Perhaps you're an adoptive mother looking for a piece of adoption jewelry to buy for your child's birth parent. Perhaps you're a birth parent looking for a piece of adoption jewelry for yourself as physical and outward manifestation of the love you have for your placed child. Maybe you're a birth mom looking for a gift for a fellow birth mother that is having a hard time. Whatever the case, there are a few quality options available right in our very own Adoption... more

Round and round we go - is adoption a good thing or a bad thing? Would the world be more perfect if we had more adoption? How about if we had more children who could remain with their families and grow up strong and healthy?

Is adoption the answer to all the woes that children in the world face? In our discussions, how often do we debate whether adoption is a good thing or not? Most reasonable people agree that adoption is a good thing when it is necessary for a child.

However, on the reverse side of the coin, I also believe that... more

I had to laugh when I read the title of Angela's post How to Include Adoption in Daily Life. For many of us birth parents (and some adoptive parents), we want just the opposite. At times, we feel constantly swamped by adoption references at and would like to banish them for just one day.

Last Saturday was a perfect example. My husband and I live in a small town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains which you see in many of my photos. Our hometown newspaper is... more

I expect that enthusiastic responses are the natural expectation when adoptive parents announce that they have adopted a child. If you already have a large family to begin with, snide comments probably might inquire as to why you are adopting again.

In general though, I imagine that the news of a newly adopted child usually brings positive comments. When most people hear that a child has a new home, they are enthused and happy for both the child and its new family. Indeed, an enthusiastic response is a natural response and should be offered.... more

One popular motto of the womens' rights' movement many years ago was, "A woman's place.....is everywhere." For years, I had a car license plate holder that with that motto. Yet, I did not know about its popularity with the movement.

I do support the idea that women should be treated fairly in all respects. However, I think we have a ways to go in respecting women in adoption. Plus, I also believe that there is some confusion as to what it really means to respect a woman and her decisions.

In this... more

Yesterday I hit on how open adoption provides adoptees with continued and updated access to their genetic health history provided that all parties respectfully participate in the flow of information. Today I plan to get a bit more controversial as I branch off on the topic. A unique conversation of sorts has been happening... more

There's been some discontent among adoption bloggers off site this week. Basically, it boils down to birth mothers being called "venemous," adoptees being called "angry" and mud-slinging thrown all around by, get this, someone who isn't even personally touched by adoption. Mind-boggling, right?

Some of my favorite adoption bloggers have attempted to take on the ignorance in their own spaces, writing some really great pieces. One that piqued my interest the most was on the specific topic of birth parents and the placed... more

As newborns have become more scarce, two things have happened. Adopting older children has become more acceptable, including sibling groups. Considering the fact that there are so many children and their siblings available for adoption in the foster care system, I think this is a positive step. Adopting internationally has gained in popularity as well.

A less positive result of less newborns available for adoption in the United States is that the competition for newborns is now keen. Poor pregnant woman are now coveted and highly sought after.... more

A Pitfall of Advocating: People Don’t Know is one of those posts that struck my eye thinking it referred to birth parents. The line "People Just Don’t Know What Trauma Can Do" referred to children, but it could as easily apply to birth parents.

Those who are unfamiliar with trauma do include many professionals who do not understand trauma nearly as well as they should or could. In adoption, professionals particularly often seem ill-informed... more

Laws regulating adoption advertising differ from state to state. Some states allow newspaper ads which declare that potential adoptive parents are searching for a child, and they allow advertising in nearly every place one can imagine. Other states have strict prohibitions against such obvious methods and allow limited or no advertising.

Adoption advertising is legal in approximately 34 states. Private or independent adoptions are not allowed everywhere. Some countries or possibly some states require that all adoptions be handled through one... more