How can adopting parents know?

Since I posted my adoption story, I have been asked by a few people how adoptive parents can know for certain that their adoption agency's practices are ethical? I have been asking myself the same question and honestly I am having a hard time coming up with an answer that seems good enough. I am going to be doing a little bit more research in the next few days and I hope to put together a blog post with my findings.

In the meantime, please read this post. If I could write so eloquently it is exactly what I would have written myself.

Please don't call PETA......

From my bathroom I heard..."Mom, will make-up stay on a cat forever?"

And this is what I found:

So the Cover Girl was put to good use after all.

Young at heart

My 94 yr. old grandmother went to live in a nursing home recently. I tried to convince her that she should come live with me instead but she was pretty adamant that she was right where God wanted her to be. We went to visit her after church on Sunday and she had me laughing and crying at the same time. She was going around rounding up all the 'old folks' for dinner, shaking hands, telling people Jesus loved them. She showed me a table that she wants to convert into a craft area, so she can 'do crafts with the old folks'. One lonely old man wheeled himself over to where we were visiting in the living area and struck up a conversation with us. He was a methodist preacher. Grandma told him she was part Methodist, part Wesleyan, part Baptist, part Pentecostal, and part Catholic (Now I know where I get it from!)

She rounded up an audience so she could entertain the 'old people' with her piano playing. Then she asked John to share the story with the 'old people' of how our family knew there was a child out there somewhere who needed a family, and how we flew halfway across the world to rescue a little girl we now know as Ava. :)


I can see a lot of myself in my Grandma, including the way we both love old people and are both in denial of our age!!

When the decision was made that Nanny would be going to the nursing home, I was pretty sad about it because I felt like she didn't need to be in the nursing home. But now I can see why she needs to be at the nursing home. She does love old people, after all.


Sorry for the poor quality cell phone pictures. It's what I had at the time.

To put things into perspective....

I've really enjoyed reading your comments about Ava's first steps. True, walkingwill open up a whole new world to her and to us. :)


This comment was particularly meaningful to me posted by Michelle: matted hair, skin and bones, vacant eyes, chicken pocks...just look at the beautiful insides of the gift you received 2 years ago. I am so proud of her, and of you for trusting your love and Gods will. I love you guys....

You see, Michelle remembers my post "Our first visit" describing the moment we first met Ava at  the orphanage. Her sparse hair was matted, she was cross-eyed, covered in scabs, skin and bones and didn't make eye contact. Holding her was like holding a floppy sack of potatoes. Michelle remembers the overwhelming fear I expressed at the challenges that laid ahead for us. I told my husband recently how glad I was that he made 'the decision' and not me, or I'm afraid our lives would have taken a much different turn. We are so blessed to have that little girl in our lives.


Recently I saw on Reece's Rainbow, two little girls, both with Down Syndrome, who remind me SO much of my Ava. matted hair, skin and bones, vacant eyes, chicken pocks...just look at the beautiful insides of the gift you received 2 years ago.  I can't help but think of the gift that some other family is missing out on by not having these two girls in their lives. Maybe your family will be one of the lucky ones. If interested in adopting one or both (they can be adopted together), please contact Andrea at bamaroberts@comcast.net. And as always, if adoption is not for you, you can always help these children tremendously by donating towards their adoption fund. Please visit Reece's Rainbow to read more about these children and see how you can advocate for them.

To put things into perspective....and show just what a difference a family can make for these kids....here is Ava learning to sit up at 4 years old.....

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ava's first steps....

...and the reason why we recommend that our guests bring their ear plugs.

I have witnessed a miracle....

This weekend I watched my soon-to-be 6 yr old daughter take her first steps.

Merry Christmas from the Urban family!!