For those of us who have adopted Internationally, a Homeland Trip to your child's birth country is normally something that crosses our minds. When looking through adoption magazines or surfing adoption websites you often see guided tours to China or Korea being advertised.

When we were in Ethiopia picking up our girls I had a urge to return when they were teenagers so they could tour the country and see the culture once again before becoming adults. Our plan was to come back in ten years when our kids were 18,18, 16 and 13. The trip costs quite a bit and we never really thought... more

Cost is a huge factor in adoption. Many people do not even look into the adoption process because of the common belief that only the wealthy can adopt. The Adoption Tax Credit the U.S. Government offers is an amazing resource that can really make adoption a reality for many families. Personally, I don't think we could have adopted our two girls without knowing that we would get a lot of the money back. As much as we wanted to adopt, we didn't want to morgage the next ten years of our lives either.

For those of you new to the adoption scene. The Adoption Tax Credit... more

A few updates in the world of International Adoption:

Madonna's petetion for adoption of a little girl is granted the second time around from the courts of Malawi. Malawi's adoption laws normally require adoptive parents to live in country for a long period of time and Madonna's lack of residence has caused quite the stir in the International Community. To learn more about Malawi adoptions you can check out Adoption.com or the U.S. State Department. I have voiced my... more

For those of us who have adopted older children internationaly, the language barrier is most likely one of the hardest barriers to get over. While my Ethiopian girls (ages eight and six when we brought them home) picked up English quickly and are doing extremely well, I still worry a lot about when they are without Hubby or I. I don't want them to get confused or upset over questions about what they are saying or not understanding from others. I'm going to make a short story long, but if I leave out details it won't make a lot of sense.

This weekend we all went to an amusement park. We went to this same park last year when the girls had only been home a few months. I must emphasize... more

Doing my girl's hair has been a fun but sometimes frustrating challenge for me. I have bought books, DVDs and watched online videos to try and learn all I can. I can do pretty good twists I must admit, but I have not mastered the cornrows by far. Honestly I cannot even tell they are cornrows, once I get done with them!

The girls have been with us for a year now. I have seen them braid each-others hair many times. They have watched me try and corn-row many, many times!

Tonight as I sat in front of my TV watching another DVD showing yet another cornrow technique the girls started laughing at me. All four of them were lovingly teasing and I happened to say to Mita,"Are you... more

Lately I have been reading and seeing more information about open international adoptions. This pleases me. I think that openness in adoption is a positive way for adopted kids to grow up. Of course there are varying degrees of openness, and in some situations open adoptions may not be a good idea (past abuse comes to mind here).

I often bristle when I hear of parent's adopting internationally "so they don't have to deal with birth families". I try not to be judgmental, but without birth families their would be no adoptive families.

As with domestic adoptions, there are many different ways to communicate with birth families. Letters and photos, pictures, phone calls and... more

As International Adoption is always changing I can appreciate how hard it is to keep up with new developments. Here are a few updates that I found on the U.S. State Department website.

ETHIOPIA

May 26, 2009

Adoptions of Abandoned Children Halted by Ethiopian Court

On May 4, 2009 the Ethiopian First Instance Court temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred by orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing a substantial increase in the number of children being brought for adoption. The number of abandoned... more

Yesterday was Mother's Day. We had a nice day of homemade gifts, surprises and family together time. The kids had been working really hard at school making gifts for me for the last couple of weeks. My four year old had already shown me her present of course and hid it several places all over the house. She finally found it just in time to give it to me.

Mita had drawn a picture of my and had a list of my likes and favorites written out. I was amazed to realize how much she knew me. She may have asked Hubby the details (he doesn't remember?) but the fact is... more

As tommorow is Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) I thought I would write a bit about adoptions from Mexico and ways to keep the Mexican traditions in your home.

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of a battle that Mexico won against the French. This holiday is very popular to celebrate in California, where I once lived, and I have carried on the tradition and celebrate it with my family. It is a good way to teach your kids some culture while having fun doing it.

If you have adopted a child from Mexico or are in the process you may want to have a fiesta of your own tommorow... more

Why did we adopt internationally?

I still don’t have a quick answer for this question that is asked so often. Hubby and I didn’t just decided one day to adopt from Ethiopia. It was more like a gradual pulling that started when we were teenagers dating and guided us to Ethiopia after 13 years of marriage and two bio kids later.

The longing to adopt for me started as a child. I would watch “Little House on the Prairie” and see how Pa and Ma always had room for more children who needed a home. It really was my first look at how families are made in different ways, and... more