For many, the idea of falling deeply and forever in love through a simple photo ... and not usually a very flattering photo at that ... seems an impossibility, a severe case of wishful thinking, more that a bit pathetic, or a doozy of an exaggeration. International adoptive parents know how easy it is, though, as we do it all the time. Who ever forgets the rush of emotion that comes with that first two-dimensional glimpse of a new son or daughter?

By the time the picture has been blown up, copied and plastered on to almost... more

So, there is air travel in your future. Maybe you're off to China or Guatemala or Ethiopia to meet the newest addition to your family and bring the darling home. Or, perhaps the whole gang is heading off on a holiday.

You dig out the carry-on bags from the last time you traveled and start collecting all you know you'll... more

A whole lot of travel, both for adoption and for the fun of it, is coming up for people in this blog neighborhood. Mary will be on her way to Ethiopia someday soonish, and Holly is in Zambia now and will be flying home with babies.

We're off to Cambodia soon, not adopting again, but traveling... more

One of last night's dinner guests had a whale of a tale (or was it a wail?) to tell about the adventure of flying home to Seychelles from Australia last week with her fourteen-month-old son ... a tale of misery as she was forced to face hour after hour of cramped, confined mothering of a very grumpy boy after having almost every single treat she'd packed to keep her son happy confiscated before... more

Writing yesterday about the planning stages of our up-coming trip to Cambodia ... even though we haven't yet established exactly how up-coming it will be ... I mentioned the fact that we'll be spending at least a couple of days at AOA, the... more

Our first trip to Cambodia in 2003 was to adopt our son, Sam, and a nerve-wracking experience it was.

When we returned in 2005 for our daughter, Cj, we were much more relaxed. Not only had we been through the adoption process once, therefore knowing what to expect at each step and finding it much easier to trust... more

We're going to Cambodia! And, this time we won't be adopting while we're there, so this trip will be a real vacation.

As anyone who's ever traveled to another country to meet their new child knows, stress levels are too high and nerves too frayed during that amazing, emotional and extremely busy time to much to allow for much laid-back vacation fun.

Horror stories from headlines haunt the first-time adopting parents, and visions of babies vanishing in a puff of smoke while some shyster runs off with the dough dog every... more

Anyone planning to travel outside of the US will need to obtain a passport before traveling. If this is your first passport, you must apply in person at your local passport office and provide 6 things:

1. Application for Passport, Form DS-11

Form is available at the passport office. Do not sign form until the passport agent instructs you to do so.

2. Proof of U.S. Citizenship (one of these)

Previous U.S. Passport Certified birth certificate Consular Report of Birth Abroad Naturalization Certificate Certificate of Citizenship

3. Proof of Identity (one of these)

Previous U.S.... more

A dossier is a packet of documents needed to complete an international adoption. A typical dossier will contain 10-15 documents such as:

home study (do this ASAP) immigration pre-approval adoptive parents’ birth certificates adoptive parents’ marriage certificate letters verifying employment adoptive parents’ bank statements INS approval form (the I-171-H) reference letters

All these documents must then be individually authenticated, based upon the foreign country's requirements. Normally, each document will need several government stamps: a stamp by your local notary public, a certification by your... more

I received email from a reader overwhelmed by the "hoops and obstacles" she senses lie between her and a potential international adoption in the future and looking for some reassurance that the process is doable. Aside from merely pointing her to Holly's Blog where she details her very recent adoptions in Zambia, or Mary's (Owlhaven) as she writes about plans to add more kids to her... more