Due to the importance of working only with agencies that are licensed by Viet Nam to conduct Vietnamese adoptions, I’m once again listing the adoption agencies that are currently licensed. It seems that more and more non-licensed agencies are partnering up with or working under the umbrella of a licensed agency. If you are a prospective adoptive parent (PAP,) please, please, please do the research and only work with agencies that have been licensed to conduct adoptions in Viet Nam. Granted, that lovely license absolutely does not guarantee ethical or sound practices, so PAPs must be on their toes with their eyes and ears open.

Here are some posts of mine about how to choose an adoption... more

A few days before our official first Family Day, Ella’s Aunt Kellie and Uncle Adam stopped by with a special Family Day gift for her. Not only is it sweet and touching that they remembered, but those two always go out of their way to find appropriate, unique, special gifts for their niece. This occasion was no exception.

When Ella unwrapped her gift, it was a copy of John McCutcheon’s book “Happy Adoption Day!” I don’t know how they seem to find adoption related books and items that... more

I enjoyed reading “Be My Baby: Parents and Children Talk About Adoption” by Gail Kinn with photographs by Ken Shung. I came across it while browsing through the adoption books section at my library, checked it out and read it in only a couple of hours after Ella had gone to bed.

I would liken this book to a coffee table book of sorts. The reading is light, the subject is familiar and comfortable to me, the photographs are gorgeous and it’s broken up into small, easily digestible segments. I love books like this! You could easily read a section or two at a time and come... more

Ingredients: 2 large bowls 1 spoon An entire cabinet’s worth of various sized tupperware containers Warm water Dish soap All the towels that you can find within reach

Step 1: Lay out all ingredients on kitchen floor and add one crabby, whiny, inconsolable toddler.

Step 2: Step back to avoid being splashed.

Step 3: After said toddler has completely soaked her pajamas, the towels and the kitchen floor, transfer the now (for the moment) calm toddler... more

There are so many names for such a special day: Family Day, Adoption Day, Gotcha Day, Forever Family Day, and I’m sure there are many more that I’m just not thinking of right now. Regardless of what you may call it in your family, the anniversary of the day that you adopted your child is an important, personal holiday.

As you may know, we celebrated our first Family Day yesterday and what a lovely day it was. It was nice to make a little fuss over the fact that we officially became a family a year ago to the date. We had a special dinner and a gift for Ella, but mostly, it was just nice to reflect and spend some quality time together.

There are many things that your family... more

It’s our first Family Day! One year ago today we met our curious, shocked, trusting and adorable little daughter for the first time. Adopting Ella started us on the most amazing journey and that journey all began that hot and sticky day in Bac Giang, Viet Nam.

We were the only family adopting from her province at the time, so things were pretty calm. When we arrived, her nannies had wet her gorgeous thick head of hair down to try and calm the spikiness. When it started to dry and stick up again, we assured them that we liked it like that and one... more

Bomb Uncovered After Typhoon - Typhoon Lekima; which caused massive amounts of damage and loss in Viet Nam last week has uncovered quite a shocker; a five hundred pound bomb that was apparently dropped by an American plane during the war. Found near the Ham Rong bridge in Central Viet Nam, the bomb had been unearthed by the destructive storm’s floods and landslides. Officers and engineers were working to diffuse it over the weeend. Authorities are also revealing that there were two other... more

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. In honor of my son Cole, I wanted to share a little about this day with my readers. As my life changes and my family grows, there will forever be someone missing, and I appreciate the fact that on this day, people around the world will take some time to remember my son and all the children who are missed every day.

In 2006, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day became official in the eyes of Congress when House Concurrent Resolution # 222 was passed. October has long been recognized as Pregnancy... more

While walking through the mall recently a pair of women walked past my family and gasped loudly “Oh, how cute!” I smiled in their direction, then asked my husband, “They meant Ella, right?” There were no puppies or kittens around, so I realized that the compliment was directed towards my daughter. She gets this kind of attention ALL the time, and it makes me wonder if and when this unsolicited attention is going to grate on her.

Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s the most beautiful girl on the planet and deserves to be adored. But I have read many accounts of Asian... more

I wrote earlier this week about the typhoon and accompanying floods that hit Viet Nam recently and the damage that has been left behind, and just can’t get it out of my head. I’ve been checking my news updates to see what updates; if any, are coming out about what the situation is like now that the storm has passed. What I have found is upsetting.

The northern and central provinces that were hit the worst by Typhoon Lekima (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ninh Binh) had already endured a few days of rain before the storm even started to flood the area. Now, although the typhoon has subsided, Viet Nam is... more