Since we're coming to the end of National Adoption Month, also known as National Adoption Awareness Month, the news is full of related stories, many local reports of adoptions finalized in group ceremonies marking the occasion.

Adoption stories strong on the positives dominate ... stories like this one, "Adoption gives children loving, stable homes", aimed toward getting the word out that Missouri has about 2,000 children waiting for adoption.

One family's happy encounter with... more

Scottish rocker KT Tunstall has credited her brother, Daniel for wiping out whatever malaise she might have experienced related to her being an adopted member of her family.

Daniel was born deaf, and his disability put the circumstances of her birth into perspective for her: "Any personal woes I had with being adopted - which I don't remember having - were wiped out next to that."

And for working moms who might be suffering guilt pangs, ... more

If you have not yet seen this, here is the US State Department's latest notice on what is happening with the Hague, announcing that the President signed the "U.S. instrument of ratification of the Hague Adoption Convention" on the 16th of this month.

This puts everything in line for "deposit of the instrument of ratification" on the 12th of December.

The Department will announce the official date the Convention will go into force for the United States—projected to be April 1, 2008—in the Federal Register.

All rah-rah with loads... more

We have been following the on-again/off-again saga of the Canadian Province of Ontario's dealing with open adoption records for a while now as legal maneuvers shift goal posts often, and sometimes within days of the last move. Now, apparently, there is an amended bill in the works.

Looking at a compromise of sorts, the point now is to allow a disclosure veto for adoptions in the past while making... more

Anyone with ties to Bulgarian orphans will be interested in this story on a photography exhibit at the Montserrat College of Art in Bevelry, Mass. that features the work of eight young Bulgarian kids without families.

The show called, "Uncovering Identity: The Bulgarian Photo Project," began when Assistant Professor Kate Jellinghaus handed out camera to kids in state-run institutions.

... Jellinghaus gave them cameras to go out and chronicle their lives, she didn't send them out to portray... more

I can almost hear the gnashing of teeth coming from the part of the adoption community that hates everything about National Adoption Month as MSN carries four pages of "This is What Adoption Feels Like" on their huge site.

Here's how five families found their way along that unforgettable journey, and how one woman made the wrenching decision to give up her child — plus, everything you'll need to know if you decide to make adoption a... more

Many of those interested in news on adoption from Russia keep ahead of the curve by reading Virginia's blog and probably don't need me to tell them that three-quarters of a million Russian kids are orphaned or abandoned, but there are a few reports today that have me writing on the topic today, nonetheless.

This story from "Russia Today" looks at adoption on the Russian domestic front and tries to convince people in the country to "'get rid of certain myths and prejudices surrounding children who have lost their parents... more

Huge in the news now, but without much idea of which way the adoption winds will blow as a result, is the Alvaro Colom win in the Guatemalan presidential run off.

Fingers are tightly crossed that his direction will lead to a situation that best benefits the children in his country, and not one that grandstands on the lives and futures of children whose lives depend on which way the political winds blow. Given the state of Guatemalan governing and politics, he certainly has his work cut out for him on every front.

An interesting... more

I could say that preparing today's blog was like pulling teeth, but that would be a groaner. What the heck! It's Monday, so that's how we're starting the week ...

For those of us with kids adopted singly and without the benefit of ties to birth families, one serious consideration could be future health issues that would be made worse through the lack of compatible tissue.

With the science of stem cell medicine in its infancy, some parents are taking advantage of new technology combined with futuristic vision, cutting out the Tooth Fairy, and banking their... more

Those with kids who have suffered through mental illness with parents might be interested in this book review and author interview of "Bad Girls Club".

A fictionalized account of the author's upbringing, it was written to help.

"I write for people who have suffered and hidden their pain," she says. "I especially want to give teenagers hope, and I want to tell them that it's not what happens to you that determines your life. It's how you react and what you do with your suffering that determines who you become."

Check out the link,... more