[BrandyHagz]

We actually have an entire forum devoted to Adoption Lifebooks and Scrapbooking - where you can also post links to retail sites.

Also, Adoptionshop.com, a sister site to Adoption.com, also offers some adoption related scrapbooking stuff!

[KarenInCa]

The lifebook will be a piece of her own sense of identity as she gets older. The cute and crafty aspects are wonderful, but what I think will be most important is the care given to detail, not so much in making it cute, but in gathering information about the Provence that she's from, the surrounding areas, possibly her finding place, and the age she was when she was found, and who found her. Pictures of her favorite nanny..or something that her nanny thought was cute about her. The way I felt when I saw her referral pictures. Our preparation for her. Our first encounter, and her response to her new home, our animals and family. These details will be most important to her as she gets older...They will help her to identify with her past, and her present.
I've seen some beautiful lifebooks, and it can be very intimidating for someone who doesn't feel they can be as crafty. I've altered my thinking about a life book. I really don't think you have to have "the creative gene" to create a lifebook as much as I used to. It's wonderful to do it creatively, it's pleasing to the eye, and if the pages are filled with loving memories, what a gift! But being crafty is not as important as the historical value it will hold for her.
So, for anyone intimidated by the creative aspect of some lifebooks, just realize that the most important pieces of a lifebook are the pieces of her life that you can document for her in a loving way.

[bdbd]

Very well said Karen. You are absolutely correct about the true meaning of the lifebook.

If you can/want to also make it crafty/pretty, great, but the words and information ARE the critical piece.

[twoinblue]

Can anyone tell me why they are called "lifebooks"?

I looked at the website and was disappointed to see that all the books had "Adoption" or "Chosen Child" written all over them. This is not really what I'm looking for. I am keeping a journal about her adoption and will put picturees and things in it.

I want a BABY book about her experiences once she becomes mine. Unfortunately most baby books have a lot about first steps and teeth and I'm worried that I will have missed most of these things already.

I guess I could make my own which would test my creative skills. Do they sell individual pages at scrapbooking stores so I wouldn't have blank pages about her infancy?

Thanks for all the info!