Our son (son!) has, using us as proxy, sworn and affirmed that everything he (well, we) put in his paperwork was true. That's enough to make him a citizen once he sets foot (or, well, is carried by us) on American soil in the Chicago airport.

The new consulate building (not on Shamian Island, but around 20 minutes in traffic away) is nice, but feels a lot more like a bank or insurance agency. In fact, there are banks and insurance agencies on the lower floors. The old consulate building next to the White Swan really felt like an American outpost. Going in... more

The internet in China is not like the internet at home.

The internet in hotels isn't like it is at home either.

So, it's going to be spotty for the rest of my family's trip, it looks like.

I've only prewritten a few more posts for later publication. Stick around, though. It should get better in a week or so.

Cj is a year old now, and in Seychelles that means it's time for her Yellow Fever jab. A drive over to the other side of the island took care of that yesterday, and other than a howl and a couple of big, fat tears, (hers, not mine, as I've finally hardened up enough to watch my kids getting hurt for their own good), it went well. She's now protected against a very nasty illness until she's ten.

Yellow Fever is not something kids get inoculated against under most circumstances in temperate climates, but... more

In discussions I've had recently with different forum members and friends, it seemed apparent that there is a need to point out positive role models and contributions that have come from Guatemala. Not much is known about this country by many in the United States. When we first began our adoption, we actually had to point it out to many people who worked with us at a university.

It got me thinking that an article that would mention a few key people or innovations might lead you guys to research some more and post them here as well. In the beginning of my research I found... more

Lots of people are familiar with postpartum depression, the depression that strikes women in the first year or so after giving birth. But fewer people are aware that adoptive mothers can experience something similar after new children come home.

The adoption process can be a roller-coaster--such a time of looking forward to this new child's coming--that the reality of day to day life with this new little person can be surprising at first. Even experienced parents can be left reeling, especially if the child takes a while to settle in, or resists bonding at first.

The New York Times article "After... more

Several weeks ago I published a post about the importance of taking care of yourself physically as an older adoptive parent. In that post I mentioned that I was scheduled for a screening colonoscopy. Well folks, today was the day. I was scared to death. My mother died of colon cancer when she was just 55 years old. How tragic is that?

In terms of prevention, I should have had a screening several years ago since I had a first degree relative to die from the illness at such a young age, but, I didn't. I finally worked up the courage and got around to it. I'm glad I did. All went... more

A Florida couple, Shameka Mosley, 17, and Charles Edward Tyson, 20, were driving to the Mosley residence along with their 9-month-old son Charles Edward Tyson Jr. when the two engaged in an argument over rumors that Shameka had had sexual relations with other men. Tyson, who was enraged over the allegations, grabbed his infant son, and dangled him out the window, threatening to kill him.

Mosley, who was driving the car, was able to persuade Tyson not to drop or harm the infant, and bring him safely back into the car. However only moments later Mosley had to stop the... more

Evidently I am fostering some weird kind of dependency in my children, though I swear it is not my intention. I am always spouting off to them about how I want them to grow up, go off to college, travel the world, enjoy their lives, marry and have chidren of their own. I revel in fantasies about what their father and I will do once they are grown.

I have visions of long family vacations at the beach with our kids and later with their children in tow; holidays spent at one of their homes or ours; photos being zapped by cellphone and emailed over the internet from places near... more

Today is one of those days where nothing seems to go right. And when you are waiting for a child, the day's problems seem amplified and without solution. And yet I know through experience that things will get better. It doesn't mean I can't have a bad day though, right?

No matter how happy you are for others, when you see other people moving forward with their adoptions while yours is standing still, it's tough to take. I know with our Kazakhstan adoption, it was extremely frustrating to hear about families who started the process so long after us who were now returning home with their child long before us. Why us? I must have asked myself that question a thousand times. And the... more

Caren MacDonald reportedly lied to court officials when she told them that her son had been “touched,” in order to win custody of her then 12-year-old son. This case is coming to trial finally, after a five-year wait. The case is expected to raise issues about gay parenting, as it is her ex husbands ex boyfriend whom Caren MacDonald claimed had inappropriately touched her son.

After losing custody of her son in 2001, Caren MacDonald unexpectedly took her son out of private school one day, and then fled on a plane to Costa Rica with her son for nine... more