Actress Katherine Heigl and Husband, Singer Josh Kelley, Adopt Again

I have always liked Katherine Heigl. There was something about her that resonated with me years ago—long before she was married, before she became a parent.

When news broke in 2009 about the adoption of her daughter Naleigh from South Korea, that resonation deepened. And when Heigl shared, "My sister Meg is Korean, and my parents adopted her three years before I was born. I wanted my own family to resemble the one I came from,” well… let’s just say my soul smiled—really, really big.

In an interview in Scholastic’s February issue of Parent & Child Heigl expressed the intention of adopting again, “We have talked about having biological children as well, but we decided to adopt first. I just wanted to be a mom. So however we do that, it’s fine with me. I’d like to adopt again.” Here it is several months later and Heigl and Kelley have just adopted another child, although the specifics aren’t available yet.

All of us are impacted by our life histories and experiences. We see and hear evidence of this daily. Heigl said, "My mother had biological children and an adopted child and said it made absolutely no difference. They’re yours. You love them the moment they’re put into your arms."

You see, as a parent, I have a list of what I hope my kids will embrace and the kind of adults they will become—morally and ethically (Don’t we all?). As a parent who has a family similar to what Heigl grew up in, adoption and the continuation of a multiracial family are among my hopes. Through Heigl I am heartened to hear confirmation that adults raised with siblings who were adopted, accept and claim their siblings fully, and validate adoption as a way to be a family. My kids have already expressed, time and time again, that adoption is a route they will travel to create their families; they may actually do what Heigl has done, create a family that resembles the one they grew up in. Smile.

Check out papa Josh Kelley’s song about daughter Naliegh.