Here's an odd (and troubling) tale of a special needs child adopted by an American family -- despite being told by the Chinese officials that she was a "bad" baby.

It started when Alynn Baker noticed a child on one of those special needs adoption websites. I think it was one run by her agency, but I don't know. There are a few of them out there.

A cleft palate was a routine... more

We're working on Daughter's habit of asking when we can send Son (son!) back to China. Children. Always saying the unsayable.

Until we can break their spirit, we're keeping them on display in a wrought iron cage, as you can see here.

Meanwhile, for those readers who're into stories of the miraculous, here's an unusual audio experience: Angels in Shandong. Ahem.

I really don't buy this guy's line, but, y'know, it's a pretty good story... more

Squicky story from Germany about an adopted son discovering his biological sister and, well, starting a not-exactly storybook romance.

Patrick, who is 30 years old, was adopted and, as a child, he lived in Potsdam.

He did not meet his mother and biological family until he was 23. He travelled to Leipzig with a friend in 2000, determined to make contact with his other relatives.

He met his sister Susan for the first time, and according to the couple, after their mother died, they fell in love.

"When I was younger, I didn't know that I had a brother. I met Patrick and I was... more

Adopted from China, tonight she is a woman.

Fu Qian, renamed Cecelia Nealon-Shapiro at 3 months, was one of the first Chinese children — most of them girls — taken in by American families after China opened its doors to international adoption in the early 1990s. Now, at 13, she is one of the first to complete the rite... more

Jan Risher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana, has some familiar things to say about child-rearing, tantrums and the need for a proper goodbye:

After a big Mardi Gras celebration last week, by... more

Been to China between February 1996 and November 2006?

Spend money with a Visa, Mastercard or Diners Club card?

You could be in line for some money back.

I haven't been through this system yet, so I don't know how easy it is, but hey, it's worth a shot, isn't it?

There seems to be more emotive language flying around the world of Chinese adoption lately.

Like this Asia Times article on China's Lost Girls:

Whether the new rules for foreign adoptions are truly intended to safeguard the adopted children or, rather, to change what Beijing perceives as the demeaning image of China as America's favorite orphanage, many would-be mothers... more

Want to read about other American families adopting from China?

Something's been happening Denver, Colorado, in Chillicothe, Ohio, in Long-guh Island, New York, in Bedford, Indiana, in ... more

If you remember the case of Anna Mae He, the not-quite adopted girl who's been officially given back to her biological parents, it's back in the news again. The Nashville City Paper, to be specific.

The custodial family (is that... more

If you're in Ohio and interested in starting this crazy international adoption process, I just caught wind of some seminars at The International Adoption Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

I know nothing about speaker Deborah Joy, and have no idea if the things are worth the price, but it's four afternoons of information, so *something* is probably useful.

If you're not in Ohio (or near enough to care), this probably doesn't mean a thing. So just ignore it.