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Tag: adoption

  • Sandra Bullock Confirms Adoption of Three-Year-Old Laila

    After weeks of rumors and speculation, Sandra Bullock has confirmed that she’s adopted a daughter.

    The actress revealed the People that her new daughter is three and a half, and named Laila. According to the magazine, Laila had been in foster care in Louisiana.

    This is Sandra Bullock’s second adopted child. She adopted her son, Louis, in 2010.

    “I can tell you absolutely, the exact right children came to me at the exact right time,” she said.

    Sandra Bullock is a mom again! Meet her adorable daughter, Laila. ❤️

    A photo posted by People Magazine (@peoplemag) on

    Rumors about another adoption began months ago, and Bullock even responded to them in late October.

    “There’s only one adopted child in my household and his name is Louis. If I had an adopted child — if I had a second adopted child — everyone would be hearing about it. I would be loud and clear and say, ‘Yes, I have officially adopted a second child.’ Right now, Louis must be it,” Bullock said.

    Bullock says Louis played an integral role in helping bring Laila home and making her transition go smoothly.

    Bullock recently made headlines for speaking out on Hollywood sexism.

  • Giuliana Rancic Loses Her Last Embryo After Surrogate Miscarries, Considers Adopting A Child

    Giulina Rancic can’t seem to catch a break. The reality TV star and her husband were dealt another serious blow in their quest to have a bigger family when their surrogate miscarried for the second time.

    The fact that this was the couple’s last embryo made it even more painful, something that Rancic acknowledged in an interview with People Magazine. She also said that “We were so optimistic with this last embryo” and thought that “This is definitely going to work. This is our last shot.”

    The petite star and her husband, businessman Bill Rancic, have always wanted to add another child to their family. Their son Duke, now 2 years old, was also born via surrogate.

    The couple had 3 more embryos remaining and decided to try for another child using the same surrogate. She miscarried after successfully being implanted with 2 embryos last year. Their final attempt with the last remaining embryo ended on New Year’s Eve when the surrogate suffered another miscarriage.

    Rancic’s grueling journey to get pregnant has been seen in detail in her TV show. Sadly, the TV host can’t get pregnant herself as she is taking cancer-suppressing medication after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2011 and a double mastectomy.

    Despite these setbacks, Rancic is still optimistic and determined. She and her husband are now considering adoption as a way to have another child.

    “I think adoption is a beautiful gift you’re giving each other,” Rancic said in an interview. She also admits that she’s more comfortable with the idea of adopting now – “Because I think to myself, ‘I love Duke so much, if I couldn’t take care of him, I hope there would be someone else who would love him.’”

    Giulina Rancic is admirably also keeping things in perspective, confiding to Life & Style that “If I don’t ever have another kid, I have to remind myself that I’m very fortunate to have what I have.”

  • Elton John Reportedly Rescues Child From Ukrainian City Under Threat By Russian Troops

    In 2009, when legendary singer Elton John met Lev Ageyevya for the first time at an orphanage, the six-year-old boy was just a baby. John said at the time, “I would love to adopt him… he has stolen my heart.” However, Ukrainian laws stating that gay parents were not allowed to adopt prevented John and partner David Furnish from pushing through with this intention. Today, John is rumored to be behind the rescue of Ageyevya, his brother and grandmother from Mariupol, a city threatened to be overrun with Russian tanks.

    Even after John was denied adoption rights to the boy in 2009 due to Ukrainian Laws and his advanced age, the musician never lost touch with Ageyevya and his grandmother, Yulia. Having two sons with Furnish, John declared back then that he would never give up on Ageyevya, and he has now made true on that promise.

    Over the weekend, Ageyevya, his seven-year-old brother Artyom and 61-year-old grandmother Yulia were whisked away to Kiev with the help of Ukrainian socialite Olena Franchuk. A close friend of John’s, Franchuk took charge of sending a bus more than 460 miles to Mariupol to bring the family to the safety of the capital before Russian forces were slated to take over their home city.

