LEGISLATIVE REPORT: CELEBRATING OUR "ANGELS OF ADOPTION"

November is the time of year that we look forward to the holiday season. We will soon gather around the table with our families and loved-ones to give thanks for all that we have in our homes, in our nation, and in our lives. Next month we will again gather with our family and loved-ones in our churches and in our homes to celebrate our faith in the glory of Christ. This is the season of celebrating our families, and the joy of family shines brightly in the eyes of our children who eagerly anticipate their Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas gifts.

As families across Southern Missouri head into this joyous season, we should take a moment to remember the more than 750 children in our communities who are growing up without the unconditional love and security of a permanent home. Fortunately, most of these children are being cared for by foster families. These foster families play an invaluable role in providing temporary safe and caring homes to children who need them. But ultimately, permanent homes and families are so important to giving these children the stability and continuous love they need to reach their full potential. Each November we celebrate National Adoption Month. It is a month dedicated to recognizing the many people who selflessly give of themselves to ensure that all children have permanent and loving homes. To show my support for adoptive families and advocates of adoption, I am a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. The Coalition is a nonpartisan alliance of more than 100 members of Congress dedicated to improving adoption policies and services. Together, we work to focus public attention on the advantages of adoption for all concerned, including children, biological parents and adoptive parents. This year, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption recognized more than 50 "Angels of Adoption." Each member of the Coalition nominated a person or family from their state who significantly impacts the lives of children and families through adoption efforts. Each of these "Angels of Adoption" are wonderful examples of caring, compassionate people reaching out to children in need of love, attention and a place to belong. The hope is that by sharing the stories of these "Angels of Adoption," we can help others understand just how important an option adoption is for the children in need of a home, and for families who either can't have children of their own, or who want to share their home with a child in need.

This year, our "Angels of Adoption" is a close-knit, Christian family who has raised five adoptive children in rural Southeast Missouri. The parents are well known throughout their community as constant supporters and encouragers of adoption by other families. This family extended their active involvement in adoption to include the farming community in which they raised their five adoptive children. In 1993, when family farms were threatened in so many ways, the family started the Adopt a Farm Family of America. In the "adoption" process one family adopts a farm family to support through prayer, friendship and encouragement. Through Adopt a Farm Family, these "Angels of Adoption" strive to help and encourage farm families to stay on their land to develop and improve public awareness of the value and dignity of rural America and farm and ranch families. There are many more families and individuals in Southern Missouri who, like our "Angels of Adoption," have made and continue to make, a real difference in children's and adoptive families' lives. I may not be able to tell all of their stories in this one column, but I hope that all of our "Angels of Adoption" will take an opportunity to share their stories with the people they know and with their communities. Whether you are an adoptive family yourself, you know an adoptive family, or are active in helping children find loving homes, I hope that you will also share your story with me. By sharing these wonderful stories of adoption, we can help more people learn about the process and dispel common myths and misconceptions about adoption. In this way, we can help more children have an opportunity to live a childhood full of love and have the care of a permanent family. As Ralph Waldo Emerson so poignantly observed, "To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived ... that is to have succeeded."