In a previous post, I wrote about meshing the China my mind imagined and the real China I’ve come to know and love. I struggled with the poverty I witnessed in our daughter’s home province, but determined that I would do something to help.

When the time came for us to visit Haiti, I found nothing could have adequately prepared me. As I had done while waiting to travel to China, I read books about Haiti’s history and culture, studied the language, familiarized myself with the art and music, and studied up on the political situation. I went from having only a vague idea of where Haiti was to... more

In my last post, I wrote about “comedienne” Chelsea Handler’s comments about Angelina Jolie’s adoptions – specifically why she chose to adopt internationally, and why she changed her Vietnamese son’s name to Pax. (Did ya notice how I put “comedienne” in quotes? Yeah. That’s because she’s not so funny.)

Anyway, for some time now, I’ve been wanting to write about the pros and cons of changing an adopted child’s name, and Ms. Handler’s criticism of Angelina’s decision to do just that gave me some food for thought.

I think I probably fall into the majority camp because I can see both sides of the argument and have done it both ways. Frankly, I’m still sorta wishy-washy about... more

Adopting internationally has changed me in ways I hadn’t anticipated. When we first decided to adopt from China, I had a very limited understanding of how everything would work and how I would be affected. Understandably, I suppose, I thought only about the child we would be adopting and how blessed our family would be with her presence. What I didn’t think about is how China would get under my skin and become a part of my life in so many ways. During the wait, I began to educate myself about China’s history and government, in particular, and started to dapple with learning Mandarin. Over time, I came to know much more about China’s politics, culture, government and history than the average... more

Did you happen to catch tonight’s “Late Show with Jay Leno?” If you did, then you probably caught guest Chelsea Handler’s comments about Angelina Jolie and her adoptions, not to mention her [obnoxious] racist innuendo about Asians being bad drivers and Vietnamese being good at doing nails.

If you didn’t see it, I’ll summarize and give you my take, ‘cause that’s what I get paid to do. ;)

First, Chelsea criticized Angelina for “going overseas” to adopt when there are so many kids in American who need to be adopted. She asked what was wrong with the kids in America that so many felt they need to look for children elsewhere.

Second, she criticized Angelina for changing... more

I-600A – Advance Processing for Orphan Petition

If you’re in the middle of an international adoption paperchase and haven’t yet filed your I-600A, now is the time to get that puppy sent in! On July 30th, fees will increase from $545 to a whopping $750, and biometrics fees will increase by $10 per person from $70 to $80.

The silver lining in all of this is that the new fees will allow for one free extension of your I-600A. If you’re adopting from China for example,... more

As we discussed in part one, many American families are choosing to delay family raising until they are older and more established in their lives and careers. Along with this phenomenon, we are seeing more and more families who have raised their children, but who have chosen to start over with a “second family” through adoption.

Wes Whatcott is the former owner/director of West Sands Adoptions. Although “technically”... more

There is a couple in our community who have 3 grown children. One child just graduated from medical school, and the other two are in college. I don’t know the parent’s ages, but I would guess they are in their late fifties. They began doing foster care several years ago, and subsequently adopted a toddler boy, and later, a baby boy. At a time when most people their age are looking forward to college graduations, marriages of children, the arrival of grandchildren, and retirement, they are coaching soccer, going to parent teacher conferences and changing diapers!

It’s... more

In my previous post, I wrote about a birthmother who is struggling greatly with her feelings of rejection. This birthmom was aware of her son’s whereabouts and the goings on in his life through a relationship with his adoptive parents, but she relates that she and the adoptive parents agreed in the beginning that they would allow the son to choose as an adult whether to have contact with his birthmom, so there has been no contact between them. The pain in her words reveals that although she made that... more

Please, before you read this post, read this one from the Adoption.com forums and then come back and join me. :)

For readers unfamiliar with our family’s adoption stories, I will say in the interest of full disclosure that we have not adopted domestically and therefore don’t have firsthand experience with writing a letter to birthparents, deciding what sort of adoption (open, semi-open, closed) we’re comfortable with, or dealing with any of the other decisions and issues typically associated with a domestic adoption. But thanks to some unusual twists, we found ourselves in the unique... more

Book Review: Fine Haitian Cuisine: A Broad Collection of Haitian Recipes, by Mona Cassion Ménager

I’ve been pining away for this book for quite some time, but given its hefty price tag of nearly fifty bucks and the fact that I own three other Haitian cookbooks, I felt I couldn’t justify it. Thankfully, a dear friend of mine bought it for me as a gift and I thus eluded purchase guilt. ;)

The book begins with a brief history of Haiti and an explanation about the culinary influences (Arawak, African, French and Spanish) that came... more