I wanted to tell to you about National Adoption Day – Saturday, November 18 – when hundreds of courthouses in almost every state across the country will open their doors to finalize thousands of adoptions from foster care.

This year, activities will kick off in Los Angeles with a national event – launching celebrations happening in major cities and local communities around the country.

Celebrations and adoption finalizations are scheduled to take place in major cities and local communities across the country including, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta.

Across the country on Saturday there will be finalizations... more

My husband works in the health care field. Once a year he has to be away from us for a day so that he can go to a continuing education seminar nearby. Now lots of women, especially at-home moms of 8 children, would be unhappy to have their husbands gone for yet another day of the week.

But I am very fond of this particular conference. Here's why.

Almost exactly seven years ago at one of these conferences, my husband settled himself on an outdoor bench under some trees at lunch time and zipped open his lunch box. Inside the lunch box was a letter from me.

I'd seen a little boy, you see. And I was wondering if this little guy could possibly be a member of our... more

...but Melissa Fay Greene did, and I don't want you to miss it. Adopting a Baby from Africa, Famous or Not (NPR- All Things Considered, October 20, 2006) I especially love the quote at the end. Go click.

~~~

You may also be interested in:
My interview With Melissa Fay Greene
My review of There is No Me Without You

It seems that within adoption circles, there's not too much neutrality in regard to this whole Madonna adoption. I think for adoptive parents this strong emotion is related (at least in part) to two things. First of all, we want international adoption to be seen as legitimate, and law-abiding-- done within the law, not above it.

And second, adoptive families want to know that birth family made choices thoughtfully, and that children were relinquished only in instances of true and very deep need. Really, no one wants to snatch a child from a poor family. After clicking around the blogosphere awhile this evening, I came to realize that this Madonna adoption is a really... more

I've been resisting commenting on the whole Madonna adoption story. But a few things about the latest from the BBC News -October 16, 2006- got me talking to myself in my head, and now here I am, clicking away in an attempt to explain my thoughts to you. First, a snippet of the article:

A group of Malawian charities aiming to stop Madonna adopting a local boy has deferred efforts to gain an injunction.

The Human Rights Consultative Committee claims the adoption of one-year-old David Banda is unlawful because Madonna has not lived in the African country.

A spokesman said they needed more time to follow up reports of family members opposed to the boy going... more

In the spirit of fun, I'd like to share ten ways to spend the time while waiting for your child to come home. I am not going to admit to having done ALL of them...well, not all on the same day anyway....

1.) Put your social worker's phone number on speed dial. Call her every week without fail during the entire process, even when she warns you the wait will still be months. Email her for reassurance on all 'difficult' waiting days, such as those containing the letter S. After all, if she hears from you often, she won't 'forget' about you.

2.) Sign up on every email list that is remotely applicable to your situation. Check for new email at least once per hour all day... more

I happened across two excellent, thoughtful posts while blogsurfing today. The first was a post over at Afrindiemum talking about dealing with her daughter's hair, and in the process confronting the importance of hair in Black society. I hope you'll go read the whole post, but here is one bit of it:

we live in a predominantly black neighborhood. [snip] there are so many things i want to say about hair and how it affects our lives. it is, i promise you, the cultural thermometer that determines whether or not we fit into our neighborhood. if her hair is looking good, the grocery... more

I enjoy reading the blog The Naked Ovary. She has just brought a toddler home from China, and this weekend posted about her struggles to help her new daughter sleep. After posting a big long comment at her place, I decided to also share my comment here, since sleep issues in newly arrived kids are so very common.

************

My reply:

One of my sons came home at the age of 20 months when his 'big' brother was only 23 months of age. My new son woke crying in terror several times a night due to the huge... more

In planning my writing for the future, I've been wondering whether to focus more on older-child or baby-toddler issues. Could I get some feedback?

1. How many of you are planning to adopt or have adopted babies in the 0-2 year old age range?

2. How many of you have brought home or plan to bring home kids who were in the 3-5 year old range on homecoming?

3. How about kids who came home at the age of 6 or older?

4. How many of you have adopted or will adopt a sibling group?

Please respond below, or feel free to email me privately: adoptethiopiablog@adoptionmail.com... more

(I read this years ago and had a chuckle over it. Then this week someone on my agency email group shared it, and I decided to share it here in case some of my readers may not have seen it yet.)

*******

Have you ever noticed that you hear all the time about "accidental" pregnancies, but never about couples who experience "accidental" adoptions?

Can you imagine:

Honey, sit down. I have some news for you.

What is it?

Well, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come out with it. I went out to the mailbox today and ... well, we got an I-171H.

A what?!? An I-171H? As in, we're going to have a(nother) baby?!?

It looks that way.

But... more