In my last post I started offering tips on making the perfect photo album to send to your child while you are waiting to be united. Here are some more tips.

- Label the pictures. An album full of smiling faces is nice, but it is much more helpful if your child can get to know who is who. If you use an album where you slide photos into a sleeve, you can write on the plastic sleeve with a permanent marker. (However, if the pictures get pulled out and put back incorrectly, confusion can occur! Belane's album had a rough life in Ethiopia, and when she came home she had Daddy's picture in the page that said, "Maggie", Ryan's picture in the page that said "Des", etc.) You can also consider writing right on the photos, or a printed album works really well too (more on that coming up).


- If your child speaks (or is in a country where the people speak) a different language, consider adding some phrases in that language. We have always added "we love you" in the languages our children speak, and sometimes even words for "mother", "father", etc.


- Do not use any pictures that are irreplaceable. All of the pictures in the albums we have made have come home with our children very worn and somewhat damaged. We thought it was a good thing, as we knew our children had looked at them often. Consider making color copies of the photos you want to use.

- Remember that the nannies, other children, orphanage staff, foster parents and other people in your child's life will also be looking at this album, and you should ensure that the photographs you choose are not inappropriate to the culture. For example, Ethiopian culture is very conservative when it comes to the way women dress, so I would not send photos of myself or my daughters in bathing suits, tank tops, etc. (Truth be told I would not send a photo of myself in a bathing suit to ANYONE, but that is another blog for another day).

- Include a photo of your home, and maybe one of your child's room so they can get a realistic idea of what their new home will look like.

- If you have a pet, (especially one that is indoors) include a photo, unless you are instructed by your agency not to include pictures of pets in your album. (Some cultures do not approve of animals in the home, so that would be why you could be asked not to include pet pictures). Many children who are adopted internationally and from foster care are not used to being around animals and can be very afraid of dogs and cats. A photo of a family pet (especially around other kids) can help send the message that Spot isn't scary.

Continued in next post...