Over on the Hoping to Adopt Blog, Faith wrote about adopting a sibling, and how kids can react to the idea of bringing another child into the family.

Sam was all of two-and-a-half when we brought Cj home, too young to form opinions on issues as big and life-altering as becoming a big brother some might think, but he was thrilled to bits and had been all through our waiting process. With every weekend bringing more photos of Baby Sister via Shelley, our friend in Cambodia who did weekly cuddle visits and snapped away freely, he came to know Cj bit by bit, incorporating her into his days before she physically shared them.

(For a while, his answer to the question, "Where is your baby sister?", was always, "In Mom's office." That's were the computer receiving the emailed photos lived, the baby was in the computer, so lived in the office. Made total sense to a two-year-old.)

The decision to adopt a second child is not reached without great thought and consideration over as wide a scope of issues as any involving family, and reasons for deciding to go for it many come slowly, only after overcoming a long list of worries.

I recall my mother-in-law voicing concern over the impact a sib would have on Sam ... delicate little flower that she's determined to think he is ... being more than a bit convinced that competition for attention would throw him into some developmental tailspin. I suspect she also doubted that luck would grace us again as magnificently as it had when out of all the children in the world, it was Sam who became our child.

No doubt, that's a common thought, as the blessings our children are seem against great odds and unlikely to happen often to normal people like you and me. Going for more than the one can feel like tempting fate.

Worries that sound a lot like, "Can we afford another child?" and "Can we afford another adoption?" have to be sorted, as well, along with calculating travel time and room in the house for another little one.

If the answers all lead to adopting again, it's all that excitement and love all over again, and a whole new family formed by the addition of a new member.

Thankfully ... wonderfully ... our journey to Cj was over a smooth road leading us to the most amazing little girl, and the best baby sister a boy could ask for. For Sam, it's not only Thursdays that are filled with love for Cj ... just the day Mom often writes about it.

For more on this topic click here, here, here, and here.