find our peace, comfort, and identity in Christ.

    In the life she constructs as a barrier against the emotional wreckage of her family tragedy, Anna settles comfortably into a career as a teacher of deaf children. But a challenge arrives—in the form of a young girl. Adrea’s disarming vulnerability and obvious need for love offer Anna the possibility of reconnecting with the world around her—if she has the courage to open her heart. In this debut novel, Rachel Stolzman has crafted a moving and poetic witness to love’s power to transcend grief, pain, and the constraints of human language. The Sign for Drowning is a poignant story of loss and the unexpected occasions of grace that enable us to heal from it and grow beyond it.

    Covering the best practices for raising and caring for children with Down syndrome through age five, this book is invaluable to new parents who have welcomed a baby with Down syndrome into their lives. This new edition incorporates the latest scientific, medical, educational research, and practical information available, as well as parents' suggestions and feedback. Existing chapters have been revised, some completely rewritten by new authors, and in keeping with its parent-friendly reputation, most of the book's contributors are parents of children with Down syndrome Chapters cover: - What Is Down Syndrome?: A primer on the causes, characteristics, and diagnosis, including the latest information on genetics and prenatal testing;- Adjusting to Your Baby: Advice from an experienced mother on coping with common emotions and announcing the news to friends and family;- Medical Concerns & Treatments: An overview of possible health issues including celiac disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, reflux, and skin problems, with an emphasis on detecting signs early for needed treatment;- Daily Care: The gamut of care from feeding to bathing, with expanded information about toilet training;- Family Life: The impact on siblings and couples, discipline issues, and new material to help everyone understand that a child's behavior is a form of communication;- Development & Learning: Expectations about development plus new material on variability in development, learning styles, using reading todevelop language, memory strengths and weaknesses, and using play to encourage learning;- Early Intervention: An overview of services and therapies for babies & toddlers with new information on the transdisciplinary approach, providing services in the natural environment, transitioning preschool, and common questions & answers;- Legal Rights & Financial Issues: Explains your child's educational and legal rights, and financial information, including the latest on federal education and civil rights laws, sources of financial assistance, health insurance, trusts, and guardianship.Full of new photos, parent statements, updated and expanded resources and reading lists, this build everything parents need to build a bright and healthy future for their child with Down syndrome.