    “People say Russian tanks will attack soon. I thank God for whoever helped us. We’ve been told we will be moved to a flat and there’s a school not far away,” said Yulia.

    Franchuk reportedly told media outlets that John was behind the dramatic rescue, but a representative of the musician declined to comment on the matter.

    John’s AIDS Foundation has collaborated with Franchuk’s Ukrainian Anti-AIDS Foundation, and he once gave a free concert in Kiev in 2012 to raise HIV and AIDS awareness.

  • Kim Kardashian Wants To Adopt Orphan In Thailand

    When Kim Kardashian and her family decided to take a trip to Thailand, the last thing on their minds was adopting a child. The family had planned for a relaxing and fun trip but it turned out to be anything but.

    Kendall and Kylie Jenner disappeared for several hours and scared their parents and sisters. Once things calmed down and the family explored Thailand together, Kim noticed an orphaned little girl and contemplated adopting her.

    “I literally cannot stop thinking about her,” Kim said. “I told Kanye, I was like, ‘Honestly, this girl is so sweet and so cute. … I would totally adopt her.”

    Kim was eager about the adoption at first but her mother talked her out of it and said that it might not be the best thing for the little girl or the West family at this point in their lives.

    “That’s a little aggressive,” Kris told Kim. “I think you can’t just go to an orphanage and fall in love with a child and then take them home like you’re shopping.”

    Kris seemed to understand that Kim wanted to make a difference in the little girl’s life and suggested that she do so in another way.

    “You get very passionate about things and then you don’t think about the whole thing through,” she said. “I bet there are other things that you could do that would make all the difference in this little girl’s life… without bringing her home.”

    Kim seemed to be satisfied with her mom’s suggestion and the family left Thailand without the little girl. Kim has talked about wanting another baby, perhaps when the time is right, she will adopt one.

    What do you think of Kim’s desire to adopt the little girl?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Catelynn Lowell Of ‘Teen Mom’ Is Pregnant Again

    We first came to know Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra during their emotional episode of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. The show documented Catelynn’s and Tyler’s journey through their unexpected pregnancy.

    They were only 16-years-old when they found out that Catelynn was expecting a baby in 2009, and they instantly knew that they did not want to raise their child in the home they lived in; not only was Tyler’s father in and out of prison, Catelynn’s mother suffered from drug and alcohol abuse. As hard as it was, they knew that they wanted better for their daughter, and made the difficult decision to put baby Carly up for adoption.

    Now, five years later, Catelynn and Tyler are expecting another baby! While neither Catelynn or Tyler have confirmed the news, over the weekend Catelynn’s mother April Stotts and her brother River Alexander Lowell spilled the beans. April took to her Facebook account and said “Gonna be a grandma again,” and then River followed by posting on his page, “Catelynn is pregnant.”

    Post by April Stotts.

    Post by River Alexander Lowell.

    Catelynn and Tyler are one of the few teen couples to make their relationship last through the good, bad, and ugly. While they realized that they were not ready to raise a child at 16-years-old, they are now adults and plan on keeping their baby. They have both made it very clear that they wanted more children. In April, Catelynn tweeted, “I am an adult and I can tell when I’m ready and idc what ANYONE says I’m gonna do me! We ARE READY for a baby. #HatersGonnaHate.”

    MTV is currently talking to the cast of the original Teen Mom, including Catelynn and Tyler, about possibly bringing them back for a fifth season. If they do, I guess we will get to see how Catelynn and Tyler handle this pregnancy.

    Image via Twitter

  • Catelynn Lowell of ‘Teen Mom’ Fame Expecting Baby

    Catelynn Lowell, best known for her role on the MTV reality TV drama Teen Mom is expecting a baby with her longtime fiance Tyler Baltierra. Catelynn and Tyler appeared in Teen Mom starting back in 2009 when at 16 she discovered she was pregnant and the two decided they weren’t ready to raise a child. They subsequently gave their daughter Carly up for adoption and that saga was aired on Teen Mom as well.

    Now it seems Catelynn Lowell is pregnant once again, and so far those closest to the now-21-year-old are happy about the as yet unofficial news.

