Within the past two months, two more little ones have arrived in Seychelles from Cambodia.

Yes, Cambodia is closed for adoption to those in the US, the UK and a few other countries, but that is by their decree, not that of the Cambodian government. Adoptions from other countries have, thankfully continued.

We shared Cj's G&R (Giving and Receiving ... the official Cambodian version of the entrustment ceremony Coley talked about earlier on her blog) with a Swedish couple and their new two-year old daughter, and I've since been in touch with many from all over the world who've walked the same stairs to finalization that we walked with both of our kids.

Austrians, Italians, ex-pat Aussies and Brits (as their countries' ban on Cam adoptions only cover residents) and many others have been adding Khmer kids (and other ethnicities from Cambodia) to their families all along.

Americans had been adopting in the largest numbers for a single country before the 21st of December 2001 when that all came to a screeching halt that stays halted even this many years later, so the impact on children has been significant.

Many orphanages stopped taking in new children, especially babies, as they are the most expensive and difficult to keep. (Formula costs a lot of money, and babies have greater problems getting by with less and surviving than older children.) At AOA, the orphanage where my kids were cared for, the date of the US suspension is obvious by the numbers of kids born in 2001 and stuck there still ... lots and lots of five-year olds continue to hope for homes.

Word of our adoptions has gone around Seychelles ever since we came home with Sam. He was, as far as we can determine, the first internationally adopted child in the country. Cj was the second.

I suppose it was inevitable that we'd eventually be approached for information and encouragement from others interested in adopting from Cambodia. Of course, we were more than happy to help. Very few of my accomplishments have brought as much satisfaction on so many levels as the sight of these two families so much in love, and knowing I had some part to play in the process that brought them together.

Yves and Lily are home now, and we couldn't be happier for them and their joyously happy parents ... and for us, as now we have a Cambodian Family of Families here. My kids have kids that share their roots, and we have a gang to celebrate Cambodian New Year with next April!

Photos are Sam, Lily and Cj with Yves' Mom from before he came home, and the little man himself learning to crawl.