Awhile back someone recommended to me the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder, a story about a doctor doing ground-breaking work in Haiti and around the world to fight TB and HIV.

When I heard about the book, I was immediately interested, partly because I have read other books... more

Over at Daring Young Mom's blog this morning she asked people to list ONE favorite book. Even though I am a book fanatic, I had no trouble thinking of one. It is "Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More than Peers" by Gordon Neufeld.

I think what most excites me is that *here* is the convergence of the best "adoptive" parenting and "regular" parenting advice I have read. This is not an "adoption" book, per se---it mentions adoption only in passing, if at all. But anyone parenting kids... more

Today I had fun doing the girls' hair and they both turned out looking so cute that I wanted to share some pictures with you. I did my 1 year old's hair in french ponytails. First I made a part all the way down the middle. Then starting at the front, I made a little ponytail, then another, then another, adding each ponytail into the next ponytail. This makes them connect from front to back in two rows down her head. She fussed and fumed some, and I had to get older siblings to help me distract her. But this... more

Yesterday I overheard my 3 year old singing a made-up song, as she often does while playing. “I like myself! I like myself,” she sang, over and over. I grinned at hearing this, because, you see, I knew exactly where she had gotten that particular phrase.

If you haven’t guessed yet by the many links I have sent your way on this blog, I am an amazon.com junkie. Bad, bad habit of mine, just ask my husband. Recently I was there looking for something else and came across this book: I... more

A great way to help pass the time when you are waiting for a referral or for your child to come home is to do some reading about Ethiopia. Here are some books that I have read or had recommended to me over the years.

The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant by Graham Hancock 1993. This is a history of ancient Ethiopia.

Guide... more

I thought I‘d share a couple of the easiest hairstyles I’ve found so far for my little girls. One thing I always begin with is something to occupy the child. Put in a video or set her at the kitchen counter with a snack or some toys. I‘ve found out the hard way it is too late to add in entertainment after they are already bored, squirming, or crying and you have your hands full of half-braided hair. Once she's occupied, I wet her hair and gob on conditioner generously.

I rub... more

To my precious daughter:

Today I read a story in A Treasury of Adoption Miracles of a girl who got to meet her birthmom. She was 22 years old, and had prayed most of her life that she would be able to meet her. And then she did. Suddenly and unexpectedly. And her life was never the same. Or so I imagined, though the story did not go beyond the meeting.

I found myself crying. Crying because you will never have the gift that this girl had --- the gift of meeting the woman in whose life you began. We know so little about your beginnings--it is unlikely we’d ever... more