October 31, 2018 a father's perspective, adoptee perspective, adopting out of birth order, adult adoptee 1 Comments

Adoption wasn’t anything new to me when my wife and I set out to adopt our daughter. In fact, my entire life has been about adoption in some form or fashion. From being adopted myself, to being a foster family to several children as a child growing up, adoption has been one of the consistent …Read More

September 30, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, embracing their story, older child adoption, orphanage, Post-Adoption contact, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, spina bifida, telling their life story 4 Comments

I was 10 years old when I was adopted. I had spent all my life in an orphanage. I had no idea it was even possible to be adopted, let alone by American families – I thought I had everything I needed. Going to school I knew I was different. I didn’t have pretty clothes, …Read More

September 29, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, arthrogryposis, heritage trip, orphanage, orphanage visit, Post-Adoption contact, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, telling their life story 3 Comments

I was adopted at two years so I don’t really have memories before coming to America. But I have always had a memory of being in a bathtub surrounded by colorful plastic balls. I also remember laying in a crib with a purple blanket draped over the top like a tent watching my mom on …Read More

September 13, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, birth family, Perspectives, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, Uncategorized 0 Comments

My husband and I had the privilege of studying abroad in the country of Austria when we were students in college. We were dating at the time and visiting the quaint little town of Pochlarn. As we walked through the streets we talked about my adoption story, specifically my birth mother and my desire to …Read More

September 9, 2018 a father's perspective, adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, fundraisers, fundraising for adoption, other ways to care for the orphan, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees 3 Comments

Over many years, long before Erin and I were even married, God was weaving together a beautiful story, made possible through adoption. I was unexpectedly adopted from the Congo at just a few months old, as my biological mother died in child-birth with me. In the tribe I was born into, the cultural practice, if …Read More

May 27, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, telling their life story, tracheoesophagel fistula, VACTERL 1 Comments

I can say with certainty that becoming a mother has been the most unique experience that I’ve had in my life thus far. That sentence sounds strange to me as I write it because people becoming parents is maybe the oldest and most common experience known to the human race. We still exist after all. …Read More

January 31, 2018 adoptee perspective, books, Chinese Culture, embracing their story, guest post, heritage trip, orphanage, Post-Adoption contact, telling their life story 0 Comments

Patti Waldmeir, award winning author and foreign correspondent, raised her adopted Chinese daughters Grace and Lucy for half their life in China. She’s just published a book about raising them in the country that could not keep them… The Waldmeir family visiting Grace’s hometown of Yangzhou in 2008 /// “Do they know they’re adopted?” Soaking …Read More

October 4, 2017 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, Perspectives 2 Comments

For as long as humans have inhabited the earth (I assume), the moon has been a source of wonder and mystery. I imagine my ancestors staring up at the same moon, hundreds and even thousands of years ago in China. This year, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival falls on October 4, within the National holiday for …Read More

June 12, 2017 adoptee perspective, Jean, telling their life story 3 Comments

When we leave China with our newly adopted children, we leave part of their history behind. Oftentimes, it’s a black hole and we will never know the details about their lives before we met them. Any tidbit of information from another adopting family, a picture, a single moment they may remember, is a treasured gift. …Read More

April 19, 2017 adoptee perspective, April 2017 Feature - Love Stories, birth family, foster care, older child adoption, orphanage realities, telling their life story 4 Comments

We are so quick to fill in the blanks, aren’t we? We get one part of a story, and we use our imagination to complete the rest. But it’s too simplistic to do that with the care of orphaned children halfway around the world… to see an image and create a tragic narrative, hear a …Read More

January 28, 2017 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year 0 Comments

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! Happy Chinese New Year to you all! Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival or Chun jie. There is nothing more exciting or anticipated in China than the New Year celebrations with all of their traditions and activities! It’s an important familiar and societal tradition to reflect upon …Read More

December 16, 2016 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, Perspectives, protecting their story, telling their life story 2 Comments

One question that plagued me into adulthood was this; “Why was I one of the lucky ones?” After visiting China and seeing many children in poverty or abandoned and in orphanages, thinking about the ones who wouldn’t make it because of sickness or because of a broken system that can’t care for it’s own children, …Read More

