A City on a Hill: Sharing the Heart of Adoption

One of the little thoughts that is often in the back of my mind is how wonderful it is going to be to be able to look at my son and tell him that I love him. Yes, with actions but also with the words of his own language. I thought it would be neat to share this list with you all.
Now, you can spend the weekend telling your loved ones how much you care in langauges from all around the globe.
Have fun!

Ek het jou liefe - Afikaans

Te dua - Albanian

Ene ewedechalu (spoken to females) - Amharic Read more…

Each day I learn something interesting from the adoption forum that I belong to. Just recently we were discussing how older adopted children often come into their new families with cultural stereotypes and prejudices that are completely unique to the region that they were raised in. Even though I know this is very true, it was so interesting to read about some of the specific stories that families have encountered and had to help their children overcome.
This was a catalyst for me thinking about things that I truly did not know before I began the adoption process. None of my thoughts are profound or complex either. I think many of those may come in the years that are to follow. Read more…

I watched a film a little while ago called, The Painted Veil. The tag line of the film is: Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people. Even before I watched the movie I had written that quote down and posted it on the bulletin board above my desk. When I heard this quote I thought of the physical distance between my own little home and those of my dearest loved ones. I thought of times when their has been emotional voids in relationships that mean a great deal to me and the beauty that healing brings to those relationships. I thought of my own journey finally accepting the love and redemption of the Lord in my life. And, then I thought of a little eleven month old boy who has three front teeth and a head fully of curly brown hair. Read more…

I read a quote today that said, “Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.”

After the day that we have had here in our house regarding our adoption I am thankful that our survival kit does happen to include a sense of humor~ one that has been through the ringer a few times!

My husband and I are first time adoptive parents. We are also first time parents, period. In just a matter of weeks we believe that we will be traveling to Ethiopia, Africa to pick up our son. The little guy is going to be a year old sometime this month. Today I had a consultation with a local pediatrician. Read more…

I wanted to take a moment and say “thanks” to all our new and long time members on Precious.org. On June 22nd, just over three weeks ago, we released Precious 2.0, our completely redesigned website, the response has been amazing! In the last 22 days we have added over 4000 new registered members to the Precious community! And the children featured on Precious have been individually viewed over one million times!

What does this mean? A lot! Because it’s not the numbers themselves that excite me; it’s the opportunities they represent for children to connect with parents that blows me away! As of the posting of this blog, 16 children have been matched to their parents on Precious in the last three weeks! Over the last 13 years, we’ve seen that same process happen about 27,000 times. Read more…

As many of you know there are an abundance of books, greeting cards, songs, and gifts that are made specifically for parents as they enter parenthood through pregnancy and delivery. The resources available to adoptive parents are growing, but remain limited. I have one adoption song, by Steven Curtis Chapman, that I listen to often. Alas, it has become overplayed on our little CD player and yesterday I went in search of a new one!

What a great discovery I made! Read more…

My husband and I have been in the adoption process for 18 months. This began with what we call ‘paper pushing’, which included, completing our homestudy, dossier, USCIS documentation, and so forth. We have had several distinct periods of waiting in this process.

We waited for our fingerprints to come back….
We waited for our homestudy to be finished….
We waited to hear word that our dossier was complete and on file in Ethiopia….. Read more…

What a day it has been for several families who have joined together to voice their experiences with adoption fraud! I’ve spent the day talking to many of them. The agency that hurt them was one that had previously been a participant on our website. Needless to say, they aren’t any longer. In the past 18 months, Precious.org has removed more than 10 adoption providers from the site. Jason Damkoehler (Precious.org President who took over the site in November 2005) cut five agencies from the site on his first day. “Financially it was a bad decision for us,” said Jason, “but this isn’t about finances and it never will be. It’s about children, 143 million of them that need a home, and it’s about the parents that are looking for them. We’re just here to clear a path between the two of them.” Read more…

In September of last year, my wife Nancy and I travelled to China to bring home our daughter Nina. What an amazing experience. What a vast country China is and what incredible people. We truly fell in love with them. Our heart also went out to them. While we were there Nancy and I had opportunity to visit Nina’s orphanage. We met some amazing women working there; long days for an average of 86 cents per day. While Nina was able to leave that place, most children are not so fortunate.

It has been estimated that the world has more than 143 million true orphans. A staggering number. In China alone, there are now almost two millions abandonments happening every year (mostly girls). Several times over during our visit, a Chinese national would come up to Nancy and I, Read more…

Hello Precious.org !
One of our users has sent the most adorable picture of her son. He was born in Guatemala and united with his forever family four years ago. This little boy is half Korean.
Our user knows several other families that have adopted children from Guatemala that are also of Korean decent.
She is wondering if any of our Precious.org agencies and members know any more information about Guatemalan-Korean children. She is hoping to connect with other families that have adopted Guatemalan-Korean children.
If you happen to be out there, here is a great opportunity for a connection and dialog about your children’s unique cultural and ethnic heritage.