It is so nice to read a heart-warming adoption story in the news. Here is a summary of the article Doctor Offers Orphan Greatest Gift by Maila Rible, Web Producer:

Arkansas Children's Hospital surgeon Dr. Lisa Buckmiller and her husband, Richard Hinkle, adopted six-year-old Gong Lu after the child came to the United States for facial surgery. Dr. Buckmiller, who performed the surgery, fell in love with the... more

I am giving you bonus post today to share with you an article from the Associated Press. According to the article Study: Adoptive Parents Get High Marks by David Crary, adoptive parents fare very well when compared with bio families. Here is a brief summary of the article:

According to a study published in the American Sociological Review, adoptive parents do a good job investing time and money in their children when compared to biological parents. Some of the areas in which adoptive parents... more

If you believe this article out of the UK, Ricky Martin is the next celebrity who will adopt. Apparently he's become aware of the millions of children who need homes all around the world through his work with UNICEF and he's thinking of adopting from India.

I suspect over the next few days he'll either confirm or deny, but in the meantime...let's have a little contest.

Instead of shaking his bon bon, he'll be shaking _____________ (fill... more

Wendy's restaurants are selling coupon books for free Frosty shakes that you can give out on Halloween. Money from the sales of these books goes directly to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption:

Designed to raise funds for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Wendy’s Halloween Coupon Books are filled with 10 coupons for free 79¢ Jr. Frostys. The booklets sell for $1 each, and the entire purchase price of coupons sold between September 19 and... more

The other day I posted some links to horrible stories about adoption. Sadly, they were really easy to find! Today, as promised, I'm posting some happy adoption links. Unfortunately they are a little trickier to find, ESPECIALLY since all the news today is about Madonna and that little boy from Malawi, which I find neither happy nor sad, since I think Madonna always does what's trendy and attention-getting and those are dumb reasons to adopt...although I do wish the little guy well. (And I am not kidding about only finding Madonna stories. I just searched Google news for... more

Want negativity? I'll give you negativity! Like a moth to a light I am drawn to these terrible stories of adoptions go awry....

Actually, I'd love to tell you about some happy adoption stories but if you search "adoption" through Google News there are way more scary, bad stories than there are good ones.

In case you are feeling too happy and need a downer, here are some links to some really sad situations:

Here's the story of a family who is... more

Have you heard of Yunona? It was an agency based in California that scammed over a hundred families across the country. Its owner, Ivan Jerdev, has fled the country facing fines and charges, but if he's gone home to Russia he also faces charges there of child trafficking.

Because of the publicity surrounding Yunona, Schwarzenegger has signed a bill into action (created by state senator Liz Figueroa) that puts new regulations on adoption facilitators like Yunona. This is from an article in the Napa Valley Register On-line version:

“Senate Bill 1758 will increase... more

Here are some news articles that focus on adoption. Kind of. Some (like the first one) are less news-worthy than others...so read at your own risk.

Madonna and husband to adopt African twins. Maybe? Maybe not? It's kind of surprising, actually, but if they do - good for them. No doubt they'll go on record later in the day...

Dear Abby asks "desperate mom" to write back. A couple of weeks ago a woman wrote to Dear Abby, saying she had given birth to a baby with her husband who's in the military (apparently at his request) and she did... more

I just found a really interesting article about adoption in Dubai.

When a child is abandoned in Dubai (the article doesn't mention how this takes place - are they literally abandoned? are they surrendered?), then they go to Al Wasl Hospital, to Ward 16, "the ward for children of unknown parents.”

According to the social workers, the ward never has more than 12 children, both boys and girls. Some families opt to foster the children because they cannot conceive, while others already... more

I found two recent news bits on International adoption, both of which are (seemingly) depressing, but reflect reality.

The first is this quiz by Dr. Joyce Brothers: "International Adoption is Not For Everyone" from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Not sure why she put it in a quiz format, but there you are. Here are the questions (the answers are true/false):

1. It is a myth that orphanages in other parts of the world are cold, sterile places where children receive... more