Since it’s National Adoption Awareness Month I’ve been doing some thinking about how to spread the word about adoption. I find myself absolutely shocked when people express antiquated views on adoption or are so completely misinformed about the process that they’re terrified of adoption as a whole. I realize my reaction is naïve, but being surrounded by so many positive adoption stories on a regular basis, it truly shocks and saddens me. It’s becoming more and more clear that positive adoption messages need to be spread, and us adoptive families can really make a difference.

I... more

The Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) has just announced that referrals from Phu Tho province have been suspended temporarily by Viet Nam's Department of Intercountry Adoptions (DIA). On their website they state that it is their belief that parents who have been referred children from Phu Tho prior to November 5th will not be affected by the current suspension.

Adoption agencies that are licensed in Phu Tho are A.D.O.P.P.T., Carolina Adoption Services, Children’s Home Society and Family Services (CHSFS), Children’s... more

Remember “The Bear Necessities” and the cute cartoon animals that made up Disney’s film “The Jungle Book”? Well, Ella’s grandma rummaged around to find my old childhood copy of it this morning thinking Ella would love the songs. After fast forwarding through most of it and watching a few songs, I turned it off. I was shocked by what I saw, now watching it through different eyes.

The first shot of the movie is of baby Mowgli lying in a basket inside a boat that had apparently been damaged. It is immediately assumed that he has been orphaned and is taken in by a caring panther... more

In my recent post about the state of Vietnamese adoptions I wrote that I “hope that it (the recent statement from the US Embassy in Hanoi) opens others’ eyes and encourages parents to seek out ethical adoption agencies to work with to bring their children home.” Reading back over my words, I feel the need to elaborate because choosing an ethical agency (and determining which ones are!) is not the end of the line. There is more that we can to do.

The fact that there have been confirmed cases... more

Earlier this week one of my brothers discovered two chests full of family history from my dad’s side of the family. They’ve been stored up in the loft of my dad’s garage for decades and I am so glad my brother unearthed them and is now starting to preserve the letters, photos and memorabilia that he found. So last night he was over with his girlfriend and they were talking about doing a little family genealogy and creating a family tree. Well, adoptive mom radar went up and here I am today with a post for you about family trees for the adoptive family.

I really love this... more

The US Embassy in Hanoi released a statement last week concerning adoptions from Viet Nam. You can read the full announcement here, but I want to share some of the points that jumped out at me. This announcement was made very shortly after the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the Department of State announced that there would be changes made to how the I600 Petition is submitted.... more

We are now officially one step closer to completing our homes study update, and another step closer to our daughter. Today my husband and I traveled to our home study agency’s office for our in office visit. It went extremely well and I’m excited that this step is done and we can move forward from here.

The meeting was relatively short and pleasant. I am extremely relieved to hear that all our paperwork is in order and looks good. We’re still waiting on one reference letter to be turned in and I need to send in one financial statement, but other than that, we’re done! The paperwork is the hard part of the home study, and the actual home visit requires no real preparation, so I really... more

On Tuesday I broke out the play doh for the first time. This tiny little container of purple play doh was so symbolic of things to come with Miss Ella. To me, it represents a big girl activity and she was definitely ready for it. We’ve been coloring and drawing for a long time now and she likes to do creative projects with her hands. So when a friend gave us a few of their leftover Halloween mini play dohs, I happily took them home with us.

At first she had no idea what to do with this weird stuff that I had presented before her. After a few minutes of watching me... more

Tomorrow my husband and I will drive almost two hours to have an in office visit that our home study agency requires. Initially, we were annoyed that we had to do this. This visit is in addition to our actual home visit, and this is the same home study agency that we used for Ella’s adoption, so it seemed ridiculous that we had to be jumping through all these hoops all over again. Then we learned that it’s a state requirement for us to have a certain number of hours with our home study agency for them to complete our home study update. So we really have no choice, and it’s not such... more

This week I’ve been writing about the realities that many adoptive parents face after returning home with their new little one. For my family, the calm ease of Viet Nam was a complete contrast to our life once we got home. Once we got back to the daily grind (but now with an infant!) I was shocked at how difficult it was to transition into life as a family of three at home.

Through my own experience and talking to other adoptive families, I have learned that being prepared is the number one tip when it comes to making life a little easier after you come home with your child. Getting your home and home life in as much order as possible before coming home will help you ease into family... more