When people conceive and give birth to a baby, it is obvious that there is no other baby they'll want to take with them home from the hospital. They've known for months that this day would hopefully come, watched the birth, and held the tiny infant in their arms during the first moments of life.

It's magic. It's a miracle. It's biology. It's destiny.

But what about adoption? Was Anna destined to be our daughter out of the thousands of possible children? Would any other child fit with our family as well? How did we know that this was the child for us? What about people who adopt internationally or others that didn't have a "choice" like us, but take whatever... more

One of my favorite quotes from the 1951 movie, The African Queen is as follows: "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above." It’s a great movie (Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart!) - put it on your rental list if you haven't seen it yet.

I've always been fascinated by the nature vs. nurture debates - even well before adopting became part of my life. I love the idea that we are all more than the sum of our parts, and yet we are still made up of a little piece of our DNA, our life experiences, and the decisions we make in life. There are so many arguments... more

When someone gets pregnant, often one of the first things they start discussing is the question of "When to tell." When to tell parents, friends, siblings is a big issue, and philosophies vary greatly. Some tell immediately. Others wait until a certain point in their pregnancy.

In the Jewish tradition, many people hold off on telling, or certainly don't make an announcement immediately. Also, many have the custom of not having a baby shower before the baby is born. There is an idea of Ayin Harah, literally translated "evil eye." A good explanation that I like from this site goes as follows:

First... more