I have been cleaning out my files on the computer, getting it somewhat ready to take in for yearly maintenance. It should have been done a couple of times before this, as my laptop is about 3 years old, but, better late than never! In purging some files, I came across some saved articles and links that I had planned to post on while on this site, but didn't get around to. Now that my move is planned and in the process, I thought that I'd better share them while I have the chance.

amfAR This group's mission from their website is as follows:

amfAR's mission is to prevent HIV infection and the... more

Hello everyone,

It's a cyber move! Within a few days, or sooner, you can find me and my blog over at

www.blogs.fertilitycommunity.com which you can also get to by typing www.fertilityblogs.com

Please keep in touch and it has been great writing and reading with you,

All love,

Karianne

One of my younger brothers called me today to tell me that now every time he hears the Band Aid song, Do They Know It's Christmas, he thinks of little Bec. He said that having Bec has totally changed the way that he understood the song from when he was he was younger.

If you grew up in the 80s like we did, you have to know this song. I hadn't heard it on the radio yet this year, so I listened to it online. I did have different images for me as well, and I'm glad that he shared this little tidbit with me. Here are the lyrics, just in case you just got them out of minds!

Lyrics With Performers (Paul Young) It's Christmas time There's no need... more

Chris and I were just remembering that this time last year was the time that we got our news about Becken. The above photo is the one that came with our referral, our very first photo of our beloved son.

I had been nervous and removed and quiet as soon as I knew that they were sending out the information to us. I had spoken to our worker at our agency on the phone when she called to tell us about him. I was in shock I think because we hadn't expected a call until February and here it was only December! I went to Chris' work to tell him about our... more

Here is a very interesting post that I found from Lisa over at www.adoptionshare.com

The way that the table copied onto this site, the numbers for 2006 are listed first, with the numbers for 2005 underneath.

The following data lists the number of children adopted by parents in the United States from countries outside the U.S. in 2006 and 2005. They are listed in order of highest to lowest. These numbers were recently published by the U.S. Department of State and the stats for years prior can be found on their site as well.

Fiscal Year 2006 Fiscal Year 2005 ... more

Let me first clarify that I'm in a cruddy mood tonight. I'm about to head into a rant about now, so if you don't want to hear it, I'd stop reading now.

This is my baby's first Christmas. Maybe not his first Christmas on Earth, but his first Christmas celebrating with our family. Do you think that I could find any article of clothing to celebrate that fact? After driving around today to 4 different stores on the opposite ends of town? Nope.

There are adorable onesies, Santa suits and bibs declaring all about Baby's First Christmas. But none over size 9 months. Now my baby is only about 14 months old, but he wears 18 month old sized clothes. Even the bibs are too small... more

I suppose Ethiopia feels confident in their choice to allow us to parent Becken. We just had our 6 month post placement visit with our beloved social worker, Marilyn. You could tell that I had been involved in these visits for over a year now, because I didn't even clean my house as I had before. I straightened up as much as I could before she got here, out of courtesy for company, but not out of any fear of being a bad adoptive parent.

She has always arrived at our house right on time. Even this time with icy roads and unpredictable weather. And then, she plays with Ivy. Then we sit and talk over mineral water or tea. And boy do we talk. About everything! She asks about my... more

Adoption Day Brings New Families Together

By JESSICA WAMBACH

State adoption worker Cheri Holden gets a hug from Teresa Garza, center, as her brother, Dominic Garza, looks on at the Yakima County Courthouse on Friday. Dominic, whose sister was adopted earlier this year, now officially joins her as a member of the Garza family. It's been almost five years since domestic violence tore apart Dominic Garza's birth family.

On Friday, standing before Yakima County Superior Court Commissioner Lani-Kai Swanhart and fidgeting with his tie, the 15-year-old officially became part of another one.

"You will be responsible to raise, train... more

I have been noticing that a lot of my fellow bloggers have been doing "Love Thursday" posts. I really enjoy reading them, but didn't actually feel compelled to write them. On my blogger account, they are doing a thing called "Thursday Thirteen" that is really fun. I decided to join, last week and have been anxiously awaiting today to do my first post. Now and again, I will also be posting my lists here. Here is my initial, welcome to Thursday Thirteen post:

1…. I am 5 feet tall, and I've never wished that I was taller 2. I... more

Pasco Benton/Franklin Counties Adoption Celebration Franklin County Courthouse 1016 N 4th Ave. November 17 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Contact: Dennis Yule - Benton/Franklin Counties Superior Court (Washingto 509 736-3070 dennis.yule@co.benton.wa.us Event Details: This event, featuring Miss Tri-Cities Charlotte Smith, will recognize and celebrate all those involved in adoption and will include adoption finalization hearings, adoption information tables, refreshments, special children's activities and gifts. Additional details to follow.

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