STUCK

So this post is really not much about my own adoption journey, but it is really about something that I want to make you aware of and hopefully you will make all of your friends aware of.

Last night my husband and I attended a screening of the documentary "STUCK" at the Kenwood Theater in Cincinnati.  What an amazing experience!  First we had a nice quiet dinner at one of our favorite Jeff Ruby Steakhouses, Carlos & Johnny, before heading to the 7:00pm showing. It was a completely sold out event and we sat in the packed out stadium style theater with about 250 other people who were not sure what to expect from the provocative film about international adoption.

What we got with this compelling film was an incredible look into the plight of orphans around the world and families that are fighting to bring many of them home. This is something so near and dear to my heart as an advocate for families, women and unborn children in my career and also as an adoptive mother myself and one who is now on the waiting list for a child from China. 

While my family is not "stuck" in our adoption process at this time (we are waiting to be matched with a child) we are well over 2 years into the process and understand the incredible obstacles a family or individual must contend with in order to provide a loving home for a child who is without one. It can be maddening sometimes as you write check after check for each step of the way and fill out stacks of paperwork, undergo a litany of back ground checks, mental and physical health checks, financial screening and numerous other "hoops" before you can even be "approved" to adopt a child internationally - all of this while currently mom and dad to 4 healthy happy children in your home already!! "Crazy" is really not the correct word for how sad this system is and how unfair it is to the millions of children who are orphans and want nothing more than a family - a family who is probably wanting them just as badly but either can't or is trying to navigate through all of these obstacles to bring them home :(

I guess I will stop my rant and just conclude by saying that the organization who produced this film,  Both Ends Burning, is doing remarkable work to get the policies and laws changed that has caused international adoption in this country to decrease by 50% in the last five years - 50%! That means that the approximately 10 million orphans in this world have a very slim chance of ever having a family if something doesn't change - something has to change!  This film and this organization - with help of people just like you and me - is making a change.

Please take a moment to watch this trailer and this informational video (less than 10 minutes for both!) and then find out where you can see this film near you! It is life changing - you CAN make a difference ....we all can!! :)

On the event "red carpet" with attorney Kelly Ensslin , who has dedicated countless hours to this cause (what an incredible and inspirational woman!) & Executive Producer, Craig Juntunen.

 (I am crazy bright in this pic - my husband says I make pictures "hot"...I thought he was being sweet and then I realized that it is actually a photography term for when the light reflects all crazy and bright off of a person or object like this - LOL!)

I hope that you will all take a moment to explore this film and the cause behind it. Please, if your life has been touched in any way by adoption I would love to hear about it!  It is my passion and I believe my calling in life to advocate for :)

Blessings!