Faith over on the Adoptive Parenting Blog wrote an interesting post today on a topic that is rarely talked about in adoption circles. Her post is titled "Raising a Less Physically Attractive Adopted Child".

In a nutshell, Faith points out that not all children are "magazine cover" beautiful, and yet at the same time, all children are truly beautiful. However, in the shallow world in which we live in, many people value physical beauty as a highly important... 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

Unlike the last article I wrote about, which I think did a good job of taking a real look at some of the complexities, ethics, emotions and issues surrounding international and transracial adoption, this article, titled "Foreign Orphans Better Than Our Own", is total nonsense (in my not so humble opinion).

I get satire. I get sarcasm. I have a pretty dang good sense of humor, if I do say so myself. But to me, this article is poorly written, and was written for seemingly no other reason than to stir up emotions and... more

I hate titles like the one this article has, "Did I Steal My Daughter? The Tribulations of Global Adoptions".

But, despite the sensational title, I think this is a pretty decent article.

The article is written by an adoptive mother, who, along with her husband, adopted a baby girl from Guatemala. The article goes through the family's emotions and thoughts before their daughter joined them, their thoughts and experiences during the placement and then their emotions, thoughts and developing concerns once they brought their daughter home.

Do adoptive families have the... more

In my last post I started writing about "real orphans" and how I believe that all children who have been orphaned, whether by death or relinquishment, are deserving of being adopted.

However, there are additional issues to consider when children are being relinquished for international adoption in countries that are suffering from poverty, illness, famine, lack of resources and other challenges.

In the United States it can not even be said that no birth parents relinquish their babies because of external pressure and coercion. Unfortunately,... more

Mary over at the Ethiopia Adoption blog as a great post today about "true orphans", and about the conflict some people feel adopting children who still have living parents. I was going to leave a comment, but decided I have enough to say to warrant a post or two of my own. :)

In this post I am going to discuss who I feel qualifies as a true orphan. Is a child who has been orphaned by the death of his parents "more" of an orphan than a child who has been relinquished by parents who cannot care for him because of poverty of illness?

Honestly, I do not believe that one child in an orphanage... more

One of the things that constantly nags at the back of my brain, is the worry of what happens to the children who never get adopted, and eventually age out of the foster care system, or get kicked out of their orphanage.

It is no secret that in many countries, once children reach the age of 14 or so and are considered "un-adoptable" and leave the orphanages, they are at a huge risk for sexual exploitation, child labor and other dangers. Young girls are at a high risk of becoming pregnant and creating more children that will not have parents who can care for them.

Kids leaving orphanages with little or no education, no family and no support have very few options open to them.

In... more

It seems that in the media, transracial adoption (whether domestic or international) is often made out to be either trendy, the new "hip" thing to do, or, taboo, morally wrong in every way.

Many of us have seen the countless articles on international adoption that seem to be everywhere every time Angelina Jolie, Madonna or another big star adopts. These articles tend to have very little factual information in regards to adoption. Many of them "hint" that unethical practices are going on, without any facts or research. These articles also typically make it sound like to adopt a child, all you have to do is get yourself to a country and "shop" for a child.

There was lots of hype... more

One of the most difficult aspects of our adoptions for me is all of the children left behind. They weigh heavily on my heart and my mind…some days more than others.

It sounds cliché to say that it is life-changing to go to Ethiopia or another country stricken by disease and extreme poverty…but it is.

To stand in an orphanage full of children, and to really look into their eyes, and hold them in your arms, is indescribable. Being at AHOPE was tougher than the other orphanages we visited, because only a very few of the children had ever been adopted, and only a small handful were in process of being adopted. I think about those little boys, slipping their hands into mine and... more