Adoption update and other recent events in living color

Summer is here at last!  Do any other moms of grade school kids feel like May is the busiest time of year?  I am sighing a breath of relief and offering a prayer of gratitude that all went well with end of year parties, school presentations (Cha-cha was Elvis for her 3rd grade speech, amazing!), graduations (baby boy graduated from preschool, oh the tears AND karate graduation, we now have a black belt in tha' house), birthdays (middle man turned 7, his favorite gift was the newest addition to the farm, a puppy named, "Shiloh", that makes pet #25), middleman's first soccer game, Cha-cha's liturgical dance performance at our church, and our wedding anniversary (13 years with the love of my life, better half, godly husband).  Now it's time to prepare for our mission trip to Bulgaria!

On the adoption front I am thrilled to announce that we have signed on with an agency and are pursuing domestic transracial adoption!!!  We will begin our home-study upon our return from our trip.  It was not an easy decision to choose between domestic and international.  When we started this process of adoption Ethiopia was the clear choice, the need was there, still is.  The process was shorter than other countries and there was only one required trip versus two.  However, a lot has changed since we begun.  There is a HUGE need in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda... for adoption of orphans.  I have researched for months the possibilities and just did not have peace about adopting from Africa at this time.  In the news and on numerous blogs and yahoo groups we have joined there have been numerous stories about the questionable ethical practices of adoption in Ethiopia.  Several of the stories revolve around children being adopted who are not truly orphans.  In some cases the birth parents are apparently told that their children will be going to the U.S. for a better education, not that they won't see them again.  Also, families are now required to make two trips to Ethiopia to complete the adoption process.  None of the aforementioned issues would deter us from pursuing adoption from Ethiopia in the future.  We have met some amazing people who have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia and have had no issues of concern, ethically or otherwise.  However, after much research and prayer we decided that if we are open to adopting a child of a different race then it does not matter if they were born in Africa or Timbuktu.  Oh yes, I have read the blogs saying that if you adopt from Africa you are "giving a child life, if you adopt from the U.S. you are just giving the child life abundantly".  I couldn't disagree more.  All children deserve a loving home and it is a huge disservice to all orphans when adoptive parents bicker or insult each other over the superiority of one country over another.  We are aware that domestic adoption presents different challenges than international.  Foremost is the fact that we are not matched with a child, the parents must choose us.  A bit daunting to think we won't measure up to someone's requirements for adoptive parents.  If this doesn't thicken my thin skin, nothing will.  There is a HUGE need for families to adopt in the U.S., check out this blog article:

http://ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/adoptive-families-needed-for-african.html 

We will proceed as we have throughout this process, through prayer, heart to heart discussions, research, and with joy.

Also, if you have any energy left, check out this article:

Sandra Bullock's Baby: A Curious Case

Blessings,