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To wish I had not been adopted would be to wish him out of my life, which would break my heart. I am a true Daddy’s Little Girl even at the age of 36, we talk several times a day on the phone. I knew as a teenager that I was given the amazing gift of adoption through my parents and I knew that I would one day adopt a child. I believe in my family we have a circle of love that continues on through adoption. I would feel honored one day to get a phone call from one of my children saying that they were going continue the circle of love through adoption.

The adoption of my children has been an amazing and wonderful blessing in my life. I am blessed with... more

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I do not know everything about my neighbor’s lives, family situations and I don’t know personal information about my children‘s teacher’s family life, so why should my family business (including adoption) be public knowledge and gossip?

We have one bio daughter and three adopted children. A number of people know this but they do not know or remember which is which. I think it is funny when someone asks which ones are adopted because you cannot tell. What differences does it make which one is born of me and which ones were born for me? I usually just laugh the question off and say it does not really matter which are adopted. I do not go up to a pregnant... more

Some questions have risen about how I view my personal adoption and the adoption of my children. So, below I will highlight the question and then answer it below.

Personally, are you ashamed or embarrassed to be adopted? Is it something that you wish hadn't happened to you? There seems to be something in your blogs that is a bit like 'I would give anything if this wasn't true'. Do I misunderstand what you are saying?

I am absolutely not ashamed or embarrassed to be adopted. Being adopted was the best thing that could ever happen to me. I do not have issues with being adopted. I have discussed feelings that a lot of adopted children and adults... more

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Yes, we all have trauma and demons that we have been dealt but it is how we deal with them. I am no different than others, I have my own demons that I still struggle with but I choose not to let my demons control me and the outcome of my life.

We all have demons that we face (even the people that are not adopted) and they may not have a thing to do with being adopted. People are haunted by relationships, lack of money, not being accepted, loss of loved ones, abuse, loneliness, fear of the unknown, struggling with their weight, rejection, and the list can go on and on. It is up to us if we let the demons control our lives.

I believe as adoptive parents... more

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As a teenager, I did not talk about being adopted or want to talk about it. During this time in my life I just pushed it out of my mind, maybe too much to deal with while going through the horrible teenage stage of life. I am not saying it did not creep in occasionally but for the most part I chose not to deal with it. At this point in my life I was not emotional able to be with it.

As a young adult, adoption had a large impact on my life. I knew that I was given a wonderful chance through adoption and it was up to me how I chose to let it impact me. I wanted... more

It will impact your life in a number of different ways. Some allow it to impact their life way too much and that is all their life is about.

It does impact you as a child how you see yourself and how others see you. You know that you are different than other children. You have people that have a biological tie to you in this world, and you do not know a thing about them. You wonder what could make a mother not want or love her child. As a child I remember thinking what caused or what had I done for my birth mother not to love me. In my young mind, if she loved me she would want me and not have given me away. Then add on top of my feelings the views and attitude from the... more

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If you are an international adoptee and feel you would have been better off in your own country, DO go there, but don’t stay in fancy hotels or with expats. Go live in a village and study the language. Get a real sense of the life that may have been yours. If you can, don’t do this for a couple of weeks, do it for a year, at least. The great news is if you really feel that... more

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The ‘take action’ options are so multitudinous I could not ever think of them all. What I do know, am thinking, is that mobilizing yourself empowers you. Wallowing, suffocating, in your pain, in the feeling that you have been victimized, does not empower you, it chains you to that pain so that there may come a time when you CAN’T come up for air, even if you want... more