Tuesday, November 9, 2010

National Adoption Month

It's National Adoption Month!  To celebrate, G and I went to Seattle to an adoption conference this past weekend.  I might write more on that later because it was excellent!

We also finally made story books with pictures to tell our boys their adoption stories.  They turned out fantastic and each boy will get theirs for their birthdays coming up in a few weeks.  Buddy especially will love his.  He is very interested in his birth and adoption story and loves looking at old pictures, so he'll really appreciate it.  We can hardly wait to give it to him.

I just read my sister's second baby's birth story this morning, which was really cool and well-written, by the way.  But anyway, she had a phrase in there I'd never heard before and describes infertility and the adoption process better than I've ever heard before.  Pretty amazing considering all the reading and discussing and thinking I've done on the topic.  And to think what I feel was summed up by a woman who just gave birth.  Now if that's not ironic. 

"I felt empty, physically.  I felt full, emotionally." 

That's what it feels like to go through the adoption process.  The process is so incredibly frustrating and hard.  Adoption doesn't cure infertility, although counselors suggest you make some peace with it before you start the adoption process.  But with all the ups and downs of the adoption process, infertility still manages to rear it's ugly head it seems on a regular basis.  Although we're in the valley of this third adoption process -- with nothing good happening -- I am so thankful for this gift.  I love being part of the adoption community.  I love having deep friendships with birth families.  I love getting to know women with unplanned pregnancies.  I love talking with adoptive families and adoptees.

But mostly I love my boys and the idea of a third little one coming to our family someday.

Where so much has been taken away, I've been given way more.   And that makes me feel full, emotionally.

My adoption network + my boys + the hope of a third child - pregnancy = a very full heart.

3 comments:

Penelope said...

What a great post! We have adopted one and will be adopting another through foster care. Would LOVE for you to add your story to our Adoption Blog Hop! Also we're giving away Shutterfly photo books!
http://foster2forever.blogspot.com

StrykerLOVE said...

I am glad you heart is full. You both deserve it and your boys are lucky (as much as I know you must feel like the lucky ones) because I a sure you are the perfect parents for them.

Myndi said...

I'm glad you put your voice to those words. What is more human than a shared but varied experience?