Thailand Post #4-Wrapping it Up

Drinking cashew juice

On our last day in Thailand we had a very relaxed, easy day.  Although we had seen a lot of the area around Phuket, we hadn't actually been to Phuket yet and decided to take a tour. We were driven around downtown Phuket and saw the historic Chinese section of town. We actually saw the herb store the Amazing Race had visited when they went to Phuket (only fans of the show would care, but we were excited!)

They took us to a cashew nut factory which was pretty interesting-who knew that you could drink cashew juice and that's it's pretty sweet and tasty! They had cashews with every flavor imaginable that we were able to try-chocolate, honey, wasabi, and even durian. Now if you've never heard of or tried durian it is a fruit that is extremely pungent and common in Asia. In fact, there are even signs in taxi cabs and at the airport that you can't bring durian because the smell is so offensive.  Unfortunately the taste of the durian among the cashews was too much for me, and I thankful was able to get something else in my mouth quickly!

Chalong Temple

We visited the huge complex of Chalong Temple next. There were five buildings we could see, all of which were ornate and had huge Buddha statues inside. As the temperature outside was in the 90s I was in shorts and a tee shirt, and I was asked to put on a shawl not only to cover my legs but also my arms.  One of the temples was three stories tall, and at the top many people were worshipping because Buddhists believe part of Buddha's bones are behind the glass case inside the temple.  Throughout the complex you would hear fireworks going off in a large outdoor oven every few minutes after worshippers bought them to give thanks to Buddha. In each room we saw lots of people bowing and kneeling to Buddha statues, and to be honest it became a little overwhelming to me at some points.  Buddha never said he was a God, yet people are treating him as such. I just felt very overcome with emotion visiting here.

Big Buddha-hard to tell from here how big it was!

Next we went to "Big Buddha," the largest sitting Buddha in the world. It was just recently finished and is on a huge hill overlooking Phuket, so you can see if from almost any point. You don't realize how big it is until you actually are underneath it and staring up at it. There were many, many tourists, but there were also lots of people there worshipping.  Again I was asked to cover up out of respect, and once again it was very sad for me to see all these people worshipping a man instead of God.

That night/early morning we left Phuket and headed to Seoul to visit Eastern, our adoption agency in Korea. Jon wrote an AMAZING post on the entire experience which I can't even begin to replicate, but suffice to say it was wonderful to be there but also very hard.

Milestone Birthday

I have a confession: I have been kinda dreading my 30th birthday for some time for a myriad of reasons. But as it turns out I had no reason to worry because my birthday this year was awesome...I mean really awesome.  

When the alarm went off that morning for work, I rolled over and Jon said, "Happy Birthday. Do you want to open your presents?" Although I declined because I *must* have a shower to function in the morning, I knew he must have something good up his sleeve if he was this eager for me to begin opening presents. When I got out of the shower he was right there...waiting. "Are you ready now?" 

Jon handed me a card which was what I expected since I had told him NO GIFTS this year. I already knew he was planning a big trip for my birthday, and I told him that was my present.  However, he was allowed to get me a card.  I opened the card and read his lovely birthday note. Then, inside the card were two pieces of paper. The first was a coupon for two years worth of a Ver!zon data plan. You see, Jon and I had decided to switch to Ver!zon because of AT*T's lousy service, and although I really wanted an iPh*one I didn't want to pay the $30 each month for the data plan.   The coupon looked so real I actually believed it for a second.  He had broken the rules about no presents, but because I really wanted an iPh*one I let it slide. :)

Next he told me that my Mom (who was coming into town with my Dad and nephew for my birthday) and I would be enjoying a 4 hour spa day on Saturday. I was thrilled because I had always wanted to do a spa day, and doing it with my Mom would make it even more special. We were going to receive a facial, massage, foot treatment, and body exfoliation. It sounded heavenly! 

Then to top it off I opened up the last piece of paper. It was a map and had Korean characters on it. I asked Jon what this was, and he told me that we were going to have an 8 hour layover on the way home from our mystery vacation...and it happened to be in Seoul!  That's right...we are going to Seoul. I  was so excited but shocked all I could say was, "I'm so overwhelmed!" Jon informed me later that he wasn't sure if I was happy about the trip because I just kept repeating that phrase over and over. Believe me when I say I was excited, but when you don't expect to be in the same country as your son for another year it leaves you a bit overwhelmed.  We will be receiving a tour of the Eastern adoption agency facilities and might even have time to do a little shopping. I am so thrilled to be in the same city as our son instead of thousands of miles away, even if it is only for a few hours coming and going to our mystery destination. 

