Emma was just 2 1/2 weeks old when she had her first open heart surgery. But during the procedure, there weren't any parents pacing a waiting room floor, wondering about their little girl - the child had been placed for adoption, but then the adoptive mother had changed her mind. Enter a cardiac surgery nurse and his wife.

"For years, [Daniel Monroe] and his wife, Elizabeth, tried to have children. They spent $35,000 on in-vitro fertilization to conceive their son.... But Elizabeth Monroe always wanted a daughter.... Three months later, when Daniel called from work to tell her about the orphan baby, Elizabeth was certain her prayers had been answered."

The Monroes let their wishes be known to the birth mother's lawyer, and two days later they got the green light to proceed with the adoption. Emma will have to have other surgeries as she grows up, but she - and her forever family - will cross those bridges as they come to them. Source: The Ledger

Labels: special_needs, hope, love

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Best-selling author Debra Shiveley Welch has released a new book to coincide with November's being named National Adoption Month. Son of My Soul tells the story of the adoption of a special needs child and the joy he brings to the lives of those around him.

"President George W. Bush proclaimed on October 31, 2007 that November 2007 was designated National Adoption Month. The President also stated that by accepting the gift of these young children into their lives, parents are helping to contribute to the strength of our nation."

The senior reviewer at Midwest Books called Son of My Soul a "must read" for every adoptive parent.

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Labels: support, inspiration, love

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Pamela Kruger was recently the subject - or one of the subjects - of a New York magazine article on adoption. Unfortunately, the question posed by the article - "Do parents really love adopted children differently than their own offspring?" - reveals just how ill-informed much of the media remains about the true challenges faced by adoptive families.

"Too often the media raises the question of can you love an adopted child as if that was THE critical question to adoptive families when that really is a fleeting fear that comes and passes before a couple adopts; and too often the adoption community has been invested in responding by stressing how 'normal' their families are."

Kruger goes on to say that, just as single parents and multiracial families have issues to deal with, so do adoptive families - but those issues shouldn't be given so much attention. Instead, she says, more attention should be given to the joyful though complex realities of these "new family constellations". Read more at HuffingtonPost.com.

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Labels: media, adoptive_families, love

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