I realized I had not yet posted about this great resource. The Jewish Children's Adoption Network is not an agency, rather they serve to connect potential adoptive parents with Rabbis, social workers, agencies, attorneys and birth families, who know of Jewish babies and children in need of a home. It is a non-profit organization and has about 100 children referred each year. The majority of the children referred tend to be drug exposed, or have physical or mental issues, although there is a thorough registration form on their website where you can indicate exactly what ages you are looking for, as well as what "issues" you would be okay dealing... more

As some of you may be aware, there has been some tumult recently in the world of Orthodox conversions - specifically in regards to the acceptance of American conversions in Israel. (This issue is really just focused on Orthodox conversions - I'll get into other movements' conversions another time). While I try to stay out of politics on this blog as much as possible, this issue is directly related to Jewish Adoptive parents, most of whom do convert or consider converting their children to Judaism.

I was waiting to post about this issue until there had been some kind of resolution to the matter to some degree. This has come today in the form of an agreement reached today between the... more

So, Anna had her surgery yesterday and is doing fine. She was totally hysterical the morning of her surgery at the hospital - more freaked out after the actual procedure than before. They let me come into the operating room with her and then I had to leave after they put her to sleep. I cried when I left. She was so scared - it was so scary - and there was nothing I could do to help her.

The worst of it, I think, was that when she woke up, I wasn't there to comfort her. Even after they called me to come to her she wouldn't stop crying - sobbing and screaming - until we got home. She had slept so very little... more

What is minor surgery? My father always said that it was the kind of surgery that other people had. It seems that when something is happening to you, or more importantly your child, it is never really minor.

Nonetheless, Anna is going in for what I am told should be minor surgery tomorrow. Before she came to us, she had tubes put in her ears because of frequent ear infections - something it seems which is becoming more and more common in young children today. The tubes are generally supposed to take care of the ear infections and are also supposed to fall out by themselves within two years. However, she's had recurring ear infections over the last year to year and a half, and it seems... more

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Here, I feel like I might as well move to Seattle, where I'm told it rains most of the year. It has not. Stopped. Raining. And at some point during the Shavuot holiday, I realized I had left part of my car's sun roof open...after 48 of virtually non-stop raining of cats and dogs.

Anyway, "Mich Mc" posted a comment in my last post asking to explain a bit more of what Shavuot is. If you ask your average American to name a Jewish Holiday, I'd venture to say that 95% of the time they'd say Chanukkah (or Hanukkah - pick your spelling) - a topic I'll address when we get... more

So, tonight starts Shavuot - yet another one of those Jewish holidays we get to take off from work for. If it seems to you that there is another Jewish holiday every few weeks or every month or two, that's pretty accurate. As I'm scrambling with little time left to go, I'm trying to figure out what's on the menu. As you may or may not know, it's a tradition to serve dairy foods on this holiday. Some say that when the Jews got the Torah, they hadn't yet learned the full extent of the laws of keeping kosher, and therefore only ate dairy so that none of the laws were transgressed. Others say that meat and blood symbolize judgement, and milk and honey symbolize compassion, hence the eating of... more

Tonight starts the holiday of Shavuot - the holiday when we celebrate the giving of the Torah to the Jews. Or, as my husband explains it to his Indian co-workers, the Festival of the Cheescake, because of the tradition to eat dairy on this holiday. I've been trying to think of what to write for this holiday, but came up with nothing until I stumbled onto Reb Barry's blog and his sermon for Shavuot. I bring you an excerpt, but the full text can be found here.

Our ancestors reply when Moses came down the mountain with the Torah... more

I am trying to remember at what age kids usually go through their nudist phase.

In our circles, it is generally encouraged and accepted that people will try to dress "modestly" which means different things to different people. To some, it's dressing modestly only during synagogue services. To others, it is at all times in public, and to others still it is at all times, even in one's own home.

Obviously, there is a great deal of leeway given to young children, but there comes a time when you want your kid to start growing up a bit. Anna is now potty trained (yeeee haaaah!) and a few months past her third birthday. Although I grew up in a less traditional environment and dressed... more

So, with still no camera in sight, I am in the final countdown of preparations for Sheva Brachot (literally, seven blessings) that we are hosting at our home tonight. There is a custom for the seven days following a Jewish wedding that friends or family host a party - often a full meal or just a dessert - as a continued celebration of the actual wedding. It's actually one of my favorite traditions - it's much more intimate than the wedding itself and it sends the message that we are happy for the newlywedded couple not... more

I think that those of us who are adoptive parents who in the past tried to have biological children really do understand that adoption is a great way to become parents. We love our children sooo much and have truly gone through so many, many hoops to get to this point. After so much heartache, having a child that is ours is a blessing and really never ceases to amaze me.

There is no "but" here, rather an "and" if you will.

And some things are still hard. And sometimes I still cry. And sometimes I still wonder why it is that our life took this path. I consider myself to have come to a place in my life where I am okay - I can talk about things openly. We have also come to accept... more