Work was a pretty good day, even though I had a staff meeting until pretty late in the evening. I left work and drove straight to Jon's work so we could make our dinner reservation on time. He was waiting for me with white roses.  Isn't he the best?  Dinner was at Anthony*s Fish Restaurant in Kirkland, which is right on Lake Washington. We both enjoyed clam chowder, a lobster dinner, and a warm berry cobbler. It was delicious!  Then, waiting for me at home was a huge bouquet of flowers from my parents.  Didn't I tell you the day was great?

The whole week, however, was fabulous. My birthday week started on Sunday night when we went out to dessert at the Cheesecake Factory with some members of our small group at church for dessert. On Tuesday night the hostess of our other Bible study had made rice krispy treats. Then my parents came into town on Thursday along with Garrison. Although I was nervous totting a four year old around Seattle, he did a really great job. We had our own birthday celebration on Saturday night and had fun cheering on the Packers on Superbowl Sunday. See, I told you it was a great birthday! Jon set some pretty high expectations to live up to for his own birthday in a few months. Ideas are being accepted!

Christmas and the end of 2010

We spent Christmas back "home" in Arizona.  We were very fortunate to have wonderful weather in Scottsdale.  In fact, on Christmas day it was a sunny 75 degrees!  What a change from cold, rainy Seattle gray skies.  We were busy pretty much every day: running errands (I don't even think I can count the number of times we went to Costco and Walmart :)), catching up with friends, and seeing family.  My Mom's birthday is the 26th, and I felt fortunate being able to celebrate alongside her for her big day, too.

Most of our gifts to each other (and from others) had to fit inside of a suitcase.  This can be a challenge, but overall we were successful.  As Jon tweeted, this ended up being a Blu-ray Christmas for us.  I got Jon a Blu-ray player this year, but of course I couldn't pack it to Phoenix and back.  Instead I got him the Avatar blu-ray, so he successfully inferred there was a new player waiting for him at home.  Jon surprised me with a new Coach purse I had been eyeing for some time at the Factory Store.  Some other gifts I received from family included the complete Les Miserables musical CD, a new bluetooth headset (hopefully it will cut down on the noisy freeways that are in Seattle), some new ASU apparel, 4 in 1 cake dome, aluminum water bottle, and a Mom-Daughter day where we got a massage and pedicure.  Fun!  The most outrageous gift was this awesome travel pillow!  I know it looks crazy, and when Jon blew it up on the plane I thought it looked pretty funny, but I actually fell asleep on a plane (an amazing feat) with it!  For that it is a definite keeper!

Jon also met our renters for the first time, and we are so thankful that these two are living in our home.  They seem to be doing a great job taking care of the house-everything looked squeaky clean and we both got good vibes from them.  It has been such a blessing to have one less thing to worry about, and we hope they will renew the lease at the end of May.  Finding *new* renters (let alone quality renters) from 1300 miles away is a burden for us and my parents, who end up showing the property.

It's so hard to believe that 2010 is over.  It seems like only yesterday I was reflecting on 2009 and looking towards the year ahead. Although this year was still very hard in its own way (failed fertility treatments jump to mind), we also had some great experiences as a couple visiting Portland, Victoria, the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and seeing family in three different states!  I can also safely say I finally felt more at home in Seattle, learning to appreciate the things living in the Pacific Northwest brings like seasons, snow capped mountain peaks in the distance, blue lakes (I drive across one each day!), and great friends through our church.

Also, this year we decided how we were going to resolve our infertility-through adoption in South Korea!  We can't wait to "meet" our child through pictures this year, and are already looking towards 2012 when we can finally hold him in our arms. I am doing most updates regarding our adoption on our blog, so be sure to check there if you want to stay on top of that.  Eventually we might close that down and put everything here.  Either way, one will become a protected blog.

I hope you all had a great New Year, and I look forward to seeing what this year brings!

The First Gift

At our last meeting with our social worker we were told it would be a good idea to make a photo book (a la Snapfish) to mail off to our child after we received a referral.  Since I am pretty familiar with children's literature I couldn't help but think that no child would want to stare at pictures of people they have never met, so I thought it would be cuter if we could make up some type of story that feature us as the main characters along with some type of stuffed animal that would be attractive to a child.  