December 9, 2016 adoptee perspective, adoptee Q and A, adult adoptee, Perspectives, protecting their story, telling their life story 1 Comments

I just recently entered the world of adoptive family forums and Facebook groups and am amazed at the number and the commitment of adoptive parents who would do anything to protect, and give the best life possible to their children. As an adult adoptee from China, I’ve “met” parents who have shared their stories with …Read More

July 23, 2016 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, Perspectives, protecting their story, telling their life story 10 Comments

Hello Readers, I am new here at guest posting on No Hands But Ours. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Parrie Liu and I am a Chinese adoptee. Since the age of almost four, I have lived in Texas with a loving family. Currently, I am attending university and pursing a degree in …Read More

July 12, 2016 adoptee perspective, adoption realities, adult adoptee, Perspectives, telling their life story 1 Comments

Ni Hao and hello! I’d like to introduce myself. I am the Happy Panda from Europe. I was adopted when I was two from Sichuan. I am now 24 years old and just graduated as a social worker. I studied social work and during the lessons we learned to create/stimulate awareness. My goal is to …Read More

July 1, 2016 adoptee perspective, books, June 2016 Feature - Books, Perspectives, TongguMomma 1 Comments

Anyone who knows me knows that I love books. Goodness, we own so many children’s books, we actually created a Dewey Decimal System for our home library so that we can find them! Thankfully both of my girls also love reading and books and all things literary. This list reflects many of my oldest daughter’s …Read More

November 30, 2015 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, birth family, November 2015 Feature - Embracing Their Story 0 Comments

“Why don’t you look like me, Daddy?” “When did I come out of your tummy, Mommy?” “Why did my “real” Mom not want me?” “So, you are still my real parents, or are they my parents?” “Will you ever leave me?” If you are an adoptive father or mother, questions like these from your child …Read More

November 23, 2015 adoptee perspective, embracing their story, heritage trip, November 2015 Feature - Embracing Their Story, orphanage visit, telling their life story 0 Comments

Their story with us didn’t start at the beginning. I think we jumped in around chapter 3 or 4. Much like opening a book midstream and trying to piece together a plot, our adoptions began with many unanswered questions and many holes that I knew we could never fill. Yet at some point, I knew …Read More

November 22, 2015 adoptee perspective, adoptee Q and A, November 2015 Feature - Embracing Their Story, telling their life story 1 Comments

We know that God is the only one who can heal hearts and redeem stories. But what of our role as shepherds of their hearts? One powerful, guiding gift we can dig into is the experience of others, young and old, who are willing to share their stories. As part of our Embracing Their Story …Read More

November 20, 2015 adoptee perspective, adoptee Q and A, birth family, Jean, November 2015 Feature - Embracing Their Story, older child adoption, telling their life story 0 Comments

We know that God is the only one who can heal hearts and redeem stories. But what of our role as shepherds of their hearts? One powerful, guiding gift we can dig into is the experience of others, young and old, who are willing to share their stories. As part of our Embracing Their Story …Read More

November 12, 2015 adoptee perspective, adoptee Q and A, birth family, November 2015 Feature - Embracing Their Story, telling their life story 1 Comments

We know that God is the only one who can heal hearts and redeem stories. But what of our role as shepherds of their hearts? One powerful, guiding gift we can dig into is the experience of others, young and old, who are willing to share their stories. As part of our Embracing Their Story …Read More

January 7, 2015 adoptee perspective 0 Comments

My name is Becky, aka FullPlateMom. This is my first time contributing here at No Hands But Ours. I am mom of ten amazing children who all came to us through adoption, and wife to one never-endingly patient man who I call Joe, but is lovingly referred to as FullPlateDad on our family blog. You …Read More

July 20, 2012 adoptee perspective, first year home, Kelley, Newly Home, older child adoption, telling their life story 5 Comments

On June 27th, our family celebrated our 13-year-old’s first “Gotcha Day” anniversary. As I was writing out my thoughts that day to share on my personal blog, I wondered what might be going on in Caroline’s head as she reflected back over the last 12 months. I explained my blog to her and asked if …Read More

August 2, 2010 adoptee perspective 0 Comments