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 family, or Erin's, that followed the adoption of her adorable Belane, I figured this was as good a prompt as any to address that Kilimanjaro that seems to loom at the beginning of any international adoption journey.

Although I am certainly not one to discount the importance of information, there is something to be said for some naiveté , and anyone at the beginning of the beginning of the adoption process ... just developing an inkling that their feet may someday set off down this path ... is in danger of losing their innocence early on by delving into blogs and forums. Not only is there a whole language to learn and miles and miles of rules and regs that can change at the drop of a hat, there are those who find jumping-on-the-newbie a fun game to play.

Yes, stepping into the adoption world through some doors on the Internet can be daunting, a frightening experience that might have the fainthearted running for cover and wondering how and why anyone would chose to go through such a complicated and contentious process.

Of course, those who have gone through it know exactly why. Our kids remind us every day of the great gifts reaped through our efforts. We also have the added advantage of knowing it can be done because we did it.

There are times when I look back over the two separate processes of adopting my kids and wonder how I ever managed to get through it. Near the end of each, I could not imagine ever signing up to do THAT again.

When I was deep into the duties I wasn't overwhelmed at all. Just taking one step at a time got it done, and every time I was able to check some necessary item off my list it felt so good, giving me enough oomph to move on to the next one.

In many ways, it's not much different from making kids from scratch. The whole ordeal of pregnancy seems a frightening thing at first, then the idea of delivery begins to loom ... and that scares the heck out of most women ... but by the time all the events unfold it's one step at a time, then over. And so worth all the trouble!

Yes, international adoption takes time, energy, patience, money, an ability to to deal with frustrations and disappointments, a great deal of hope, an attention to details, a lot of ink and paper and photocopy fluid, a thick skin, a strong stomach, the occasional witty repartee to ward off the rude, intrusive and opposed, and on and on and on.

Yep. The process to adopt is quite the uphill journey ... a great prep for parenting.