In my head I wanted to find something cuddly, soft, and cute for the animal because I was hoping this could be something we could also mail off along with the book so our child could have the stuffed animal while reading about his forever parents.  Well, Costco had just the thing.  They were selling the most adorable, soft stuffed animals with a matching cuddly baby blanket.  It was PERFECT!  We ended up purchasing a lion because we both thought it was adorable.  It is the first gift for our baby!

Jon and I spent some time taking the lion all over Seattle for our story, and luckily my parents were in town so they got to help out.  In a few weeks we'll be in Austin to celebrate Jon's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary and see Jon's entire paternal side, so the lion will get to visit them for our book.  Then we will mail the little lion to Milwaukee so Jon's maternal family can take pictures with it.  I am really excited to see what will develop.  For now, here are some of my favorite pictures.

A Turn Around?

ASU has had a rough season.  After winning the first 2 games to opponents that aren't really in our league (literally and figuratively) the first big test came in Wisconsin.  We lost in a heart breaker by one point, a game we should have won more times than one, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot.  Then came Oregon and Oregon State.  Same thing, different weekend.   We lost three games by 15 points which are terrible ways to get a losing record.

We needed to win yesterday's game at Husky Stadium.  Jon and I have had tickets to the game for weeks and had been planning on going since moving to Seattle, and we had seats in the ASU section of the stadium.  You truly had to be a fan to attend this game because it rained, poured, showered, and we got drenched for over four hours.  Just when the rain would seem to let up a bit, it started all over again.  Although we were both wearing our heavy winter jackets (purchased since moving to Seattle), my jacket soaked through to my ASU sweatshirt which soaked through to my turtleneck.  We both shared a garbage bag to keep our jeans from getting wet, but the seats were wet and it was impossible to stay dry.  At halftime we walked all over the stadium to purchase a poncho, but when they ran out of the clear ponchos and only had purple ones left, we stayed true to our team and stayed wet for the second half.

It was worth it.

ASU was ahead for the entire game, and with seats in the 23rd row we were there for every great pass, field goal, and touchdown.  Our fellow ASU fans were great, and aside from a very drunk UW fan who kept pestering us, threw up, and left the results right behind us, I had a great time.

I also realized in the middle of watching the game that when ASU is back here playing UW in two years we more than likely won't go because we will have a little baby then.  This was pretty exciting.  Although we can participate in events like this now, we are both excited for what is to come and watching the game from home instead of live.  We know our baby will bring us so much joy, and I can't wait to teach him the ASU fight song.  He is going to be very indoctrinated at an early age.

Some Big News

Jon and I have decided to adopt from South Korea!

We researched a lot of different programs and narrowed it down between domestic and South Korea. I know these probably seem like night and day choices, so why did we pick South Korea?

One of the major concerns we had about adopting state side was not knowing a great deal about the baby. Although we would be able to adopt the baby almost immediately after birth (a definite plus in many ways), if the baby was exposed to alcohol or drugs it might not show until several months of age. (Agencies do not test birth mothers for drug or alcohol abuse during the pregnancy). One of the big movements in domestic adoption is "open adoptions," and Jon and I weren't very comfortable about continuing to meet the birth mother throughout our child's formative years, especially if the baby's first family is in the NW and we plan to move back to AZ in a few years. In some ways we also felt like adopting a child in America felt, at times, a little like buying a baby. It's amazing that some agencies and companies can guarantee a child to you faster if you pay more money upfront. It just doesn't seem right!

We looked at several international programs before deciding on South Korea. We liked South Korea because of all we looked at (Russia, Ukraine, China, Mongolia, etc) the babies were raised in foster families instead of orphanages. The institutional delays common in babies who don't receive lots of one-on-one care aren't present because the children in South Korea have lots of personal attention from their foster family.

South Korea's medical system is also on par with that of the US and Canada, so babies are given extensive medical care throughout their time in South Korea. We also will receive medical reports on the baby when we receive our referral, probably when the baby is between 5-6 months of age. Although I'm sad that I will miss out on these important first few months, I am thankful that our child will be well taken care of during this time. (Although if you ask me about this after we receive our referral I might not be so matter of fact about this).

Many international adoption programs have strict guidelines of who can adopt from their family. They look at how long you have been married, if you have any divorces, your height/weight ratio, if you have any other children, etc. The waits for some programs are also very extensive: China is between 4-5 years (!) right now.

Since we have decided to adopt I have been readings lots of books on South Korea and on international adoption in general. If you'd like, you can check out our blog about our adoption. We have lots more information there, and we plan on keeping it updated fairly often over the course of this journey. (If you end up posting a comment, please try to keep it anonymous since it's a public blog.)

