Black Baby, White Hands: A View From the Crib This book was written by Jaiya John – the first African-American child to be adopted by a white family in New Mexico. His birth and subsequent adoption occurred in the late 1960's in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

He writes a compelling, poetic story about his struggles growing up black in a white family and a white community and his journey to find his place in the world. He has a lovely, descriptive,... more

(Continued from here)

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

We were on the go all day today. I left a little before nine and didn't get back until 7. We started by going to MOLSA and getting the other two letters we needed – one to get passports and one for the US Embassy. From there, we went to the orphanage and got the kids. As always, they had to give the baby a bath and it took ½ hour or so. From there, we went to the “Immigration” office to apply for passports. It was a madhouse, especially outside. Even Z said he didn't like that area – too many people begging. I saw three guys in a real knock-'em-out fight for a pineapple – they run around 3 birr a piece - pennies.... more

(Continued from here)

Monday, June 14

We picked up the court decisions and got all the stamps on them, plus got our translation (just of the court decree). We dropped things off at MOLSA and returned around 2:30. They gave me the papers I needed to get the birth certificates done. We will get the US Embassy letter and the one for the passports first thing in the morning. We had to figure out where to go for the birth certificates, but finally got there and started the paperwork to apply for them.

Interestingly enough, you are required to fill out the information in both Amharic and English, even if you are Ethiopian. I did fine on my part, but Zelalem did not... more

(Continued from here)

Sunday, June 14, 2004

After church, we went back to the orphanage, where we had our party with gift bags for all. I thought we'd have extra, but we didn't. We had the kiddos from about age 2 on up and there were just enough left over to give to the workers. They were all delighted, but boy, it was noisy! And messy. :) We gave out over 100 gift bags.

We got the baby and brought her down after the bulk of the party was over, but it was still so noisy I could barely think – she, on the other hand, fell asleep. She should have no problem sleeping at home... more

(Continued from here)

After lunch, we went to the orphanage, but as we got there, the skies really opened up. We don't get rain like that in Utah. I think they call it a “gully washer”. Greg says you see 'em like that in Missouri though. It came down SOO hard the rain gutters were overflowing! We waited under the tin-roofed carport until it slowed down enough for us to go inside – at least ½ hour. Aaron tried to hold Ashenafe in the rain and we told him to knock it off. Aaron (age 17) finally went off by himself and when I went to talk to him, he just started bawling. It's just... more

When I last left off on our Ethiopian adoption adventures, we had just had court and had been able to adopt four child.

Greg, Michael and Ashenafe leave tomorrow night. The rest of us hope to follow in a week. If Ethiopian Airlines has their way, though, we'll never get home. They are just OUTRAGEOUS!! Every time we talk to them, the story gets worse!! The latest is, they won't issue any tickets for the kids until they see their visas AND they want me to fly separately from the children (as if) AND they can't get us on any flights from New York or Newark to Salt Lake AND they won't “allow” us to fly... more

Victoria Falls - billed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world – are simply spectacular!

They dwarf Niagra Falls, both in width and depth. There was no way we could see the bottom of the falls – not up close and not far away – the spray from the water is just too much. The falls are about 300 feet high, and almost a mile wide. The caveat is that the falls are at their peak in April and by September or October, there may not be enough spray... more

Livingstone is becoming a “hot” tourist destination in Zambia. You will see many tourists from all over the world if you come. It is named after David Livingstone, the famous explorer, who was reputed to be the first white man to ever see the famous falls. It's down in the "corner" where Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe meet (it's not really a "corner", but everyone will know where it is).

To get there, you can fly directly from South Africa, if you wish, or drive from Lusaka. If you are driving, you can get there by bus... more

(Continued from here)

There are a hundred - a thousand - or many times that - more examples of anti-adoption bias. Let's address it!! Maybe Brad and Angelina will read Sandra's blog and decide that SPAN is a great idea – I know I think it is.

If all members of the adoption community banded together and "took on" "adoptism", this bias against adoption (check out some of the media reports Sandra has quoted... more

(Continued from here)

As I mentioned in the first blog on adoptism, there was an example of an adoptive mother who parented her son from birth to four months, at which time the baby was returned to his birth mother. There was no place for her grief. No where for her to turn for support in her loss.

As someone who has worked in the field of perinatal loss for over 18 years, I maintain that the last bastion of unacknowledged grief is adoption loss – from the adoptive parents point of view, AS WELL AS the... more