Kids of Same-Sex Parents Benefit From Supreme Court Ruling

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States revealed their decision on the same-sex marriage case that had reached their court. The case was called Obergefell v Hodges. In short, the Justices of the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is the law of the land. Kids of same-sex parents benefit from this decision in so many important ways. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriage between two people of the same sex. They also ruled the the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to recognize a same sex … Continue reading

Open, Semi-Open or Closed Adoption part 3

With open adoption both the biological family and the adoptive families know the names, addresses and contact information for each other. In our situation and the fact the biological mother did not seem to me to have the ability to make great decisions so we did not want her to know our information. We were concerned that if she had our information we would eventually hear a knock at the door and she would be there. We actually took preventative measures to insure that she did not know our information. We used my maiden name for any introductions and papers … Continue reading

Open, Semi-Open or Closed Adoption part 2

If you are considering placing your unborn child up for adoption or you’re considering adoption I hope that you read my last entry. If you did you will realize that both the adoptive and birth families have decisions to consider. The decision to participate in an open, semi-open or a closed adoption are decisions that both parties need to decide on. The first part of thinking about the decision is to consider how comfortable you are with sharing your child’s life with another person who is responsible for your child. I can see it from a few different positions. As … Continue reading

Single-Parenting vs. Adoption

Single parenting can come about in a number of ways. Some of us were thrust into it unwillingly as a result of a divorce, others are faced with a difficult decision; single parent or place. I have been on both ends of the single parenting spectrum. I was just out of high school and faced with the most difficult decision of my life. My boyfriend and I had just broken up less than 24 hours before I found myself pregnant. A good friend of mine found herself in a similar situation not long after I did. One of us chose … Continue reading

Adoption Match Meeting

The adoption process is nothing like you see in the movies, there was no big home where you walked in and pick what child you would like to call your own. The closest comparison I can think of is like when you are trying to buy a house. The family who would like to adopt is asked to create a one page flyer that talks about your family, what your home life is like and what you have to offer a child. When a child comes up for adoption placement that matches the criteria that you have given, they give … Continue reading

We Finally Found an Adoption Agency

So after we came out of the shock of the business aspect of adoption, and it is a huge business, we finally found the type of agency we were looking for. The agency we used was Homes of Saint Mark located in Houston. We live in Dallas and Houston is about 4 hours away but they did not treat it like a way to make money. Homes of Saint Mark placed infants that were given up, they placed children from CPS, they also matched birth moms who want to give their babies up through private adoption. We thought we were … Continue reading

Why We Chose Adoption

When my husband and I started discussing getting married we both decided that we wanted to adopt a child or a sibling group. Unlike a majority of the people who make the decision to adopt we did not have a fertility issue. We actually took all the necessary precautions not to have children the good old fashioned way. If you are anything like my in-laws, you may be wondering why we would chose adoption rather than birthing our children. Hopefully this blog will help clarify that for you. When we thought of our family we both knew that the kids … Continue reading

The Adoption Process – Part I – Orientation & MAPP Classes

How is the adoption going? Have you heard anything yet? Have you met the child you are going to adopt? How long does it take? So many people ask us these questions, so I thought it would be good to lay it all out here. This is not a quick and easy process; it takes a lot of time and a lot of work. Please keep in mind, also, that this process is actually quicker and easier for people who want to adopt older children, like us! This is an overview of the adoption process in our area, as we … Continue reading

The Adoption Waiting Game

There has been absolutely no progress on our adoption. People talk of the waiting game, but I have always imagined that as being part of infant adoption, not older child adoption. Parents wanting to adopt infants have to play the waiting game much more than parents wanting to adopt older children. When you express an interest in adopting older children, social services can, and will, work with you right away. We were presented with a possible match, but we have been playing phone tag with the case worker for weeks now. The last time she left a message for me … Continue reading

What Problems Do Parents of Russian Adoptees Face?

Most of the world is justly horrified by the fact that Torry Hansen sent her adopted Russian son back to Russia. I admit I don’t know how I would respond if my child threatened to kill me. But as I said in my blog on Wrongful Adoption lawsuits, once an adoption is final, the parent-child relationship is final. If my biological child suffers brain trauma and becomes a danger to others, he may have to live in a residential treatment center, but I would still visit him, try to assist in his healing process, contribute financially to him as much … Continue reading