Hey you all - I wanted to point anyone in the 'hoping to adopt' frame of mind to a wonderful resource: thinkingofadopting.com

Here's a bit about how the website got started:

Thinking of Adopting was founded in 2005 by Robin Bartko who was so moved after adopting her youngest son in July, 2004 that she committed herself to do something to help others adopt. Robin is very active in the adoption community, going to adoption conferences and adoption related seminars on an ongoing basis. She is also involved daily in adoption support groups. Prior to her own adoption, she did tremendous research, speaking to experts regarding developmental, environmental, emotional, and medical challenges of adoptive children. Prior to her adoption, she had personally used four international doctors including one overseas and has spoke to many others as well. She has spoke with many adoption agencies across the United States and with numerous adoptive parents. Robin continually speaks and educates people who are considering adoption. Robin lives in Ellicott City, MD with her husband and three children. Her youngest child was adopted from overseas at the age of 21 months.

One of the wonderful services that Thinking of Adopting offer is Adoption telecourses and webinars. Now, I have never taken one of these courses or webinars, so I can't really give an accurate review, but the topics sound very timely and useful to me. Here are some of the upcoming offerings:

• 6/27/06 Share Your Story: Creating Your Own Adoption Blog with Dennis Bartko



• 7/09/06 Promoting Healthy Attachment with Dr. Lark Eshelman



• 7/12/06 Tips on Selecting an Adoption Agency with Robin Bartko


• 7/26/06 What to Expect During the Referral Stage with Robin Bartko

Please look at their schedule to look at past topics - hopefully they'll be offering some of them again.