Today was Enu's seventh birthday! We had a great time. She handled all the stimulation and cake and ice cream well, and was so pleased with her gifts and her guests as well as the amazing party her mom threw her (patting myself on the back here!)

One of my favorite things that happened today was one of the cards she received. Her friend gave her a gorgeous little girl's card with a brown mermaid on the front! I asked the little girls mom where she found it and she said "WalMart".

I had found my card for Enu there as well, in the Ebony section of Hallmark... more

In the past few weeks I have seen several articles about birthmothers and adoption. Like most articles I read that pertain to birthmothers and adoption, there are positive points, points I liked, as well as points that made me cringe and points I thought they could have left out but overall I think these articles are pretty good.

I thought I’d highlight a few of those articles and the positive points here.

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Doing my girl's hair has been a fun but sometimes frustrating challenge for me. I have bought books, DVDs and watched online videos to try and learn all I can. I can do pretty good twists I must admit, but I have not mastered the cornrows by far. Honestly I cannot even tell they are cornrows, once I get done with them!

The girls have been with us for a year now. I have seen them braid each-others hair many times. They have watched me try and corn-row many, many times!

Tonight as I sat in front of my TV watching another DVD showing yet another cornrow technique the girls started laughing at me. All four of them were lovingly teasing and I happened to say to Mita,"Are you... more

We traveled as a family to pick up Mita and Enu. This is not the usual way of doing things, but it is what we as a family needed. So it was Hubby, me, Meg, Elle and Grandma. We had so many plans to travel with the girls and see the sights of Ethiopia.

Once we landed in Addis and met with our agency's supervisor we realized that our plans were a bit overdone. Some things we had not considered. Our new girls were not used to going on family vacations. We should have realized this. In fact they had never been out of the city of Addis Ababa. For those of you without kids... more

I was at a Girl Scout training the other day and we were all talking about sunblock. A co-worker of mine and fellow scout leader yells across the room, "Hey Mandy you only have to worry about putting sunblock on 50% of your kids!". I was caught a bit off gaurd. I know she didn't mean to put me on the spot, but I wasn't expecting it! The nurse in me answered with, "Actually melanomas are more deadly in darker skinned people." Sometimes I wish I could have snappy come backs, but I normally don't and educate instead of being sarcastic.

It did hit me later though, that a... more

I've just urged you to form a relationship with the expectant mother considering adoption who has chosen your family as a match. There are some who do not feel that this advice is in the best interest of the expectant family. While I know that there are some ethical considerations, I do know that it can be one of the best ways to ensure that you're all on the same page regarding what your open adoption will entail.

So, how do you go about making your match an ethical one?

Things to avoid:

1. Do not give the expectant family any money. 2. Don't offer lavish gifts. 3. Know the laws in your state and don't break them. 4. Don't make promises that you... more

I just told you not to let the economy scare you into relinquishing your child for adoption. But the question remains: should you place your baby for adoption? What reasons are good reasons to make such a decision? What are "bad" or not-so-good reasons to do such a thing?

Some people, especially those that regret their decision to relinquish, say that "adoption is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Your biggest task right now is to separate... more

Lately I have been reading and seeing more information about open international adoptions. This pleases me. I think that openness in adoption is a positive way for adopted kids to grow up. Of course there are varying degrees of openness, and in some situations open adoptions may not be a good idea (past abuse comes to mind here).

I often bristle when I hear of parent's adopting internationally "so they don't have to deal with birth families". I try not to be judgmental, but without birth families their would be no adoptive families.

As with domestic adoptions, there are many different ways to communicate with birth families. Letters and photos, pictures, phone calls and... more

I just looked up Ethiopia on Wikipedia and thought it was a great, comprehensive source of information on my second favorite country! I recommend reading this link when you have some time on your hands.

This Thursday is celebrated as "Downfall of the Dergue" in Ethiopia. This is the youngest holiday in Ethiopia. The Dergue ruled Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. They were a communist government that overthrew the last of the Ethiopian Emperors. That time in Ethiopia was filled with... more

The internet has become a useful tool for just about anyone who is doing just about anything. As I've learned over the years, I can turn to my computer for an answer to just about any random question. Of course, not everything you read on the internet is legitimate but it doesn't take long to figure out how to weed the good advice from the not-so-good, bad and downright harmful advice.

So what's available on the web for birth parents? Lots of things!

By and large, you can find forms of support in many different ways. From our own forums... more