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Fly Away Home- Emily works with HIV+ woman and children, and is also an adoptive mom of two darling little boys from Ethiopia. She has been writing educational posts about HIV on her blog and they are amazing. Even if you are not considering ever adopting a child with HIV, this is worth reading. Even I , who consider myself to be highly educated on the matter as the mother of an HIV+ child, learned a lot. Thanks Em, for taking the time to educate those around you.

Adopt Blogger- If you haven’t read this blog, it is a good one to bookmark. Martha, creator of... more

Here are some blogs/posts that I am going to recommend for your reading pleasure. :)

There are oodles of family blogs that I read and “check in” with that are great, but here are some specific posts and blogs that have go beyond the typical fun family updates and have had something really good (in my opinion) to say lately. Food for thought if you will…

Ethiopian Adoption Travelogue- The Feb. 4 post on the Take One Book and Ethiopia Reads program is a great one, AND she is giving away a free book. I say “Pick me! Pick me!”

Add the info to your blog and get in on the contest, if this is something that interests... more

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-Dance. We love music, and my kids love to dance. When they have energy to spare and the weather isn’t great for doing things outdoors, we often crank up the tunes and let them go wild. It is definitely the stuff that video cameras were made for!

-Clean. Ok, I know that cleaning doesn’t sound like much fun, but sometimes when you are stuck inside it is a great opportunity to get stuff done. Sometimes I will have my kids go through their toy boxes, shelves, etc. and make “keep”, “trash” and “donate” piles.... more

Since it COLD and snowy here, I thought I would have a “10 fun things to do on a cold snowy day with your family” post for this weekend. All of these can be done at home (or nearby) for little or no cost. To those of you enjoying warmer weather, some of these could still work. :)

-Go sledding! We have been having so much fun sledding together as a family this winter. Find a good spot with a moderately sloped hill (free from trees and any other obstacles). Bring a thermos or cooler of hot chocolate to help warm up little hands and bodies, and... more

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Another good idea for celebrating Black History Month with your kids is to look into events in your area. Many universities, museums, churches, adoption groups, clubs, etc. have special events to celebrate Black History month, some of which are even tailored for children. You can check with the Student Union or websites of local universities or even go to good old Yahoo or Google and search for “Black History Month” and your state or city.

If you are lucky enough to live near a big city that has an area like “Little Ethiopia” (or other ethnic area), going for a visit and some shopping and eating is a fun way to celebrate for a day. Ethnic restaurants... more

It is February, which means it is Black History Month. Up until a few years ago, much like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it Black History Month wasn’t something that I used to pay much attention to. But now, as the mom of five black kids, it is a significant “holiday” for our family.

For our family nights this month I have lessons prepared about Black History Month…people and events worth learning about. This weekend provides a good opportunity for learning and conversation as well, with the first-ever African-American coaches taking their teams to the Super Bowl (especially if you have kids that are into sports).

I have found that the key for getting kids interested in learning... more

I NEVER get to watch Oprah… it is on at 4 p.m. here… right in the middle of kids coming home and doing homework and wanting a snack, and me starting dinner, etc. But I might just try to fit it in today, because Oprah is doing a story on transracial adoption.

Oprah’s show today is called “Fascinating Families”, and one of the families that she is interviewing is that of Lysa and Art from North Carolina, who adopted two teenaged boys from Liberia after seeing them sing in a performance by a boys’ choir from an orphanage in Liberia. Although they had never considered adoption and had attended the concert with their daughter’s brown troop with no intentions of it being a life-changing... more

Earlier this month I wrote about our adventures in finding the right hair products for Belane. Belane has beautiful “corkscrew” curls…much looser than the hair of my black kids from the U.S. (who also have beautiful hair), and yet still much more textured than your average “curly hair”. Making things extra difficult was the fact that Belane has suffered from a severely dry scalp since we got her in Ethiopia. Products that made her hair feel nice left her scalp itchy and scratchy, and products that made her scalp look healthy, left her hair greasy and oily.

We had been doing pretty well with the “Hair Balm” from Carol’s Daughter, but I was... more

Tonight there is an interesting show on ABC's 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. It is called "Waiting on the World to Change" The Hopes, Dreams and Hardships of Children in America's Most Dangerous City.

Here is a teaser from the ABC website...

A Year in the Life of Children in Poverty

What's it like for kids to live with no electricity, rushing to finish homework before sundown? Diane Sawyer reports on a year in the life of children in one of the poorest cities in America.

The program looks at kids in Camden, New Jersey.

Jan. 25, 2007 — Abandoned homes, empty... more

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After all of this, I stumbled across an email on an Ethiopian adoption group that recommended the products by Carol’s Daughter. I checked out the site and was a bit overwhelmed at all of the choices, and I admit I was impressed by the recommendation by Brad Pitt (they have a quote by him that he and Angelina use these products for their daughter from Ethiopia).

In the end I chose a few products that I thought would be good for hair and scalp. The... more