- 581,000 children are in foster care in the United States. 22% percent of these children -- about 127,000 kids -- are available for adoption.
- 135,000 children are adopted annually; only 12,753 of those are international children. 13,000-14,000 are babies given up voluntarily by their parents within the US.
- 26% of these US adoptions are international while 74% are domestic.
- Overall, parents placing their infants up for adoption are made up of only 1/4 teenagers, contrary to the popular misconception that it's mostly teen moms participating in the adoption process. As a matter of fact, the predominant subset of woman giving their children up for adoption are in their 20s, have a high school diploma, and probably have other children they is raising.
- 90% or more of current adoptive parents have met the birth mother per her request. Almost no woman choosing adoption today seeks anonymity or refusal to contact.
- A very small minority of infant adoptions involve fathers in the process. Most women who are looking to give their baby up for adoption are single parents who either have no contact with the father or the father has made it clear he will not be involved in the baby's life.
- Most women struggle to make the decision about what to do with an unplanned pregnancy and much of this is due to misinformation about adoption as an option.
- Women who feel pressured into placing their children up for adoption suffer from poorer grief resolution and greater negative feelings.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Domestic Adoption
It seems like international adoption has become somewhat of a status symbol among the non-profit and Christian world, along with Toms Shoes and mission trips. But what a lot of people are forgetting is that there is a real need for adoption even in our own country, and while it might not be as "cool" as international adoption, it's just as necessary. Not only is it necessary, but it is quietly happening all across the country while the international baby campaign sits center stage. I in no way intend to demean or diminish international adoption, children from countries other than the US desperately need a home and a heart to love them. I simply aim to shine a little light on our very own orphans living within our 50 state.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Recycled Book Crafts
I am loving the trend of using recycled books for craft projects, and Stephanie Lynn from her blog, Under the Table Dreaming. The first craft that she did with recycled books was making Tree Ornaments, which are so adorable and so easy!
You can find the tutorial for this project here: Book Page Flower Ornament.
The second project using recycled books is a lot more time consuming, but the finished project is SO BEAUTIFUL! Stephanie used a rolled flower technique to create a wreath entirely out of recycled book paper. Tutorial for the wreath can be found here: Faux Curled Rosewood Wreath.
Here is the link to the Paper wreath that I made. Enjoy!
Monday, March 7, 2011
The A Word
People either love fighting about it or refuse to speak of it under any circumstances. It's a topic of political debate year after year and for many, decidedly sways their vote for President of the United States. It tears families apart, leaves many women with gaping emotional (and sometimes physical) wounds for years to come, and for Christian women, can forever alter their relationship with Christ from the weight of their guilt and shame.
I'm talking about the A word, abortion.
I'm not writing this to argue about pro-life or pro-choice, I actually chose to write this post because I found the story of a pro-life advocate to be incredibly moving and interesting. This is mostly because she was the original abortion poster child "Jane Roe" (her real name is Norma McCorvey).
Norma was born in Lousiana in 1947 and raised in Houston as a Jehovah's Witness. Her father left the family before she could even remember him being there and was raised by her single mother, Mildred, who was a raging alcoholic. Norma dropped out of school at 14 and subsequently married Woody McCorvey two years later at 16, who also turned out to be an abuser. Norma left Woody in the midst of her first pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter, Melissa in 1965 at age 18. The following year, Norma became pregnant again and gave that baby up for adoption. She tried to move in with her mother, but when conversations about Norma being attracted to women began to infiltrate the home, Mildred disowned her and took custody of baby Melissa.
At the tender age of 21, Norma became pregnant for the third time and returned to Dallas, where friends advised her to falsely claim rape in order to get a legal abortion (at the present time, 1969, abortions were only legal in the case of rape or incest); but this plot fell through when the police discovered no charges had been claimed and questioned Norma until she caved with the truth. At this point Norma tried to obtain an illegal abortion but the center she went to had been closed by police. As her last hope, Norma was referred to some female attorneys who took her case all the way to the supreme court. Roe v. Wade gained publicity and controversy in the three years it took to reach the supreme court, and in this time Norma (who had presented herself to the attorneys as "Jane Roe") gave birth to the baby who was eventually adopted. Within days of the case being ruled in her favor (making abortion legal up to 24 weeks, the week when a pregnancy is considered "viable" because the baby could survive outside the womb), Norma revealed her true identity to the press.
From here, Norma's story only gets more sad and more complicated. In the 1980's Norma confessed that she had, "been the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers who were looking for a plaintiff with whom they could challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion." In 1994 she published her autobiography, I Am Roe, where she talked about the case as well as her long time confusion about her sexuality and her partner, Connie. Just one year later in 1995, Norma was befriended by a minister who shared the gospel with her and she became a Christian. On August 8, 1995, Norma McCorvey was baptized in a backyard swimming pool in Dallas, and two days later she announced that she had become an advocate of Operation Rescue's Campaign to make abortion illegal.
Three years after her conversion to Christianity, she published her second book in 1998 titled, Won by Love, where she described the moment she realized that her stance on abortion was wrong,
"I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. 'Norma', I said to myself, 'They're right'. I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth — that's a baby!
