WE ARE THE TRUTH

...for Adoption Blogger Day, in support of Artyem Saviliev, and to encourage the continuation of safe international adoptions from Russia to the USA. To ensure the world knows about every successful adoption, on Thursday, April 15, 2010 blog about your adoption or the adoption of someone you know.

WE ARE THE TRUTH. For every horrible adoption-gone-wrong story that the media loves to play up, for every horrible story that people insist on telling you when they know you are adopting or have adopted... (do you know what happened to my second grade Sunday school teacher's third cousin's neighbor's aunt in Toledo... blah blah blah), for every Madonna and Angelina Jolie, there are THOUSANDS of successful adoptions.

Have you ever wondered why you don't hear about the successful adoptions, just the tragic ones, the unethical ones, or the sexy ones? It's because that, for the vast majority of adoptive families, we are just plain, normal families. The truth is boring, and doesn't make for catchy news titles. We are REAL FAMILIES, who love and laugh together, who argue and cry together, but we DO NOT abandon or abuse (or worse) our children, whether they joined our family by birth or by the miracle of adoption. We take our kids to school, go to the grocery store, walk the dog, are together in sickness and in health, just like your family.

Yes, we adopted our children, but we don't continue to live and breathe adoption for the rest of our lives. I don't refer to "my biological daughter Emily", "my adopted daughter Evie" and "my adopted son Andy", I just refer to my children Emily, Evie and Andy. Of course, that's on a good day. On a bad day, I might refer to "my children, the monsters"! My point is, I don't differentiate between my children based on the way they joined our family. The child who grew in my body is not worth more to me than the child who joined our family in a dingy office building or a faded hotel room in China. I love them all equally, treat them all equally.

In most cases, adoption is a beautiful, wonderful thing. It is important to show the world the good side of adoption, those of us who adopt and then go on to live an average, happy life.

another earthquake in China

This earthquake struck Qinghai Province, the province just to the west of Gansu Province, where Andy lived in China. I don't know if it was felt in Lanzhou, the city where we met Andy, or in Qingyang, which is Andy's hometown.

At least 400 people have died, and 10,000 more injured, and thousands of buildings have been damaged.

Please pray for the people of China.

Two months with Andy!

Andy has been with us just over two months now. He is adjusting very well, and it feels like he has been with us much longer.

Andy, Evie and Emily the day before Valentine's Day.









Evie and Andy. Evie's preschool teachers gave her an "I'm a Big Sister" sticker!


It's not easy to have big sisters...









Hanging out at one of Emily's volleyball tournaments










Sitting with Evie



Andy on his little bed with the quilts that Nana made for him









At the little park by our house















Em's new highlights









Playing outside. Andy saw Evie's old tricycle and was very excited. He pointed at it and signed and said "SIT"!!!