Those of you that know me, even if just through this blog, know that I am not big into celebrities (at all). I have tried for the most part to even ignore the “celebrity adoptions” on my blog, although I did give in and write about Angelina here and here, and Madonna (just once!) here.

And although I largely ignored Madonna and that whole news fiasco, one of my favorite posts that I ever wrote was the one I wrote about my thoughts on the whole “African adoption debate” brought on by Miss Material Girl.(If you didn’t read that one when I wrote it, go read it now…I’ll wait…it really sums up my feelings on international/transracial adoption.)

But tonight, I enjoyed seeing and reading these photos and quotes from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and I wanted to share them here. (They are probably teh world's most famous transracial adoptive family).

The pictures are wonderful, but I enjoyed the quotes and the information even more. As I have said before (warning…disclaimer ahead) I don’t know these people… I have no idea what kind of parents they “really” are or what their lives are “really” like (I have never even watched the Tomb Raider movies all the way through…), BUT, I can say, that as a transracial adoptive family, I really like the messages that they are sending.

They did not just adopt these kids, take them home to a fancy house in Hollywood and raise them as Californians. They are sending the messages that for one, it is important to teach our children about where they are from and to help them be proud of who they are and where they are from and to have a knowledge of their birth country and culture. This is something that should be important to all adoptive parents.

Here is one quote from the story...

'HIS COUNTRY'
Jolie shows her son a sign in Cambodia warning of land mines. "Mad is just starting to learn a little Khmer (Cambodia's native tongue)," she explains. "This is the first time Maddox has really understood that this is his country. He recognizes himself in the people, which is a wonderful thing to see."

The other message that Angelina is sending that I really love, is that it is not enough to go and adopt a child, bring them home and then forget about where they are from. We have to continue to care, and do something to help those left behind. I think setting up aid funds in Cambodia and Ethiopia in the names of her children is a great idea. Ok, so you and I may not be able to support an orphanage (or two or three), but we can certainly sponsor a child (or two or three).

We may not be able to fly our entire families to Cambodia and Ethiopia (or any other country) on a regular basis to keep our kids connected to their birth cultures, but we can read books, watch movies, eat food, decorate our homes, visit with others, etc. on a regular basis to achieve the same goal.

So, take a look. Enjoy the pictures and the quotes. I may even buy the magazine (and I don’t buy magazines).

There are lots of celebrities out there that have adopted, and most keep things a lot more to themselves than Angelina. If she is going to be open and public about her adoptive family, then I think it is a good thing that she is sending good messages…and I really like the focus of this feature.

Ok, I’m done. That’s all the celebrity news you’re going to get out of my for a while now.

And don’t all you Angelina-haters get to picking on me…


*Photo from www.people.com