ethiopian adoption - I Am Not the Babysitter

Letter to Samuel’s Birth Mother

October 21, 2012 | 10 Comments

I want to encourage all adoptive parents to consider journaling to their child(ren)'s birth mother/father. Even if you don't believe the parent will ever be able to see your letters, it may one day be a comfort to your child when he or she is older. Also, it is nice to get down in writing some of your thoughts and struggles regarding the absence of the biological family. Plus, you may never know. One day that journal may very well fall in the hands of the birth parent. Here is an entry from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: adoption, Parenting Tagged With: ethiopian adoption, Samuel

The Deadly Mosquito

September 13, 2012 | 14 Comments

Dr. Jay Gordon at the Awassa Children's Center. Photo by Lori Dorman

It looks as though I’ve contracted malaria along with a couple of other things. Another of our Ethiopia team members also developed malaria and a host of other maladies. Please pray for his recovery and medical treatment. It was pretty cool coming back to the kids having a blast while I was away. It is so funny - the misconception that babywearing and breastfeeding your infants will turn them in to needy, clinging children couldn’t be any farther from from the truth. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Global Community, Travel Tagged With: adoption, awassa children's project, ethiopian adoption

Completing a family – the adoption story

August 30, 2012 | 4 Comments

Who doesn't love a good birth or adoption story? This one is the Grumet family's, in links that were compiled here by Kendall. This post (January 28, 2010), written in the midst of other posts regarding social worker visits ("Please God, let my house be clean!"), endless notarizing, and multiple sets of fingerprints, details the reasons for choosing to adopt from Ethiopia specifically. Samuel had turned 3 a little over a month before this post was written. This post (February 20, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: adoption, Parenting Tagged With: adoption, adoption story, ethiopian adoption, Samuel

Ethics (or lack thereof) in Ethiopian Adoptions

August 20, 2012 | 82 Comments

Earlier this year I attended an adoption-centered Christian women's retreat. One evening at dinner, some of my table-mates asked me my thoughts about ethics in Ethiopian adoptions. I gave a guarded response, knowing that many of these women were in process to adopt. Ultimately, I shared that I personally would not adopt a young, healthy child from Ethiopia at this time because of my concerns over the pervasive corruption in the system. I also shared some guidelines that I felt could help insure … [Read more...]

Filed Under: adoption, christianity, Ethiopian adoption, international adoption Tagged With: ethiopian adoption, international adoption

Meeting With Samuel’s Birth Mother- Thoughts Before the Visit

August 16, 2012 | 19 Comments

“I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates. It doesn’t just hold—that’s ego. Love liberates. It doesn’t bind. Love says, ‘I love you. I love you if you’re in China. I love you if you’re across town. I love you if you’re in Harlem. I love you. I would like to be near you. I’d like to have your arms around me. I’d like to hear your voice in my ear. But that’s not possible now, so I love you. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: adoption, Parenting Tagged With: birth mother, ethiopia, ethiopian adoption, love

Adoption Is Trendy?

April 30, 2012 | 40 Comments

Yes, unfortunately adoption is trendy. I am very worried about the consequences of adoption being something stylish, rather than a creation of a family. (Fact: Ethiopian adoptions doubled following Angelina Jolie’s adoption of her daughter.) International and transracial adoptions are quickly sweeping over Hollywood. As family that adopted internationally and transracially, I understand the reasoning behind intercountry adoption and embracing a child of any color. However, it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: adoption, Believe Tagged With: adoption, ethiopian adoption, family, international adoption, race, things I don't like, trendy

It’s my SITS DAY!

March 7, 2012 | 88 Comments

Holy Cow! Today is my SITS Day! (It’s a big deal!) What is SITS? Visit here for details. So, here is a little about who I am and about this blog for all my fellow SITS sisters and new readers- I’m Jamie I’m the mother of two beautiful boys. This picture pretty much sums up my life- I can't tame my children or my hair: but my kids love me: About Me: I am a Christian. I am a wife I am an adoptive and biological mother. I love to travel. I am a hypochondriac. I am a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Believe, Delight, Just for Fun, Move Tagged With: adoption, ethiopian adoption, fun, hellp syndrome, love, marriage, SITS, Sits day, The SITS girls, things that I love

Samuel, the Repressed Star

March 5, 2012 | 10 Comments

Samuel was messing around with Photo Booth (he likes taking pictures of himself.) He found the option that lets you take four pictures in a row. Seriously, we were doing this for hours. We started getting creative and trying to make mini story lines, but I don't think it worked very well. but after looking at the pictures it did pose this question: Where did my boobs go? … [Read more...]