Published here, this article came out this week. It says in part:

Daring human traffickers are taking advantage of Mozambique’s weak adoption laws in order to traffic children out of the country for the purposes of prostitution or cheap labour, Vista News reported on Tuesday.

This was said by Lurdes Mabunda, head of the Department of Women and Children in the Ministry of Interior, in a report in the latest issue of the International Organisation on Migration newsletter, Eye of Human Trafficking released this week.She said the use of the adoption laws was the latest form of... more

I'll be meeting Munchkin's paternal grandparents today as well as assorted paternal family members. Prior to this point, I haven't met any of her dad's family because they are busy and located in different places. Needless to say, I'm nervous.

I think it's a normal thing, however, to be nervous upon meeting your placed child's extended family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins don't necessarily have to welcome you into their hearts and homes the same way that adoptive parents (in open adoption) do. They don't even really... more

It's amazing how putting a lower-case i in front of a word can infuse it with so much promise: Think iPod or iMac; now add iOrphan to the list.

iOrphan.com is California registered non-profit that is using the Internet to raise awareness--and funds for orphans and homeless children living in the countries of the former Soviet Union. As I've written before in my posts on ArkAngels and... more

We often hear about failed matches. Before we go much further, let me define what I mean by the term “match.” In this context, I am referring to the prospective adoptive parents and expectant mother who have been paired up together and are planning to work together in an adoption plan.

Most of the time, failed matches are mentioned in regards to adoptive parents who were matched with a birthmother who changed her mind about placing her baby with them, whether it is to parent or place her child with another family. But failed matches can occur on the expectant... more

In my last post, I wrote about the stereotypical myth that open adoption may be easier for birthmothers, but on the flip side, is open adoption harder for birthmothers??

A dear friend who is a birthmother from the closed adoption era often states that she thinks open adoption would be so hard on a birthmother, harder than a closed adoption. If she had been given the opportunity to choose the type of adoption she would have, she’s pretty sure she would not have... more

I like to believe that as complicated and emotional as adoption can be, there is indeed a higher purpose involved. Those of us who have taken this path less traveled can find faith and hope that we have all been brought together through adoption for a bigger purpose known only to our God.

When I think of how many of my own ideals I have been asked by God to set aside by becoming an adoptive parent I wonder how I can possible meet the task at hand. Certainly there are times when joy is a reward for all the devotion... more

Deb’s recent post about open adoption being easier for adoptive parents got me thinking about the myth that I believe some may have about open adoption being easier for birthmothers as well.

I often wonder about that. I don’t know closed adoption. I only know open adoption. It’s all I have experienced and it’s all I know at this time in my life. I know that not being able to see my child would be heartbreaking but sometimes seeing my child can be heartbreaking.... more

I hope no one is offended by this post as it is meant to discuss religion in a lighthearted manner, and is not mocking or making fun of any religion at all. I just thought my interaction with my son today was a bit humorous.

Caleb has been immersed in our family's religion by jumping in with both feet since the second week he was home. We have scriptures for him in Simplified Chinese, (not that he wants to read them yet), many church videos in Mandarin, children's church music in Mandarin that he loves to sing and simple scripture stories in simplified Chinese that he actually loves to read. We pray as a family both morning and evening as well as at meal times and he loves... more

In the decades of closed adoptions, adoptive parents could choose to put the emotional details of adoption aside to come back and deal with at some future time, perhaps when their child became an adult and wanted to connect to birthfamily. Of course we have also learned with time that the system and process of closed adoptions is one that did not work well for most people involved. Many people were not told details and as a result had many questions which their adoptive families also had no clear answers for.

In the open adoptions of... more

I'd been planning to take my kids out to see this new Disney animated movie that came out today, not really knowing much at all about the plot. Instead, earlier today, I read our newspaper's review article about the movie. It was then I realized the huge role that adoption and adoption issues seem to play in the movie. I'm not sure that many of my children could really handle some of these ideas. Interestingly enough, it's my teens that I'm more concerned about there than my younger children. Without having seen it first, I don't feel terribly comfortable... more