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

One of the greatest blessings of building our family has been watching the kids build relationships, come to love each other and claim each other as siblings.

This picture is from last night and is of Nathan and Mercy. Nathan was our first child, and was our oldest child, until we adopted Mercy and her sister, Des. Mercy is a year older than Nathan. Her and Des came to us three years ago, when Mercy was nine years old, Nathan was eight and Des was six. Many "experts" would have strongly discouraged us from adopting these two girls (and in fact we were discouraged by several... 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

(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.)

As I have been working to define adoption, it has become clear that adoption is a lot of things. Sometimes the things that "adoption is" are even contradictory. For example it true that "adoption is love" and yet it is also true that "adoption is a business".

Adoption is complicated. It is... more

So far in my definition of adoption I have said that adoption is life changing, adoption is hope, adoption is expensive and adoption is a business. All of these are pieces of my own personal definition of adoption, which I am going to continue to build on throughout November... more

With Thanksgiving now less than two weeks away and Christmas not far behind, I need to continue on with my "gifts with meaning" posts. If you have missed these, I am making suggestions for holiday gifts to be given by adoptive parents (or given to adoptive parents!) that give back in some way to children in need. Links to the rest of these posts are at the bottom of this post.

Most of you know that I am the supplies and donations coordinator for AHOPE for Children and that our Belane and our Solomon are both from AHOPE.

There... more