I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about 'products of conception'. It wasn't about 'missed periods'. It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion — at any point — was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear."
Currently, Norma is still active in pro-life demonstrations and supports political candidates who have the same goal that she does; to overturn Roe v. Wade, the bill that will famously be associated with one young woman battling for the right to chose her life over the life of a child. The U.S. gave Norma a voice and national platform when she was arguing the side of the secular world, yet no one is listening now. It's obvious to me that anyone can be a "wise and knowledgeable source" when they are fighting for the world's brand of selfish lifestyle. My question is, how can you turn to that same source and now claim that she is ignorant and clueless? Her life and experience are the same, the only difference is she finally believed still, small voice when it whispered, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139
I'm talking about the A word, abortion.
I'm not writing this to argue about pro-life or pro-choice, I actually chose to write this post because I found the story of a pro-life advocate to be incredibly moving and interesting. This is mostly because she was the original abortion poster child "Jane Roe" (her real name is Norma McCorvey).
Norma was born in Lousiana in 1947 and raised in Houston as a Jehovah's Witness. Her father left the family before she could even remember him being there and was raised by her single mother, Mildred, who was a raging alcoholic. Norma dropped out of school at 14 and subsequently married Woody McCorvey two years later at 16, who also turned out to be an abuser. Norma left Woody in the midst of her first pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter, Melissa in 1965 at age 18. The following year, Norma became pregnant again and gave that baby up for adoption. She tried to move in with her mother, but when conversations about Norma being attracted to women began to infiltrate the home, Mildred disowned her and took custody of baby Melissa.
At the tender age of 21, Norma became pregnant for the third time and returned to Dallas, where friends advised her to falsely claim rape in order to get a legal abortion (at the present time, 1969, abortions were only legal in the case of rape or incest); but this plot fell through when the police discovered no charges had been claimed and questioned Norma until she caved with the truth. At this point Norma tried to obtain an illegal abortion but the center she went to had been closed by police. As her last hope, Norma was referred to some female attorneys who took her case all the way to the supreme court. Roe v. Wade gained publicity and controversy in the three years it took to reach the supreme court, and in this time Norma (who had presented herself to the attorneys as "Jane Roe") gave birth to the baby who was eventually adopted. Within days of the case being ruled in her favor (making abortion legal up to 24 weeks, the week when a pregnancy is considered "viable" because the baby could survive outside the womb), Norma revealed her true identity to the press.
From here, Norma's story only gets more sad and more complicated. In the 1980's Norma confessed that she had, "been the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers who were looking for a plaintiff with whom they could challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion." In 1994 she published her autobiography, I Am Roe, where she talked about the case as well as her long time confusion about her sexuality and her partner, Connie. Just one year later in 1995, Norma was befriended by a minister who shared the gospel with her and she became a Christian. On August 8, 1995, Norma McCorvey was baptized in a backyard swimming pool in Dallas, and two days later she announced that she had become an advocate of Operation Rescue's Campaign to make abortion illegal.
Three years after her conversion to Christianity, she published her second book in 1998 titled, Won by Love, where she described the moment she realized that her stance on abortion was wrong,
"I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. 'Norma', I said to myself, 'They're right'. I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth — that's a baby!
I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about 'products of conception'. It wasn't about 'missed periods'. It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion — at any point — was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear."
Currently, Norma is still active in pro-life demonstrations and supports political candidates who have the same goal that she does; to overturn Roe v. Wade, the bill that will famously be associated with one young woman battling for the right to chose her life over the life of a child. The U.S. gave Norma a voice and national platform when she was arguing the side of the secular world, yet no one is listening now. It's obvious to me that anyone can be a "wise and knowledgeable source" when they are fighting for the world's brand of selfish lifestyle. My question is, how can you turn to that same source and now claim that she is ignorant and clueless? Her life and experience are the same, the only difference is she finally believed still, small voice when it whispered, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139
Thursday, March 3, 2011
A Day of Blessings
Man, today is incredible. The weather is unbelievable, we got some great news on a personal front (to be shared at a later date), and some very dear friends of ours who have been in the adoption process for a year just got the call that a baby is waiting to be loved by them.
Sometimes God's goodness is so profound and overwhelming that I can't decided whether I'm about to dance around the room or sob for joy. So I'm going to go with the combination and dance for joy and I think my boy David knew a little something about this feeling:
Sometimes God's goodness is so profound and overwhelming that I can't decided whether I'm about to dance around the room or sob for joy. So I'm going to go with the combination and dance for joy and I think my boy David knew a little something about this feeling:
Psalm 66
1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.”
Psalm 9
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 33
1 Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord;
it is fitting for the pure to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;
make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
4 For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
5 He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.
Psalm 47
1 Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
Shout to God with joyful praise!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King of all the earth.
Psalm 63
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
T&T and TH
Two of my favorite things, Toddlers & Tiaras and Tom Hanks. I'm so happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPLWKBWkn3s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPLWKBWkn3s