The new Adoption Bear has not only been a wonderful addition to our line of specialty bears, but it has also opened a whole new world to us. Each adoption bear order brings unique and personal stories as families bring home their babies. One example is Amy and Josh Bottomly who just released a book, From Ashes to Africa, chronicling their path leading to and through adoption. Here's a synopsis:

"Our story begins where the trailhead ends.  A rocky marriage.  Life pressures.  Infertility.

The deep, dark woods.  We've all been there.  Good stories, though, always contain a moment of grace. A moment where the narrative arc takes a surprising twist, and bends toward hope.  For us, that exquisite moment of grace took place in an orphanage in Africa where we met and fell in love with a baby boy named Tesfamariam.  Adoption was our awakening. It's where we discovered a world within our world made up of 4.4 million orphans. As a result, we know we can't go back to life as normal. Instead we feel summoned to a lifestyle of involvement with the "least of these."