(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Today for my definition of adoption, I am going to say that to me, adoption is something to be thankful for.

I am thankful that adoption was an adoption for Josh and I as parents, and allowed us to expand our family after having biological children was no longer an option.

I am thankful beyond words... more

In my last post I started discussing the fact that most of the children awaiting adoption are not young, healthy infants, while at the same time the majority of adoptive parents desire to adopt young, healthy infants. While I do not judge parents adopting babies (and have adopted babies myself), in my next few posts I am going to advocate for, and discuss some of the benefits to adopting children of different ages and special needs children.

Today I am writing about toddlers. Toddlers are interesting people, and despite their challenges, are some of my most favorite people. It is definitely my favorite... more

O.k., let's stir things up a bit. I still have a few more posts to complete to have my full definition of what adoption means to me, and I will have those before the end of the month. I will also be choosing a winner for the Curls National Adoption Month giveaway on Nov. 30. Good luck to everyone, and if you have not yet participated, make sure you visit this post and enter the giveaway.

Today I... more

(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)

This past weekend in Seattle was an important one for me in a lot of ways. I wrote about the wonderful conference I attended for AHOPE for Children in this post and that was the point of the trip and the main focus, however there were... more

I have had a lot of people emailing me and asking about how our adoption is going, so I thought I would give you an update. I hope that by having others follow along on our adoption journey for Solomon by sharing our steps of the process, our experiences and our emotions, it will help give some of you out there an idea of what the adoption process can be like.

I know adoptive parents love time lines, so here is our time line so far:

Aug. 10, 2007 - Decided to adopt Tsega at AHOPE, and called AAI to verbally commit to him.

Aug. 13, 2007... more

I am a firm believer that adoptive parents have an obligation to find ways to give back to "something". Adoptive parents are often portrayed as being selfish and uncaring about the challenges and issues existing in this world that make orphans available in the first place. Transracial adoptive parents are often accused by critics of transracial adoption of not really caring about their children's country and/or culture of birth.

While our priority as transracial adoptive parents must be raising the wonderful and incredible children that we have been entrusted with to the very best of our abilities, I... more

I just got back from a wonderful, whirlwind weekend in Seattle, where I attended the Imagine AHOPE conference for AHOPE for Children. I was one of about 16 people who joined together to share dreams and make plans for AHOPE's future. People traveled from all over the U.S., Canada and Ethiopia, and the dedication and passion was overwhelming and incredible.

What has left the biggest impression on me, is how much good has been done and how many children are having their lives changed for the better. What started because one... more

(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)

Adoption is a choice. It is a choice in a lot of different ways.

Adoption is a choice for parents who are unable to care for their children. It is a way for them to provide for their children. For some parents adoption is a choice instead of abortion. For some parents adoption is a choice instead of extreme poverty and suffering. There are many other reasons a parent could choose adoption for her child. It is certainly never an easy choice for... more

(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)

When people think of risky behavior, they tend to think of things like sky-diving, bank robbing and running with the bulls. While it may not make it to the top of any "risky" lists, adoption is fairly risky.

For adoptive parents, adoption is emotionally risky. You are putting your hopes and dreams into a process that is controlled... more

(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)

For parents just about to get in line to ride the adoption roller coaster, let me warn you that it is not a gentle ride!! The highs are super high, the lows are ridiculously low and the turns are fast and hairpin.

Like amusement park rides have warnings that certain rides are not recommended for "expectant women, people with high blood... more