    Catelynn’s mom April Stotz was the first to break the exciting news via–you guessed it–social media. She posted the following announcement–making it more about her than about Catelynn, in true Teen Mom style, on Facebook.

    Post by April Stotts.

    This was quickly followed by a Facebook post from Catelynn’s brother River Alexander Lowell.

    Post by River Alexander Lowell.

    Tyler Baltierra shared some bittersweet sentiments about the child he and Catelynn Lowell gave up for adoption and he alluded to the fact that happy days were ahead for the couple.

    Post by Tyler Baltierra.

    And while Catelynn hasn’t come right out and said she’s pregnant, she certainly indicated as much in a recent tweet.

    Maybe MTV will start up a new season of Teen Mom featuring Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra? Could anything possibly be any more enthralling than watching a young unmarried couple prepare to have a baby? Hold on to your hats, fans, because a few of the former teens, including Catelynn, are actually in talks with the network to do just that.

    Sadly, many MTV fans are likely jumping for joy right now.

    Image via Instagram

  • Adoption: Only Hope For African Children In Crisis

    Adopting a child from the Central African Republic (CAR) is challenging, no doubt, but it is one of the very few ways to help the children who are in the middle of conflict.

    An elderly woman, Pierrette, is running an orphanage in this war ravaged part of the country, taking in children of all ages in Bangui, in an effort to provide a safe haven for the children who have lost just about everything.

    The weeks of inter-religious conflicts and violence, have left many children without parents, homes or food.

    “There is nobody to count on… Parents, save us,” sang a choir of some 30 children for visitors to their makeshift home. Each of the youngsters came from an urban battleground in which Christian vigilantes took up arms to fight rogue Muslim rebels. And violence continues even after the exile of Michel Djotodia, the President of the Central African Republic who reigned from 2013 to 2014.

    (image)

    A little girl, Mercia, looked a little lost during the chorus and probably has difficulty remembering being held and loved by Laure, a French woman who wants to adopt her and is waiting for her in France. “I was able to see her during a single stay in Bangui last October,” Laure, 37, told AFP by telephone, already speaking of Mercia as “my daughter” in spite of the many obstacles ahead.

    Laure, a single mother is fully aware of the situation in CAR, “the procedure will be long. Perhaps we can hope that she will be here in 2014, but the main thing is that she arrives someday.”

    Mercia’s father is unknown and her mother, a prostitute who has disappeared. Two year old Mercia was saved from militias who committed atrocities against civilians and have in the past, deliberately targeted children, as per the United Nations and aid workers.

    Every child in Pierrette’s orphanage is victim to a food crisis that has developed in Bangui. Many have tragic backgrounds, Pierrette told AFP. “Little Omega’s father had his throat cut and her mother went mad,” she said, gently stroking the head of another small girl. And a little boy of three years old had only weighed eight kilograms when she took him in.

    In the little shack that houses all of these wayward children, Pierrette does her best to help, but everything is difficult and she has no income and no medicine, without counting the chaos of “the outside world”. During the battles, stray bullets have found their way to the makeshift orphanage, luckily without casualty. “When it’s like that, when there’s shooting, there’s nothing we can do but pray with the children,” Pierrette said, still smiling.

    Adoption seems to be the only relief for these children.

    However, adoption challenges exist, as Laure found, as it is extremely difficult to carry out the required administrative inquiries and paperwork for adoptions.

    “The mixture between adoption and humanitarian aid is never a solution to consider, especially with the essential checks (concerning) the actual adoptable children,” warns the Movement for Adoption Without Borders (MASF), in a recent statement. “It is unfortunately common in situations of conflict or humanitarian emergency to see attempts to adopt engaged in defiance of the most elementary rules of international law of the child,” said MASF, which has member associations on several continents.

    Laure has not given up hope, however. “I hope to go back in March. I am terribly worried because I know that the lives of these children hang by a thread,” she said.

