With the holidays rapidly approaching I thought that I would dedicate this blog to talk about adoption search and the holidays. When I was searching I can recall times that I would feel down during the holidays. This is probably more common than talked about. I have much to be grateful and thankful in my life. I have always felt this way but there use to be a part of me that was down because I wondered about my natural family and had many questions.

Again, don’t get my wrong, I had a good life with a wonderful family and parents who raised... more

With the exception of a few adoptees, everyone I met at the retreat had relinquished a child to adoption. There were a couple of birth/first moms who were also adoptive moms as well. At least two attorneys are active members, and I know mothers who are nurses, college professors, social workers and teachers. What else? There is a real estate agent, a flight attendant and a lobbyist. Ah, yes, I forgot Sandy Musser, our token convicted felon!

After Sandy Musser was introduced, it was mentioned that she is a true example of "walking the walk" as far as family preservation... more

When participating in an online mailing list or forum there are few guidelines that I believe are important in order to get the most of the participation.

When you enter into a discussion with another person or group of people, opinions unlike your own may be expressed. Everyone has a right to his/her own opinion and people are more likely to listen when it is expressed respectfully. It is important to voice your thoughts and ideas in a non confrontational manner and to respond to other opinions with respect. You may want to consider not immediately... more

The following are new registrations submitted and confirmed at http://www.birthfamily.com/registry/ . If you registered during the last week and don't see your registration listed here, it's because you have not yet confirmed your email address. The "0" or "UN" entries indicate information not filled in on the form.

To search the registry, and to view complete information provided on each registration go to http://www.birthfamily.com/registry/... more

This gathering for Korean born adoptees is being called Chicago Mini Gathering and is sponsored by AK Connection. This gathering is for Korean born adoptees who are 18 years of age and older.

They organization has chosen Chicago because it is centrally located for easy access. Many of you may be familiar with Chicago because of the many things it is known for such as

Mobsters The longest losing lovable baseball team – Go Cubs! The tallest occupied building – Sears Tower Oprah Millennium Park Shopping

The... more

Time is running out to register for the Fourth Biennial Adoption Conference at St. Johns University fourth adoption conference titled: "Families without Borders: Adoption Across Culture and Race".

This conference will be held at St. Johns University, Manhattan Campus located at 101 Murray Street, New York, NY 10007.

This two-day conference will take place on Friday, October 13th and Saturday, October 14th. You can register for either Friday or Saturday or both. Registration at the door is welcome, but advanced registration is much preferred.... more

Post Adoption Search & Support of Delmarva will co-sponsor the fifth annual Voices of Adoption program in conjunction with faculty from the Communications & Theatre Arts Department of Salisbury University. The presentation will take place October 25, 2006 at, 7 p.m. at the Asbury United Methodist Church at the corner of located at Camden Ave. and Dogwood Dr. in Salisbury, MD.

This year's planned program theme is “From the Book” and it will involve short readings that are no more than three minutes long from adoption literature. The reading will... more

One of the first books I read before I actively started my search was The Other Mother by Carol Schaefer. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this excellent read, it is an awesome book and truly helped me to cross the threshold of thinking about searching to actively searching.

When I completed this book, there was a listing of 5 support groups in the back of the book and I immediately called the closest one to me (PA) which was in FL. I believe the group was called People Searching News and they referred me to two local search and support... more

On Saturday October 28th from 8:30 am – 5:30 pm the American Adoption Congress (AAC) will present an all day conference titled “Family Connections: the Evolving Face of Adoption”. The keynote speaker at this conference is Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, author of Adoption Nation – How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America and adoptive father Adam Pertman. He will present “Welcome to the Revolution: 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Adoption”.

Following the keynote will be three conference tracks:... more

There is a new web cast focused on adoption: The Adoption Show: Voices Ending the Myth.

The show currently exists as a web cast or web radio show, so you can only listen in by going to their website, either during or after the show.

On Sunday, Sept. 17, the show will be about searchers who find a grave. Guests include Denise Leitch, a mother who started "Found and Lost," an online support group for these searchers; and a woman who was given up for adoption whose mother died 12 years before she found her this past Mother's Day.

The... more