Friday, July 08, 2011

Biological Siblings

She has one full sibling and five half siblings.
Yet she is an only child.
Some of her siblings live with their father, some with grandparents and some with their other parent.
None live with their biological mother.
She complains to me frequently that she wants a brother or a sister.
She has them but does not know about them...yet.
How do you explain to an almost seven year old child the dynamics of her siblings? Why do some live with her biological father? More importantly why doesnt she live with him?
I know I am going to have to explain it to her in the future, when she is much older.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Telling your child they are adopted

I knew right from the beginning that being anything but 100% honest with Sarah about her birth was not acceptable.

I knew the statistics that said children who find out later in life that they were adopted struggle. They feel betrayed, ungrounded, and angry.

My plan was to talk to Sarah from the very beginning about her adoption. I told her she grew in my heart, not my belly. At the time, for a toddler there were no questions. She accepted my explanation of her existence with certainty.

Now as Sarah is getting ready to turn seven, the story of her birth has grown. She knows she grew in another womens belly. She knows the first name of that woman. She knows her daddy and I took her home from the hospital.

I know the older she gets the questions will get harder to answer. I know one day she will look at me and think that I am not "really" her mother. But as I look into her eyes now as she asks me about the belly she grew in, I know I made the right decision. It is her history and she has a right to know how she came to be.

I feel as though I am in more of a grey area because she was adopted through foster care. How much do I share? Will she be devestated? Will she think less of me because her biological parents did not intend to relinquish their child?

Only time will tell. I know that she will never doubt our love for her. I know she will grow up safe and secure and have every opportunity available to her that might not have been otherwise.

Gift Cards to support adoption!!!

Ok guys. I added some gift cards to my online site that are available for purchase!

We all know gift cards make great gifts and now you can help families bring their chosen child home! 80% of ALL profits will be donated to a family who is in the process of adoption!!!

If you are interested please click on the link on the right side "Helping bring families together one child at a time"



Thank you! :)

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Jealous? Really????

I thought I was past feeling jealous when someone was about to have a baby. My cousin is due in August with her third boy, and her baby shower is this Saturday.

Im happy for her- I truly am.

But I find myself having ugly thoughts that keep popping into my head.

Everyone is so excited. Going to great lengths to make the party fabulous. I am even co-hosting the party. But I feel...

Left out. Isolated.

Is that even possible? My daughter was adopted. I never had a baby shower or an adoption shower thrown for me.

Every baby item my daughter had- I bought it.

My step mother is even buying the crib.

I had to buy my daughters crib.

Im embarassed to say I am jealous, but I am.

Blessed

I am.

I have been blessed with a family.

I have been blessed with a career I love.

I have been blessed with having so much more than most people.

Giving back is hard.

Where do I start?

There are so many things that could change the life of a person.

I think a lot about my daughter. What would have happened to her if we had not adopted her? Where would she be now? Would she be happy and healthy? Safe? Would she know love?

There are still so many children in the world who do not know the love of a family.

That is where I want to give back. But how? I am open to ideas if anyone has any. I recently opened an online store- that lets y ou buy direct from amazon. Same prices, same deals.

I have decided that 80% of any money I make by sponsoring that site will be donated to a family. A family trying to grow.

If any one would like to repost my link- on the top right side of my blog please feel free! Or if you know of a family- please send me a message!