There are many things to praise about Tour Korea, but I will focus on three: First, extraordinary staff accompanied us. A birthland tour for adoptees is not a typical sightseeing jaunt. There are serious, emotional components for children and parents that may, and probably will, arise. Tour Korea allowed families to meet personnel from Korean
Adoption is What Made Us a Family
8-year-old Jonah and 11-year-old Isaac look forward to attending Adoption Day Camp one week every summer. They canoe, swim and play games to develop team-building skills. They and their fellow campers, some years numbering as many as 100, also gain self-esteem, become more secure in their identity as adoptees and learn critical tools to use
Why Adopt?
Why did we choose to adopt? This was a question we got A LOT when we started telling people we were in the process of adopting a child. The question that usually immediately followed, both said and unsaid, was “Why adopt if you’re able to have biological children?” It’s a valid question. Adoption has always
A Very Foster Christmas and an Adoptive New Year
Joyful Noize Productions is putting together a show celebrating the foster/adoption community and YOU are the stars. They have an open call for story tellers who want to share their first-person foster or adoption story—these can be foster/adopted youth, grown up youth, siblings, parents, and kinship folks. As a story teller, you will tell your
Reconnecting with Our Daughter’s Foster Mom
A Tour Korea Story We walked into the small, overheated room and 11 years melted away. Our daughter’s foster mom looked at the 11 year old standing in front of her and started to cry. All of a sudden we were one giant group hug. I could only think to say, “She’s ok, she’s healthy.”
Discovering a Different Kind of Love through Open Adoption
“I decided to trust that a child was out there, waiting for us. Now, I whisper in his ears when we rock at night, ‘I’m so glad you’re here, but what took you so long?’” Wendy said of finally realizing a lifelong dream of motherhood at 44 years old. Just over a year ago, Wendy
Brothers in Spirit Become Brothers for Life
Jack and Benjamin saw themselves as brothers. Both entered the same Chinese orphanage as infants. Only nine months apart, they shared a room for 10 years. Despite being close, they maintained their individuality: Benjamin outgoing and artistic, whereas Jack is introverted, analytical and conscientious. At 9 and 10 years old, the probability they’d be adopted before aging out
The Gap
Let me start off by saying that I deeply believe in family preservation and open adoption whenever and however possible. I think there would be far less of a need for adoption and foster care if we really believed in family preservation and providing families with the support they needed to parent successfully. I also
Becoming a Bilingual Family
After a year-and-a-half of paperwork, Kip and Amy made their home in Ecuador for ten weeks while the adoption of their three children finalized. Throughout the entire adoption Kip and Amy’s determination and love shown through. Falling in love After they were matched with their children, nearly a year passed before they were able to
Mother’s Day and the Streets of San Francisco: An Adoption Journey
The hostess seats us at a corner table overlooking the bay and bridge. All around us families gather to celebrate their mothers. Though we are just a party of four adults the waiter brings over two flowers: One for my mother, and one for me. The two mothers at our table. Except I’m not a