Summer's almost over!

It's been almost two weeks since I posted, which is quite a bit of time during the summer when one would think I have lots of extra time since I'm not working. Not true! I have been so busy writing lately (in addition to reading) that my days are flying by.

I recently wrote a letter to Jon's company urging them to consider offering adoption benefits for their employees. A lot of Fortune 500 companies (Microsoft, Google, Motorola, Bank of America, etc) offer this because adoptions are so expensive, and I think it would be great for them to recognize and support that people build their families lots of different ways. We haven't sent it off yet, but you can be praying it would be looked at and considered instead of just being shoved to the corner of someone's desk or-worse yet-thrown away!

I also wrote a letter to President Obama in reference to the housing crisis. As many of you know, Jon and I still have a house in Arizona we lived in for 4 years before moving to Seattle. We can't sell it because we have lost so much money on the property, and we don't feel like it is ethical to foreclose (although that would be the easy option since renting a home from 1,300 miles away is a pain in the royal behind). Since we pay our mortgage every month on time our mortgage company isn't willing to work with us to lock in a lower rate. I just feel people like us are being forgotten. I did hear back from Mr. Obama-a typical form letter with him thanking me for writing in and suggestions of whom to contact for information about the housing situation in America. To be honest this is what I expected, but I secretly hoped I'd get a "real" response.

I have also been writing a ton lately on two new blogs I have started (one by myself, and one with Jon). My new blog is called Trekking Out, and I hope one day it will grow into a travel blog that people can check out to get itinerary information. I actually started this blog almost 2 years ago when I picked out the URL, but I never posted anything. I figured it can't hurt to give writing it a shot. Maybe nobody will read it (ever!), but I love to travel and I figure you can't go wrong talking about something you are passionate about because it just might show up in your writing. You can click here to check it out, but be nice if you comment! :)

My Mom came into town this past week to do nothing more but hang out. It was such a wonderful time. We saw chick flicks we couldn't drag our husband's to, we ate at Panera for lunch, we went shopping, we cooked together, we explored parts of town I hadn't been brave enough to see on my own...it was really so enjoyable. Here is a picture of us taking a hike in a park close to my house. I miss my Mom already, but I am thankful she has the time and money to be able to come out and visit me as often as she does.

We have some other news on the horizon so keep checking back here for updates.

Summer Reading: Part Deux

I think the title of this post speaks for itself, so I'll dive right in:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

This was one of those books that will stay with me. Not because it was one of my favorites, but because the dystopia that was created was so alarming and disgusting to me. Women are treated like farm animals, and unless they can breed they are nothing in society. The author picks on Christians as those responsible for such atrocities, and I think that is an "easy out" for many authors. I will say this book, written in the early 80s, was a bit ahead of its time in the portrayal of certain American attitudes/events today. The author describes the destruction of the government, putting aside the constitution for the sake of the greater good, and stereotyping of Middle Easterners. I found these tidbits interesting. So would I recommend this book? There are definitely hard passages to read, and it wasn't my favorite novel because of some of the nature of the book, but it was definitely interesting. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger as well, and I found myself wishing for some resolution which made me realize I was emotionally invested in the characters.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Super easy read, but I didn't "get it" nor do I understand why my library considers it a classic. I suppose I was looking for a book with a beginning middle, and end (I ask for so much!), but that wasn't present here. The short chapters were like vignettes of the character's life that didn't usually relate to each other. It was almost like putting together a quilt with fabrics that someone picked out because they were the same color palette but entirely different in every other way (pattern, fabric, material, etc). There are definitely a lack of novels that focus on people of races other than Caucasian, but I have a hard time believing this is the best of Latino literature available.

Adopting After Infertility by Patricia Irwin Johnston

This novel was written from a perspective that I can obviously relate to. I though the author was sincere, candid, and the book was well written. My only dislike was it was written almost 20 years ago, and some of the ideas she discusses, mainly open/closed adoption, have drastically changed in that time period. I would recommend this book for someone in my situation.

Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother by Jana Wolff

This book was extremely interesting because it covered so many of the questions I have in my head about becoming an adoptive parent. What is the homestudy like? How will I deal with the stupid comments from other people about our adoption? How does it feel to be sized up by my social worker? birth mother? others? about being fit to parent when millions of people never have to face these types of inquiries. How can I best meet the needs of a child that isn't of my ethnic background? The list goes on and on. This was a very easy read for me, and the author really "got" where I am at.

