Our top picks of empowering books celebrating adoption and adopted Mighty Girls!

“If the standard route for creating a family had worked for me, I wouldn't have met this child. I needed to know her. I needed to be her mother. I know now why all those events happened. Or didn't happen. So I could meet this little girl. She is, in every way, my daughter.” — Nia Vardalos, Instant Mom

Today is National Adoption Day, a day for “celebrating a family for every child.” Around the the world, there are millions of children who have found the home and love they deserve through adoption — and millions of parents who have found joy and love in return! Continue reading → Continue reading

"I feel like I'm one of her sons. All I can say is, 'Thank you, Mama Lori. Thank you. I love you."

After passing out and ending up in the hospital last year, 27-year-old Jonathan Pinkard learned that he needed a heart transplant — but that he couldn't go on the transplant list because he was homeless and had no support system to help him recover. "It was a pretty scary situation to be in," Pinkard told The Washington Post. "I had no idea what I was going to do." But when he met 57-year-old ICU nurse Lori Wood, who had been assigned to care for him, his life changed forever: Wood invited him to come live with her. Today, following Wood's adoption of Pinkard last summer, the pair are officially mother and son, and Wood has been honored by the hospital for her dedication to ensuring Pinkard received the care he needed. "He would have died without the transplant," she asserted to Today. "I had to help him. It was a no-brainer." Continue reading → Continue reading