    Image via YouTube # 2

  • Mitt Romney Ridiculed For Having Black Grandson

    MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry attracted outrage on MSNBC Sunday’s airing of “What’s So Funny About 2013?”  Harris-Perry and her guests poked fun at Mitt Romney’s black grandson pictured in a Christmas photo.  The photo features Romney and his extended family which includes baby Kieran, who was adopted by Romney’s Son Ben and his wife Andelynne.

    The panel of comedians and liberal pundits on the show took the opportunity to turn the photo into an uncouth political joke.

    Actress Pia Glenn added, “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn’t the same,” in reference to baby Keiran. “And that little baby, front and center, would be the one,” Glenn said.

    “It really sums up the diversity of the Republican party, the RNC. At the convention, they find the one black person,” jested comedian Dean Obeidallah.

    Melissa Harris-Perry is an African-American herself and her show normally focuses on black issues. Harris-Perry added to the joke by saying that she looked forward to a wedding between North West (Kanye West’s daughter) and Kieran Romney in 2040. For many viewers the “joke” was in poor taste and not very funny. Some have even called it racist.

    Sarah Palin wrote in her Facebook page that the joke was despicable because the “media hounds” were expressing a prejudice and not an opinion. “This latest attack from the Left is despicable,” she said.  She further mocked them by calling them “yellow journalists” who needs to find a conscience.

    Glenn was defensive in her response to a critic but she later apologized through her Twitter account, “In a spontaneous reaction to a photo, my disdain for Mitt Romney’s political platform led me to inadvertently insult adoptive families … I can say all day what I ‘meant,’ but my intentions do not negate the very real pain I have caused. I sincerely apologize.”

    Obeidallah also later apologized in a statement to CNN and Harris-Perry took to Twitter to express her regret as well.

     

     

    Was this “joke”  in poor taste? 

    Image via YouTube

  • Nadya Suleman (Octomom) and Children Face Eviction

    Thirty-eight-year-old Octomum Nadya Suleman is no stranger to controversy. Suleman and her 14 children (10 boys and 4 girls) could be evicted from their house in Orange County, California, and just in time for Christmas. The house contains five bedrooms and three bathrooms, which sounds beyond adequate for the average family. However, reports claim that the children are pressed together in bunk beds inside a house that is quickly deteriorating.

    Fifty-three-year-old Lana El-Jor, who is Nadya’s landlady, claims that she has suffered financial distress because of the famous Octomom’s negligence as a tenant. “I have had problems refinancing the building myself because of her. That’s one of the things why we have to ask her to leave. The bank refused to support the loan. She is said to have left her houses abused and everything and it worried the bank.”

    Lana personally witnessed the living conditions when she stopped by the home one day while the 14 children were under the care of a nanny. “It was very messy. Let’s say they’re not as happy as my kids. Fourteen kids need a bigger backyard for sure. I saw they had four bunk beds. I think those were for the little ones, and they had beds in all the other rooms.”

    A neighbor echoed the sentiments of Lana. “The house is very rundown and that broken window looks dangerous. It must get cold inside at night. It seems that Octomom or the nanny rarely take the children out and most of them spend all day holed up in the house as if they’re in hiding. It doesn’t look like a happy existence,” the neighbor said.

    Octomom began the year being the center of ridicule. Suleman was investigated earlier in the year for welfare fraud. The Department of Welfare Fraud Prevention and Investigation researched the case when it was revealed that the television personality had earned $200,000 the previous year while she was still receiving benefits.

    [Image Via NDN]

  • Jen Arnold of “Little Couple” Diagnosed with Cancer

    39-year-old Jen Arnold, star of TLC’s “The Little Couple,” has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

    The news was first reported by People in an exclusive statement.

    “I have recently been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and am currently undergoing treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy,” Arnold said.

    Arnold and husband, Bill Klein are the stars of TLC’s reality show. The heartfelt show gives viewers an intimate glimpse into the lives of the married couple who are both dwarfs. The reality show has captu red everything from their wedding to fertility struggles and even their adoption progression. The couple adopted a little boy from China and most recently a little girl from India.