Children's books:

Alone in an Untamed Land: THe Filles du Roi Diary of Helene St. Onge by Maxine Trottier

This is a historical fiction series for young adults, and albeit not very popular at either Copper Ridge or Gatewood, I finally got a chance to read a book in this series this summer. The main character was 13 years old, and I think she would be relatable to a lot of girls that age even though she lived in the 1600's. The book was an easy read and although predictable it was well done. There was a bit of an ick factor for me (and I know a teenager would feel the same!). The main character got married at 16 to a man who was 30! Now I realize that was probably common then, but it really bothered me that Helene married her best friend's father. Just a little too close for comfort to me. Nevertheless, I would recommend the Dear America/Canada series to girls who enjoyed historical fiction.

Hayley the Rain Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I would have loved this series as a little girl, but I had to try very hard to appreciate it as an adult. The story took about 15 minutes to read, and plot conflict was minor and easy to solve (like most 80's family sitcoms). However, the little girls at my school are going crazy for this book series, and I understand the appeal because of the girly nature of this book. Fairies, adventure, and intelligent young female heroines...this is book candy for little ones in all its glory.

Adoption Nation book and thoughts

As I recently posted, I read the book Adoption Nation which gives a lot of information about domestic and international adoptions, stories of people who have navigated the system, etc. One of the most interesting parts of the book was reading about how Americans view adoption as others opinions are something Jon and I would undoubtedly encounter as we seriously consider adoption to expand our family.

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute conducted a survey of Americans about how they perceive adoption. In order to make this interactive as possible, perhaps you could take a look at the questions, form your opinion, and then scroll down to see if your opinion is similar to that of other Americans.

Do you view adoption as positive, negative, or unsure?

Do you think adoption serves a useful purpose?

Is adoption as good as having your "own" child?

Is it harder to love a child that's not your own flesh and blood?

Do you think adopted kids are first rate? second rate? not sure?

And the results are....

90% view adoption positively

95% said adoption serves a useful purpose
50% said adoption is not quite as good as having one's "own child"
25% said it is harder to love a child that's not your own flesh and blood
70% of Americans consider adoptees to be "first rate." Adam Perman writes, "Although the term (first rate) is not explained, [it] presumably refers to their quality as human beings. 20% said [adoptees are] second rate, and ten percent weren't sure, which means at least one in 5 people who learn that my kids are adopted start out thinking they're somehow inferior without even knowing a single thing about them."

Interesting, huh?

I'm not about to engage in a debate over people's viewpoints on adoption, but I do think it is interesting what the poll shows. I know it has made me think A LOT over the past few weeks. By thinking about our own perceptions and ideas perhaps we will better be able to understand why we believe the way we do.

It would be my hope that if we bring a child into our homes that we didn't biologically create that the people in my life would wholeheartedly love, accept, nurture, and cherish that child. And I believe they would. However, it probably means my child will face prejudice, or at least misunderstanding, from those they encounter in the world.

I have also read a great deal about stories of adoptive parents and adoptees. Seemingly innocent comments that I would never have thought twice about have hurt and scarred adoptees and their families. Comments like, "What happened to his real mom?," "We couldn't have children of our own, so we adopted,"(your adopted children are your children), and "Why did you chose to adopt? Wouldn't you rather have your own?" are painful comments for parents and children who have experienced adoption to hear. It just reiterates to me how much we all need to think twice before we speak because our innocent words can hurt others deeply.

Since reading this book I have read two other adoption books, and I have learned a lot about the entire process during the past month or so. If you would like, we would appreciate your prayers as we have narrowed our eventual adoption path down to two options: domestic adoption and international adoption for South Korea. We also have an appointment with our reproductive endocrinologist on Friday to decide if there are any other medical possibilities we are comfortable pursuing.

Summer Reading So Far

Every summer I get a chance to relax and catch up on some reading. Likewise, for the past several years I have included reviews of books I read. Here is the first batch of books of the summer since school got out 2 ½ weeks ago. Happy reading!

