It’s that time again, time for our second post placement visit. When we adopted four post placement visits were required. I know that this is an ever-changing requirement with many international countries. This is something very important to follow through on. Russia has halted adoptions all together in regions because of parents not turning in post placement reports. I believe that Ukraine also closed its doors all together because of this. Its just one of those things you need to do. Yes it’s a pain. Because our adoption agency... more

Today is our one-year referral anniversary. I celebrated by taking a good look at my daughter, hugged her and reflected on how much my life has changed since I first saw her sweet little face sideways in a grainy email photo. Every Pap working hard on their adoption fantasizes and dreams about the call… the day that they learn that they have been matched with a child. It’s a day of much excitement and knee shaking celebrating. I remember this so clearly. One year ago today I worked until noon and came home. The day before day I had spoken to our... more

Our family never intended to adopt even one child. So, how did we get all the way from three birthed children to 27 children?? Good question! We knew we wanted one more child, preferably a son. That longing motivated us to find a way to add that child to our family. How would we find the child meant for our family? We decided that we would foster a child. From that initial longing, our family expanded quickly with methods including foster care, adoption from foster care, private adoption, permanent legal guardianship, and adoption... more

Jan 2006 Baby room renovation complete- gender neutral Pooh 24th Referral received….It’s a Girl... Yes, yes, yes…. The day had arrived but it came in an email and not the infamous call I had been expecting. Travel would be quick and its brutally cold in Russia.

Feb 2006 Hustle, Hustle to get everything ready for Trip One… paperwork and more paperwork. 9th Metcha- I went to meet her all alone as John was really sick with a stomach virus 10th Metcha again- John was well enough to come flights... more

a Bloggy friend of mine is selling truffles & caramels to raise money to offer financial assistance to preadoptive families. She mentioned on her blog today that no one had applied yet for the grant. I thought I would help by spreading the word. This applies for Families adopting from Russia or Guatemala. You can download the application and learn more about Sweet hope by visiting this link. Check it out and spread the word.

We would like to give gifts to as many... more

Continued from previous post...

I have written several posts questioning the extent to which coercion exists in adoption on many different levels.

--Coercion in prematurely terminating parental rights of mothers who are substance addicted or struggling with mental health issues. I think this is a group of so-called surrendering parents who are prime targets for being coerced. After all who gives a damn about them?

--Coercion of adoptive parents to conform to the new push towards open adoption.

--Coercion of women in crisis... more

I am in a foul, foullllll mood this morning so everybody please stay the (heck) out of my way. I am usually a centrist on most things involving the adoption debate. Always taking, or at least trying to take the so-called intellectual high road. Interested in hearing all points of view. Even when I think a particular point of view is idiotic or just downright obnoxious and rude. First seeking to understand and then seeking to be understood. Blah-blah. Blah-blah. But, I'm not feeling any of that this morning. Not one bit.

It has always been fairly... more

I found this article today which reports some new statistics on adoption.

The study was released a week ago by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institue. I am not familiar with this particular organization so I am unable to address what their adoption philosophy is, or if they have a particular agenda regarding adoption. However,... more

Many adoptive families have traveled a long and winding road to become a family. Workers and parents alike may have a tendency to view the placement of an adoptive child as the end point of the culmination of a lenghty and emotional process. However, it is really only the beginning of another leg of the journey.

In one of my previous posts about successful adoption, I emphasized how critical it is to be honest with your caseworker about the type of child you are seeking to adopt. I believe that such honesty can lead to a "good match" between parents and children.... more

So every Thursday I will post a personal picture and tell the story behind it and why I love it. I gives you all a clip art break and I have hundreds of pictures so we have many "Love Thursdays" to look forward to. I decided to start with my favorite adoption trip pictures since this is an adoption blog. While I was going through the "wait" and paperwork process I loved coming across blogs with pictures of new families. It gave me hope that one day I too would have my own pictures to share.

This picture was taken on our flight out of... more