    According to the exclusive with People, this has been an especially challenging time for Arnold to be diagnosed.

    “While there is never a good time to get news like this, getting it just as we are building our new family is tough in many ways,” Arnold said. “But being surrounded by the love of my husband and our two beautiful children is actually in many ways giving me the strength to fight it even stronger,” said Arnold.

    Arnold is currently going through with the necessary surgeries and chemotherapy.

    Photo Credit: YouTube

  • Boy’s Adoption Plea: “I’ll Take Anyone”

    It’s hard to imagine being in the shoes of 15-year-old Davion Only. The young Florida teen has been in foster care all of his life, and all he wants is a family to call his own. Davion decided to take matters into his own hands earlier this month and addressed a church congregation of more than 300 people, begging for someone to give him a chance.

    “I’ll take anyone,” Davion said to the congregation. “Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple. I don’t care. And I would be really appreciative. The best I could be.”

    The young man was born while his mother was incarcerated and has been an orphan his entire life. Davion clung to the hope that his birth mother would one day came for him and struggled with controlling the behavior. He had issues with poor grades and had a temper. However, after learning that his mother died, Davion knew he had to makes some changes if he wanted to have a chance to find a permanent family.

    It’s difficult enough for most adults to truly change their behavior, but it looks like this teenager has. “He decided he wanted to control his behavior and show everyone who he could be,” Connie Going, Davion’s caseworker, said. Davion worked throughout the summer to make those changes and in addition to becoming healthier and earning all A’s in every subject except geometry, he made great strides, particularly in regards to his temper.

    “He’s come a long way,” said Floyd Watkins, the program manager at the group home where Davion stays. “He’s starting to put himself out there, which is hard when you’ve been rejected so many times.”

    After a lot of hard work, Davion decided to take matters into his own hands and find a family. “I know they’re out there,” Davion said, sure that if someone heard his story that they would give him a chance. To that end, Davion decided to address St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church and make his plea to be adopted.

    “My name is Davion and I’ve been in foster care since I was born…I know God hasn’t given up on me. So I’m not giving up either,” Davion told the congregation just over two weeks ago.

    Ever since word of Davion’s plea to be adopted made rounds, the church he spoke at has been flooded with calls. “It has been just an awesome outpour,” Cynthia Coney, a secretary at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, said. “We’ve been getting calls from as far as Utah and forwarding them to his adoption agency.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Cherokee Child: Baby Veronica Goes Back to SC

    The years-long case involving the adoption of a Cherokee child finally seems to have an ending. Baby Veronica, as the 4-year-old child is commonly referred to, is back with her adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco. The Capobiancos are thrilled to have their daughter back in their arms and are heading back to their home in Charleston, South Carolina. Baby Veronica lived with her biological father, Dusten Brown, since the end of 2011.

    “She’s safely in her parents’ arms,” said Jessica Munday, a spokeswoman for the Capobiancos. “It was smooth. There wasn’t any danger. Hopefully everyone can focus on healing now,” said Munday. The Capobiancos have been waiting to get Baby Veronica back since July, when the United States Supreme Court said that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) law used by Brown to get custody of his daughter didn’t apply.

    The Oklahoma Supreme Court granted an emergency stay for the Cherokee child to remain with her father at the end of August, but the stay is now dissolved. According to Tulsa World, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received the court order at 5 p.m. to transfer Veronica over to the Capobianocs, and Veronica was with them within two and a half hours.

    “The court order was directed to us, so we served it,” undersheriff Jason Chennault said. “We gave the Browns time to say goodbye and pack some things for Veronica, some clothes and things.”

    Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree said that the transfer of Veronica was difficult on Brown, but that everything went peacefully. Hembree also said that the case, which has went on for years, isn’t over and that more appeals may be filed. “We will assess our legal options in the morning,” Hembree said. “Is this over? I would say not.”

    This case has been particularly divisive, as most people are firmly pro-biological father or pro-adoptive parents.

