Traditional Manchu papercuts

The last couple of weeks have brought two stories of double adoptions that are almost mirror images of each other. The first is a story of double happiness. Californians Michelle Teofan and Karl Garcia applied to adopt from China, They were rejected because he's in a wheelchair (this was before the... more

Because we within the adoption community (inasmuch as there is such a thing as one adoption community) can't get enough of celebrity adopters either (not least because whatever they do in public changes the way people look at us in the supermarket checkout lines), it's probably time for a check-in.

Madonna is insisting that ... more

In case you haven't been keeping up with Brian Stuy, on his Research-China blog he's running a series on birth parents called China Abandonment from the Inside.

From the first entry, dated March 8:

Over the next few weeks, Research-China.Org will be publishing a series of articles recounting interviews with birth parents who abandoned their children, and the Chinese individuals that found them. These articles will hopefully allow us to gain some insight into the motives and reactions of these individuals. These interviews were obtained by Chinese reporters, and represent a new trend in Chinese... more

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

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

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

For one thing, The Rumor Queen site has a fine list of blogs of people who've just gotten referrals.

So if you want to see pictures of babies, babies, babies, you now have lots of places to go.

On the other hand, I'm curious where people who read this come from, so I want to see if this little gizmo will work:

Create your own visitor map!

Hmmm. The stats showing actual visitor locations should be up here: http://www.maploco.com/view.php?id=204996... more