I haven't blogged since July 1st! Sheesh!
Cambria is 22 months old and is full of sass! I love it! So different already than raising sons! She has finally hit the word explosion phase. I was starting to worry a bit that she was behind on talking. And now she says plenty of words! Her newest word is "goggles". (I was packing up the pool bag to take the kids to the pool today!)
One more week of summer vacation remaining here in these parts. This summer went by so fast. Zack's All Star baseball team won their district championships. We went to the state tournament this month. They played against the big city boys....and lost. Sadly.
Then last week we took Zack and Jake and 2 of Zack's friends to Santa Barbara where they went to a Ni.ke baseball camp. So cool! What a neat experience. Many thanks to my parents for watching my little kids and dogs for us while we were out of town.
Today I had a pool party for my friends and our kiddos. Super fun. Even when they had to get out of the pool for lightening! YIKES! But then the rain and lightening stopped and the sun came out and they were back in the pool. Yahoo!
And as for our open adoption....not too much to report. Cambria's oldest birth-sister turned 6 this month so we sent her some presents and also included a couple things for her birth-brother too. Between her birth parents, she has 3 birth sisters and 2 birth brothers. Plus my 3 sons makes 8 siblings for her. I'm jealous. I only have one sibling.
My MIL had major extensive surgery for her metastatic ovarian cancer. After a brief scare and being placed on a ventilator, she is doing better and is out of the hospital. Praise the Lord!
We are trying to cram in a bunch of last-minute things before school starts next week!
I'm happy to report I have the back-to-school shopping and haircuts checked off the good ol' to do list!! ;)
Sorry no pictures again. Hopefully next time.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Summer Update
Cambria turned 21 months old last Monday, and Zachary turned 12 last Tuesday.
Unbelievable how fast time is whizzing by.
Summer vacation here is half over. 5 weeks have already gone by. I am trying my best to make it super fun for my kids. There has only been one day this summer that we've just stayed home all day.
At this point, I could use a few more of those kind of days!
Zack had his birthday party on his birthday....the first time ever. It was at the pool at our neighborhood athletic center....so beautiful there. Between his friends from school and baseball friends plus a few of my other kids' friends, there were 28 kids there! And of course they had a whiffle ball game in the grass!
Speaking of baseball, Zack's team won their district championship! Again! 2 years in a row! Now they go to the state tournament in a couple weeks!
This year the middle school kids had to apply to get into the Honors' academy at his middle school. The principal let us know Zack got in. Not really surprised. But still. He has decided to go to the Ba.sis school here instead for 7th grade. Which was a bit surprising. Only a few of his friends are going to Ba.sis. I'm not sure how much any of you know about the Ba.sis schools. Goo.gle them...check them out. Academically, they are amazing. Good education & a lot of the students get into good colleges and get scholarships. The only thing is...he won't be able to play on the high school baseball team-if he would make it. Do we think he is going to get a huge baseball scholarship or play in the MLB? Nope. But I think it is important for kids to stay active and not play video games all day (this problem already has a huge obesity problem) and being on a team sport provides exercise, friendships, and keeps the kids out of trouble. With that being said, Zack wants to be a vet first, or a doctor second. He would have a better chance of getting into a great college (and maybe with a scholarship) and then getting into vet or med school by going to Ba.sis than by going to our local high school (which isn't that fantastic, I am sorry to say). 2 of my college roommates send their kids to the Ba.sis school in their city (same class even! How ironic.) and they love the school.
Anyways, Z can do travel baseball still. Big changes are in store for us next month when the new school year starts!
As time goes on, I become an even lamer blogger than the month before!
My daughter is developing quite the little personality! She is loving and funny and giggles and loves to play with our dogs and her brothers....and she is pretty strong-willed! She knows what she wants and wants it right that minute! Lol! She loves blueberries. She hates to have bows and barrettes in her hair Sigh....because I bought her a million! HA! She likes to color (Scribble?!) and uses her left hand mostly...... I have found out that her birth sister and birth aunt are lefties! (So are my son Z and my mom, so she fits right in. As if she didn't already!) I firmly believe God knew exactly what he was doing when he connected birth mom all the way across the country in NC with us.
Dave's cousin has a daughter 2 days older than Cambria. And my BFF's niece is 1 day older than Cambria! Anyways, Dave's cousin is pregnant again. And if I were being completely honest.....I got that jealous feeling in the pit of my stomach again! UGH! When does that go away? I mean, at some point in life, ya gotta quit growing your family. I mean, unless you're the Dugg.ars.
I am exhausted at the end of each day from trying to be a good mom to 4 kids and 2 dogs and a wife and taking care of this household, etc. So why am I jealous? Is it because I had the hysterectomy so that ship has really sailed? Anyways, I know it is ridiculous for me to feel that way. Maybe it's because the end of family-building signals "We're getting older" as my husband likes to say!
And as I typed that last paragraph, I just remembered I have laundry in the dryer that isn't going to fold itself!
Goodnight & hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about soon.
Unbelievable how fast time is whizzing by.
Summer vacation here is half over. 5 weeks have already gone by. I am trying my best to make it super fun for my kids. There has only been one day this summer that we've just stayed home all day.
At this point, I could use a few more of those kind of days!