    Baby Veronica was given up for adoption by her mother when she was born, and lived with the Capobiancos for more than two years. Veronica’s father, Dusten Brown, signed away his parental rights just as he was about to be shipped off for the Iraq War. Brown said that he didn’t know that his daughter was going to be given up for adoption when he signed the papers and fought to get her back for more than two years.

    Veronica was turned over to him because of an issue with the ICWA. Brown is a member of Cherokee Nation, and according to the ICWA law, the Cherokee Nation must be notified of adoptions, which never happened. After Brown took custody of Veronica, the Capobiancos began fighting to get her back and eventually won after the U.S. Supreme Court said that the ICWA law didn’t apply since Veronica’s biological mother is Hispanic.

    Image via YouTube

  • Baby Veronica: Bio Father to be Extradited to SC

    Dusten Brown, the biological father of the 3-year-old toddler who is known as Baby Veronica, filed for a second appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday asking it to block Veronica’s return to her adoptive family. Brown was ordered to turn over Baby Veronica, who has been with him since the end of 2011, to her adoptive parents in July. Brown hasn’t yet complied with the order, and now the governor of Oklahoma has ordered him to be extradited to South Carolina where he may face felony charges of custodial interference.

    Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the extradition order after she said it had become clear that “Dusten Brown is not acting in good faith” by not following an order that allowed the adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, to visit Baby Veronica while the transfer was to gradually take place. Fallin said in a statement that Brown “is acting in open violation of both Oklahoma and South Carolina courts, which have granted custody of Veronica to the Capobianco’s.”

    Brown was arrested and released on bail last week and will return to court on October 3 for his extradition hearing. Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart called Brown’s bail “very unusual,” saying that most people arrested on extradition charges stay in jail until the hearing. “I’ve never seen this before,” Lockhart said, but considering how many twists and turns the Baby Veronica case has taken, nothing that happens from here on out should be too surprising.

    Case Background:

    The child was with the Capobiancos from the time she was born until they were ordered to turn over Baby Veronic shortly after she turned two. Brown, who had previously told the birth mother that he didn’t want to support the unborn child in a text message, signed papers a few months after the child was born relinquishing his parental rights. Brown didn’t expect for the child to be put up for adoption, however, and later filed for custody of Baby Veronica. “I thought [the birth mother] wanted full custody, but that I would still be a part of my child’s life,” Brown said in an interview. “I was going to war. I didn’t know what was going to happen in Iraq, or even if I was going to come back home alive. So I texted her back and said okay.”

    As Brown and Baby Veronica are part Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation intervened on their behalf. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) law states that the tribe be notified of pending adoptions involving children with Indian blood. This never happened, however, since the birth mother misspelled Brown’s name and Baby Veronica was listed as Hispanic. Because of the ICWA, the Charleston County Family Court denied the Capobianco’s adoption request and ordered Baby Veronica to go to her biological father. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually heard appeals from the Copobiancos and said the ICWA didn’t apply to Baby Veronica’s case.

    The Baby Veronica place has many people split on whether Baby Veronica belongs with her biological family or the adoptive parents. Unless the Oklahoma Supreme Court hears Brown’s latest appeal and finds for him, which seems unlikely, the Capobiancos should be reunited with Baby Veronica soon.

    Image via YouTube

  • Angelina Jolie Set To Receive Honorary Oscar

    For all of the work that Angelina Jolie does for others around the world, she is finally being recognized for it. She is scheduled to receive a honorary Oscar for her Humanitarian work, along with Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury. Piero Tosi, a costume designer, will also be presented with an award. Angelina Jolie is a famous actress, appearing in films such as Changeling, Salt, and many others. For her role in Changeling, she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in 2008. She also won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Girl, Interrupted, which came out in 2000. The honorary awards will be presented by the Board of Governors Of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the same organization that presents the Oscars each year.

    She will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for the volunteer work that she has done around the world. The award is named after the Danish actor and philanthropist who served as president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, said US Weekly. Previous winners include Oprah Winfrey, Paul Newman and Audrey Hepburn.

