National Adoption Awareness Month has been celebrated monthly since 1995 when President Bill Clinton expanded the National Adoption Awareness Week,
When we first decided we wanted to adopt and met with our adoption agency and they told us that they only have open adoptions, I was mad. I knew I
It has been said by many that it takes a village to raise a child. I had no idea the meaning of that phrase until I had a child of my own. And for
For families involved in adoption search and reunion—whether it be a birth parent searching for a birth child or an adoptee searching for birth f
Before I attempt to answer this question, I’d like to briefly explain what a birth mother goes through. A birth mother deals with intense feeling
It had been a long time coming. Years, decades, to give you an idea. A move across the world, a job quit, a six-month visa and a single, one-way pl
One would be hard-pressed to find adoptive parents who said their worldview did not change completely from their adoption journey. Adoption changes
“We love our birth mom!” This is a statement I have heard and seen posted countless times by well-meaning prospective parents. The excitement o
I sat at the piano, working my way through a difficult song when the thought hit me like a lightning bolt: I should search my daughter’s birth mo
I don’t know if this is true for all potential and new foster parents, but I was extremely nervous about how I would interact with my foster chil
Adoption reunion stories often have sweet endings, but this story comes with a cherry on top. Colorado resident, Martin Schmidt, officiated the mar
It was back in the 1950s. A woman put in a newspaper column that she couldn’t have another child, that she couldn’t take care of the baby that
Who are the players in an adoption or a foster care situation? The term “triad” is typically utilized to describe the main actors—the child,
In all of us, there is a drive to know. Many of us as adults are still pondering questions such as who am I? where do I belong? am I important? Chi
I want you to think for a moment about all the things you’ve done in your life that you’re not proud of. I have many of them, and IR
When I was pregnant and planning to place my son for adoption, I had no idea the emotions I was going to face or what life would be like post-place