Eighteen years ago, we missed Easter. Twice. On Sunday, March 27, 1999, we met Mira in Kazakhstan for the first time. All the next week we came to visit her, driving up a long and curvy, still snowy road from the capital city of Almaty to Esik, a journey of about only 40 miles but over an hour by car. I …
One More Time, Just For Fun
When I decided to take a few weeks’ break in January, I didn’t expect to be gone this long. But a lot of things have happened that kept me away. One of those things was my youngest daughter getting her learner’s permit. In Maryland, you can get that at 15 years and nine months old. You keep that for nine …
Gotcha!
I always think of adding my kids to our family in terms of the holidays. Emma was born on Christmas Eve. Mira was born on December 21, but we met her on the day we celebrate Easter in the west and brought her home on Orthodox Easter, one week later. And Dara and Johnny we brought home two days before …
I Am Not A Child Trafficker
This is how an anti-adoption activist replied to a tweet of mine saying a quarter million children from around the world had become part of American families through international adoption since 1971. I (stupidly) responded, asking if I should have left my daughter in a baby house without enough food. He replied with a link to his website, which was basically pages and …
Defending Catelynn
I cannot believe I am going to do this. I am going to defend a Teen Mom. You know, not a normal teen mom, an MTV Teen Mom. I don’t follow this show, although I’ve watched a few episodes. But this story has blown up all over the internet, and I heard about it. So here it is: In 2009, Catelynn …
Why Would You Want to Do That?
A case in Qatar this week made international headlines. An American couple of Asian descent has just been released after being trapped in the tiny middle-eastern country of Qatar for almost two years. In 2012, the Huangs were relocated to Doha, the capital of Qatar, by his employer to work on a major infrastructure project for the 2022 World Cup. …
Father Knows Best
Yesterday was the Fourth of July, so like everyone else I was thinking of our freedom, our country, our privileges. As you know, my three adopted kids came from Kazakhstan. Buggy had to apply for her citizenship after we brought her home in April 1999. It was a formality—they had to grant it, but we still had to fill out …
Genghis Khan, Softball and Seeking
This is what we call The Glare. When M steps up to the plate with The Glare, balls will fly, bases will be taken, runs will be scored. John’s gotten to where he can tell before she can how well she’ll hit the ball. He often videos her at-bats on his iPhone. One snippet we love to watch has him …
The Funniest Names I Ever Heard
About a year ago, in the car, Emma mentioned that she had mispronounced a classmate’s name that morning and the girl had become quite angry. I responded that I was surprised she was not more forgiving. “After all, in this area there are so many unusual names. It’s not like everyone is named Bill or Sally.” Suddenly, from the back …
21 Questions
People often lose their common sense when faced with an adopted baby. I have heard the most ridiculous comments. A smattering: When we brought MC home, people would hear our story and then whisper, “Are you gonna tell her she’s adopted?” I’d answer, “I’m thinking she’ll figure it out whether we do or not.” When we brought home DK and …
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