    According to CBS News, Jolie has traveled around the world on behalf of several organizations. She has worked with The Council on Foreign Affairs and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, bridging a gap between her film career and her work as a humanitarian. She is able to make such a difference in the lives of people around the world and be accepted everywhere, partly because of her success in film. Jolie often gets attention for her films and her marriage, but recognition like this is what is really important and it is good to see her presented with this type of an award.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfZ76le_Pes

    It is always good to see celebrities like Jolie who choose to do something with positive with their time and money. The actions that she has made in recent years have been able to benefit people all over the world, which sends a very positive message and sets an example for other celebrities who could do similar things. In addition to these types of actions when she visits places such as Ecuador and Pakistan, there are the children that she has adopted from various parts of the world, living in poverty. This includes her oldest son Maddox, who is now 12 years old. She adopted him from an orphanage in Cambodia.

    The presentation of the awards will happen on November 16, 2013.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Duggars: Adoption Being Considered

    Duggars: Adoption Being Considered

    Michelle Duggar may be one of the toughest women in the U.S. Having given birth to 19 children in 21 years, her body has no doubt seen more than its fair share of miles. Now, it appears that it could be time for Duggar to retire, at least from the baby-making portion of her motherhood.

    Duggar’s latest pregnancy, in 2011, ended in a miscarriage. The youngest Duggar child, Josie, was born prematurely in 2011. After a short 25-week pregnancy, Josie was born weighing just 22 ounces. At 45 years old, Michelle Duggar is past the age where doctors begin to warn that pregnancies come with serious health risks for both mother and child. It now appears that the Duggar family is considering adoption as an alternative to another pregnancy.

    Duggar told People magazine this week that she and her husband, Jim Bob, may adopt children into their overpacked family, saying, “We are open to the idea of adoption.”

    Michelle told People that she and her family are praying to their god about adoption, though she makes it clear her children are encouraging them to expand the family further.

    The Duggar family are the stars of the TLC reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting. In addition to their 19 children, the Duggars currently have two grandchildren, with more undoubtedly on the way.

    (Image courtesy Jim Bob Duggar/Wikimedia Commons)

  • Windows 8 Adoption Falls Behind Vista

    Microsoft needs Windows 8 to be a hit. Steve Ballmer’s job may even depend on it. That’s why the company is going all out to get consumers on board with buying a PC, or a Windows 8 equipped tablet. Adoption is still growing, but it’s looking like it might not be growing fast enough.

    Kitguru compared launch data from Net Applications for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows 8. The picture it paints isn’t pretty as Windows 8, which was actually doing better than Vista, is now starting to fall behind in adoption. It’s a far cry from Windows 7 which was a great success for Microsoft at launch, and finally took over Windows XP’s longheld position as the most popular OS in September of last year.

    It’s strange to see adoption slowing down after Microsoft announced only a month after its launch that Windows 8 had already sold through 40 million licenses.It seemed like the company’s momentum would continue into the new year, but that may no longer be the case. Many people have expressed displeasure with the touch-oriented operating system and are sticking with Windows 7 until something better comes out.

    That something better may just reveal itself to be Windows Blue, the rumored operating system from Microsoft that will reportedly launch later this year. The rumors point to Microsoft moving to an annual release cycle, much like OS X, and the price of the operating system would dramatically decrease to increase adoption. If they’re smart, the Windows team at Microsoft would also implement more desktop friendly controls into this next iteration of Windows 8 to address many of the complaints enthusiast users have with the OS.

    It was unlikely that Windows 8 would outpace Windows 7, but it’s still too early to deem the new OS a failure. It may have hit a snag for now, but adoption rates could increase in 2013 to at least make it more popular than the mostly universally reviled Vista. It might even be considered a success at Microsoft if it can at least do that.

  • After Five Years a Couple Finds Dream Baby by Networking on Facebook

    Seth Edlavitch and Melissa Segal decided to explore less conventional methods in their desire to become parents after a devastating miscarriage. After five years of trying to bring new life into the world, the couple decided to post the following message on Facebook: “Loving, professional couple looking to adopt a newborn in the U.S. Melissa has been a fourth-grade teacher for 11 years, and Seth works in public health. We want to build our family through adoption with love, laughter, fun, and passion.”