Darcy’s Story by Daisy Meadows 3.5/5 stars

I recently reread Pride and Prejudice, and I thought the idea of telling the famous love story from Darcy’s perspective might be interesting. At first I was put off by this book. It felt like the author had a checklist of things she needed to cover (remember, Darcy’s sister was engaged prior to her meeting Wickham, so we need to toss in some details about that about….now), but as I kept reading I noticed this less and less. The story was interesting and stayed true to the original characters. It was appealing getting to know Darcy better as well, since I have always felt it was difficult to “buy” in the original why he suddenly likes Lizzy, seemingly out of nowhere. If you like Pride and Prejudice, you probably would enjoy this book.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 2 ½ / 5 stars

Surprisingly enough, nowhere in my educational career was I ever assigned to read Hemingway. I have always heard about this classic, and I decided to pick it up even though war stories really aren’t my cup of tea. All I can say is I have no idea why this is a classic. The first part was very challenging to get through and even put me to sleep (which is quite an accomplishment!) . The dialogue was difficult to follow because it would last for several pages at a time and never mention who was talking (Kinda similar to Song of Solomon). Many of the sentences were also very simple. I taught my sixth graders about the importance of fluency, but this book lacked it! By the end of the story it had finally picked up, but by that time I was pretty disinterested in the characters. Now I know why none of my teachers in school never chose to study this book in more depth!

She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell 4/5 stars

I am happy to report this is probably the best book I have read in several years. It is historical fiction, my personal favorite genre, and the characters were easy to cheer on and the writing was engrossing. I actually finished this book in one day (although I had to stay up to nearly midnight to do it). Unlike so many historical fiction novels I read last summer, this book was totally clean and featured no lurid scenes about the character’s sex lives. (I recently read Time Traveler’s Wife, and that author couldn’t help including those types of details, too!) I will note that there were no plot twists and the story was fairly predictable, but the story itself was one I found myself happy to be in. I would definitely read more books by this author, and I plan on requesting more from my local library this summer.

Distant Dreams by Judith Pella 3 ½ / 5 stars

This is another historical fiction novel written by a Christian author. However, unlike the previous story this wasn’t nearly as good. The main character, Carolina Adams, has a fascination with trains which is seen as a male preoccupation and not something her little mind should worry about. Now I am all about strong female characters fighting the world because women should be allowed to pursue anything they want (even if it is the 1800s), so in theory I should love this book. I just felt most of the minor characters were pretty one dimensional, and the details about the technical side of the railroad were, in all honesty, completely boring to me. I can overlook this issues, but one thing I can’t stand is when you invest 400+ pages into learning about these characters only to have a non-ending. In order to complete the journey you embarked upon, you must read the sequel. I hate buying into this money making technique, and for that reason coupled with the rest I would not recommend this book.

Vision in White by Nora Roberts 3.5/5 stars

I have never read Nora Roberts before, but this book looked as good as any to try out. Who doesn’t love weddings, right? The main character works closely with three best friends as wedding coordinators for the rich in their small town. During the course of the story the main character falls in love with the plaid jacket English teacher at the local high school. Although the story was predictable it was an easy read. One of my major faults is the unnecessary details about the character’s sex lives. One nice thing is the novel does wrap up by the end, and if you fell in love with the supporting girlfriends then you are in luck! Each will be given their own novel where they find love within the next few years. Now I don’t think we could wrap it up in a bow and package this up any nicer, but unfortunately this package wasn’t good enough for me to keep reading.

Adoption Nation by Adam Pertman 4/5 stars

This is a non-fiction book in all of its glory, so if you aren’t terribly interested in learning more about adoption I wouldn’t necessary recommended reading this book. It did, however, give lots of interesting facts about the history of adoption in the US, revelations in the process, things to consider, and stories about adoption (both good and bad). Unfortunately the book is 10 years old, so I know some of the information was out of date at this time. I found out some really interesting things about adoption perceptions from reading that I think I will actually devote these to another post in the near future.

Kids’ Books:

Stanley, Flat Again by Marc Brown

This is one book in a series about Stanley, who keeps going flat. Since it is written for kids, he has simple adventures that help those around him when he is flat (such as rescuing a girl from a collapsed building because he’s the only one that fits into small spaces). There is also some kid humor interjected throughout. I was recommend this book for students.

Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo

DiCamillo is most famous for her award winning books for young adults. Her Mercy Watson series is written for younger readers and are short stories about a pig and his adventures. The pig in this story ends up, due to his naivety, catching a burglar. Kids of all ages would like the cute, simple plot and funny details with colorful, glossy illustrations.

Surf’s Up, Geronimo Stilton by Geronimio Stilton

Boys love these books, so I had to take some time to read one this summer. Geronimo Stilton is a "type A" mouse who decides to take a vacation in this book of the series. Of course, nothing goes right during his vacation where his room is infested with roaches, he is unwittingly signed up to do dangerous sporting activities, and his hotel isn’t exactly upfront about the accommodations. These books would definitely amuse children, and it is good, clean fun.