Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. In 1981, she went solo as a pop singer. By 1991, she had achieved 21 Top 10 hits in the United States and sold more than 70 million albums internationally. In January 2008, she was named the world’s wealthiest female musician by Forbes magazine.

Her biggest hits include ‘Papa Don’t Preach,’ ‘Like a Prayer,’ ‘Vogue,’ ‘Secret’ and ‘Ray of Light,’ among many others.

For more information, go to Biography.com. https://www.biography.com/people/madonna-9394994

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On February 1, 2017 Madonna confirmed on Instagram she’s adopted orphaned twin girls from Malawi.

“I can officially confirm I have completed the process of adopting twin sisters from Malawi and am overjoyed that they are now part of our family,” she captioned a photo of herself holding hands with her daughters. “I am deeply grateful to all those in Malawi who helped make this possible, and I ask the media please to respect our privacy during this transitional time.”

The singer, 58, also expressed her gratitude to those who have supported her on this latest adoption journey. “Thank you also to my friends, family and my very large team for all your support and Love,” she added.

Although Madonna had initially called the girls Stella and Esther in a previous post, she has most recently referred to her daughters as Stelle and Estere.

Prior to this, Madonna was already mother to four children: Lourdes Leon, 20, and Rocco Ritchie, 16. Two other children, David Banda, 11, and Mercy James, 11, were also adopted from Malawi.

The singer has a long history with the people of Malawi: She adopted David and Mercy from the African country in 2006 and 2007, respectively. And she’s worked to fight against poverty amongst the nation’s orphaned children for more than a decade with her Raising Malawi charity. This year, the philanthropic group will build Malawi’s first pediatric surgery and intensive care unit, the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care.

Thank you People Magazine for the information. https://people.com/parents/madonna-adopts-twin-girls-malawi-breaks-silence/

Original article by MELODY CHIU and JEFF NELSON, February 08, 2017

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“Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped” leads a couple through their days of infertility treatments and adoption. It is told with gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humor from the perspective of a nerdy father and his loving and understanding wife.

Join Mike and Esther as they go through IUIs and IFVs, as they search for an adoption agency, are selected by a birth mother, prepare their house, prepare their family, prepare themselves and wait for their daughter to be born a thousand miles from home.

WINNER: 2015 Reader’s Favorite Book Award Finalist, Non-Fiction Humor

WINNER: Honorable Mention, 2015 New York Book Festival!

WINNER: Honorable Mention, 2014 Great Midwest Book Festival

Abby’s Road is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at Smashwords.

Copyright 2018 Michael Curry