Back on November 6 of this year, Michelle Ransavage traveled to China and was united with her new daughter, a two year-old with special needs that Michelle and her husband, Andrew, named Mia.

The couple, whose adoption is being handled by Children's Home Society and Family Services, had completed numerous background checks and screenings for their homestudy, their USCIS approval and for their adoption agency. Everything came back fine and the couple proceeded on their adoption journey to Mia.

With the length of time that many adoptions from China are now taking, many adoptive parents are having to have their fingerprints for... more

I have one more transcultural adoption article to share with you. Several days ago the Chicago Tribune had this article titled, "Muhammad's special reception". The article tells about Chicago Bears wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad and his wife, Christa, who recently brought home two new children that they adopted internationally from Ethiopia.

The couple already has three daughters and a son at home, and I was not able to find any details about the ages or genders of the two children the couple adopted from Ethiopia.

While the article in the Chicago Tribune is short... more

China has consistently been one of the most popular countries for U.S. parents to adopt internationally from since the mid 1990's. When people think of transracial adoption, many instantly picture a white couple with a Chinese baby, and when prospective adoptive parents first start thinking about where to adopt from, China is often one of the first possibilities that is explored.

The U.S. Department of State reports over 60,000 Chinese orphans receiving immigrant visas through adoption... more

There are so many stories in the media that focus on the challenges of adoption, or adoptions "gone bad" or just plain sad adoption stories, so I thought I would share this feel good transracial adoption story that I saw on Yahoo titled "GI saves Iraqi boy in long-shot adoption".

I am not a big fan of the title of the story, and I cringe internally when I hear adoption likened to "saving" a child, and yet in this story it is hard to argue that the boys life was very much saved through his adoption.

In a nutshell, Captain Scott Southworth of Wisconsin met his future son when he was deployed to one of... more

I hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday, and the only thing missing was some good news from Ethiopia.

It is very common for holidays to be an emotional and challenging time for children who were adopted, as it is normal to think about the people you love and miss during the holidays, and all of the "going ons" and excitement can put kids into emotional overdrive.

The first Christmas that Mercy and Des were home with us, Mercy had a big breakdown. Their birth mom had promised a lot of things to the girls when she placed them with us a few months earlier, and at that point the letters, calls, etc. were not coming. She had promised several... more

As challenging as it can be to survive the holidays with a new child, it can be equally challenging to survive the holidays when you are still waiting for your child to come home.

The holidays are a time when more than ever, we crave to be with our families. The holidays and holiday celebrations often focus on children, and the joy and excitement they experience during the holiday season.

The holidays are also a very emotional time for most people.

When you consider all of those things, and then add in the challenges of being on the adoption... more

We did not get the news we were hoping for. As is so dang common in international adoption, we have hit a delay. A necessary piece of paper was missing from our file, and so our case could not be approved at the hearing. I do not really understand why the paper was not ready since our case was submitted forever ago (back on October 7), but it wasn't, and our case wasn't approved, and so we wait so more.

Our agency rep called this morning and said that the agency person in Ethiopia was going to go into the government office on Monday to try and obtain the letter and that if they are able to get the letter, they might be able to get the case approved that day and we may not have to another... more

Everyone knows that the holidays are a time of much excitement, activity and celebration. It is also a very busy and emotional time of year.

At the same time, having a newly adopted child in your home is a time of great transition for your family. It can be a very challenging time because a new child may be having issues with eating, sleeping and attachment. Other children in the home may be bent out of sorts because of the new addition. Parents may be feeling overwhelmed and mentally and physically... more

As I often say, adoption is an emotional roller coaster for adoptive parents.

The highs are high, the lows are low and the turns and changes come fast and furious, sometimes without any warning.

Right now we are at the sickening, nauseating part of the ride, where you are hanging; waiting and waiting to reach the top of the climb.

Tonight I am having a hard time focusing on much, as I know in just a few short hours, our case will be heard in the Ethiopian... more

Excitement is the word around here this week. In case you have somehow lost count, there is no less than FIVE days until Christmas as of today (four if you count like Nathan, who figures that today is basically over already).

Even though our kids have school through tomorrow, the teachers have all but given up on getting any work done, and tomorrow is a designated "fun day" at school for all. The kids are looking forward to decorating gingerbread houses, Christmas concerts, snow sculpting competitions, games, treats, parties and for Mercy (the junior high student), a dance. This weekend we also have a church Christmas party, a Christmas movie at the theater, a Christmas street fair... more