Every year over 14 million children grow up as orphans and age out of the orphanage without ever finding their own families.

Currently there are an estimated 143 million orphans in the World today.

Just some staggering facts I came across while researching some more adoption grants. I also found this chart that illustrates the steep decline in finalized Russian adoptions from 2004 (5,862) to 2008 (only 1,857).

On the bright side of things, each child that comes home will be one less that "ages out" of the system. AND someday soon Baby Deetz will be added to those positive statistics, not the negative ones. When we see situations that are out of our hands, or think they are too great for one person to bear on their own, we forget that the World is changed one person at a time.

I've been thinking a lot about my recent visit to the ol' girl doctor. When I told her and the nurse attending that since I had been to her last year, we had stopped taking fertility junk and started the adoption process (I thought she may have known this..but obviously, she didn't open my chart until I was up "in the rack") She said without a moments hesitation "oh you know NOW you are definitely going to get pregnant" and the nurse quickly agreed and they began telling stories about ALL the patients that had happened to. I would have been shocked if this was the first time I would have heard that, but for a doctor to say that??? It made me furious. So I was naked and furious. Not a good combo, I assure you. At this point, if I ever were to get pregnant I would of course, be thrilled. But NO more thrilled than the day I get to bring home baby Deetz from Russia. They would be absolutely, positively, 100% MY CHILDREN. Via uterus or via Lufstanza Air. SAME. SAME. SAME. If I were mega-prego flying to get Baby Deetz, I would waddle my way through the airport and through Moscow, and would be delighted that BOTH my children were on their way home, where they belong. A pregnancy is not going to deter our plight to bring home our child. Your children are your children, by birth or by adoption. I need to really be careful and practice my southern manners when the next person tells me I won't need to adopt when I undoubtedly get bionic fertility overnight. Ok. I feel better now. Pardon the rant.