    The couple had no idea how many people they would be able to reach because Seth only had 40 friends on Facebook at the time. John, a FB friend shared the post and within weeks the distraught couple were given the lead that they had been hoping for. Lisa, an employee of one of John’s friends, confessed that she was pregnant and could not afford to care for her unborn child; she had several other children and was considering giving the baby up for adoption.

    In a frenzy, the couple phoned the 8 month pregnant Lisa as soon as they heard about her situation. The parties decided to meet at a local Starbuck’s to exchange profiles and review medical and health histories. Lisa liked the couple and decided to start the adoption process with them.

    Weeks later Lisa, gave birth and the couple became the parents of one bouncing baby boy, Noah Benjamin.

    Noah is now three and the couple is hoping to find a brother or sister for him. The happy family plans to use social media to advertise their hope to adopt again.

  • The Social Startup Bubble Is About To Burst, Says Forrester

    If you’re looking to be the next big thing in social media, too bad says one analyst.

    Forrester Research CEO George Colony, speaking at the LeWeb conference in Paris, identified social saturation as the main reason underlying his poor prognosis of the social web.

    “Social is running out of hours. Social is also running out of people,” he said.

    Is it true that people are encumbered with social networks? Social media overload, you might say? Not only that, but is it also true that there are no new markets for social startups to pursue? Have we reached a point of saturation?

    Here are a couple of his slides (based on Forrester research) showing social adoption in various locations around the world. As you’ll see, it looks like there simply isn’t a lot of room for new social startups. Whether it’s Twitter & Facebook or Sina & Renren occupying people’s time – the point is that there are already so many social services available that we’ve hit a point where the market simply cannot take any more.

    In urban areas of places like India and Russia, social adoption is nearly 100%. Even in the countries with the least social adoption on the graph, nearly 3/4 of the population is active on some sort of social site.

    Forrester predicts that the social bubble that we are currently in will soon burst. And when it does, expect lesser social networks to fail:

    We are in a bubble for social startups. This is going to sweep away some of the nonsense, like FourSquare. We are going to move to a post-social world that’s a little like the Web in the year 2000. A lot of companies launched, but they did not survive.

    Ouch, Foursquare.

    Apparently, this all leads way to a “post social world.” And these are the types of startups that will rule the landscape once the bubble bursts.

    What do you think? Is there any room for more social media startups? As a population, do we even have time for more? Let us know in the comments.

  • Foursquare, The Next Social Up-And-Comer

    Foursquare, The Next Social Up-And-Comer

    It’s funny how early adoption works and how you start to see recurring patterns. When I started using Twitter there were numerous people who questioned what it was, why it was useful, and mocked it. A couple of years later, Twitter is still on a tear.

    I’m seeing the same thing with Foursquare today. Early adopters are using it, it’s starting to spread, and once again people I know are confused by it, think it’s useless, and that it has no real business.

    However, in some ways it may even have a brighter future than Twitter based on creating the location to local business connection. They’ve started to roll out some very interesting partnerships which I assume have revenue implications. If they don’t now, they will in the future as Foursquare’s user base takes off.

    Check out this quote for example:

    “Being able to drive foot traffic into our restaurant partners and our retail partners is a huge opportunity, because that’s where our product is sold,” said B. Bonin Bough, director of social and emerging media for PepsiCo.

    There are going to be some very interesting things that can be done with this, and it’s going to drive Yelp, Facebook, Yahoo!, Google, and others after checking in and driving local traffic to businesses.

    I had my first real example of this when I checked into my hotel for Ad Tech San Francisco, and Foursquare alerted me that I could get half off appetizers in the hotel bar. I had already settled in my room, but it made me think about actually taking advantage of the deal which would have driven more revenue to the hotel. That is worth something to the hotel, something worth paying Foursquare to drive to them. Foursquare also doesn’t appear to be waiting until they’re huge to make this happen, which seems like a wise move to get established as the early player working with businesses.