Zack had his birthday party on his birthday....the first time ever. It was at the pool at our neighborhood athletic center....so beautiful there. Between his friends from school and baseball friends plus a few of my other kids' friends, there were 28 kids there! And of course they had a whiffle ball game in the grass!
Speaking of baseball, Zack's team won their district championship! Again! 2 years in a row! Now they go to the state tournament in a couple weeks!
This year the middle school kids had to apply to get into the Honors' academy at his middle school. The principal let us know Zack got in. Not really surprised. But still. He has decided to go to the Ba.sis school here instead for 7th grade. Which was a bit surprising. Only a few of his friends are going to Ba.sis. I'm not sure how much any of you know about the Ba.sis schools. Goo.gle them...check them out. Academically, they are amazing. Good education & a lot of the students get into good colleges and get scholarships. The only thing is...he won't be able to play on the high school baseball team-if he would make it. Do we think he is going to get a huge baseball scholarship or play in the MLB? Nope. But I think it is important for kids to stay active and not play video games all day (this problem already has a huge obesity problem) and being on a team sport provides exercise, friendships, and keeps the kids out of trouble. With that being said, Zack wants to be a vet first, or a doctor second. He would have a better chance of getting into a great college (and maybe with a scholarship) and then getting into vet or med school by going to Ba.sis than by going to our local high school (which isn't that fantastic, I am sorry to say). 2 of my college roommates send their kids to the Ba.sis school in their city (same class even! How ironic.) and they love the school.
Anyways, Z can do travel baseball still. Big changes are in store for us next month when the new school year starts!
As time goes on, I become an even lamer blogger than the month before!
My daughter is developing quite the little personality! She is loving and funny and giggles and loves to play with our dogs and her brothers....and she is pretty strong-willed! She knows what she wants and wants it right that minute! Lol! She loves blueberries. She hates to have bows and barrettes in her hair Sigh....because I bought her a million! HA! She likes to color (Scribble?!) and uses her left hand mostly...... I have found out that her birth sister and birth aunt are lefties! (So are my son Z and my mom, so she fits right in. As if she didn't already!) I firmly believe God knew exactly what he was doing when he connected birth mom all the way across the country in NC with us.
Dave's cousin has a daughter 2 days older than Cambria. And my BFF's niece is 1 day older than Cambria! Anyways, Dave's cousin is pregnant again. And if I were being completely honest.....I got that jealous feeling in the pit of my stomach again! UGH! When does that go away? I mean, at some point in life, ya gotta quit growing your family. I mean, unless you're the Dugg.ars.
I am exhausted at the end of each day from trying to be a good mom to 4 kids and 2 dogs and a wife and taking care of this household, etc. So why am I jealous? Is it because I had the hysterectomy so that ship has really sailed? Anyways, I know it is ridiculous for me to feel that way. Maybe it's because the end of family-building signals "We're getting older" as my husband likes to say!
And as I typed that last paragraph, I just remembered I have laundry in the dryer that isn't going to fold itself!
Goodnight & hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about soon.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Ovarian Cancer
No, not me.
My MIL has stage 3 ovarian cancer. We found out on Monday. Wait~ scratch that. I knew she had it back in April when Dave's sister was visiting and said "have you noticed how Mom only eats 2 bites and says she's full and her tummy looks really big and full and she says she's bloated.....
Bloated. Right then and there I knew. SIGH..... But she waited until 2 weeks ago to go to the dr. and had a CT scan. Apparently she's had symptoms for 4 months. SIGH....
I told my mom & she texted me back and said, "You had your ovaries out last summer when you had your hysterectomy, right????"
Yes, yes indeedy I did. Thank God. Well, one of them had to go....it got its eviction notice because it had the abnormal mass on it...that was getting bigger. We debated about whether to remove the other one..... menopause vs. worrying about getting ovarian cancer in that one. The decision was made for me. My endometriosis was so bad (stage 3) that the other "healthy" ovary....well, the fallopian tube that goes with it was totally caked with endometriosis..... and so the whole reproductive system came out in one neatly caked together package! Seriously. Uterus, tubes, ovaries....all stuck together.
Lovely image, I know.
Menopause is actually a pleasant thought compared to ovarian cancer.
She is having surgery July 8th to remove the mass. Then she is supposed to do chemo to treat the cancer that has spread in her abdomen.
I'm so busy these days with summer vacation. Wait....isn't summer vacation supposed to be just that...relaxing? Bahahaha! Not in my world. But anyways, my point was I've been so busy that I think I've lost weight without even trying! I haven't been mindlessly eating boxes of crackers and cupcakes.
Gotta go- I have about a hundred things left on my to-do list and it's almost bedtime!
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's day to all the daddies out there, especially my hubby and my dad. This is my first post of the month of June.... wow I am getting worse and worse at blogging! I wished Cambria's birth father a happy birthfather's day today, and he liked my post and said thanks. That was the first direct interaction we've had in a year. We haven't had any issues with him or anything, he just prefers to stay in the background and "like" pictures of her I post on FB and get info on her developmental milestone, etc. from her birth mother. We are ok with any kind of involvement he feels comfortable with. I have a special place in my heart for him....he didn't contest the adoption, and let us adopt his beautiful daughter. He didn't really want to place her for adoption (but I mean, who really ever does want to place their child for adoption? Nobody.) But still. He entrusted her to us, and for that I am eternally grateful. I hope he had a nice day today with his son whom he is parenting.
My parents came up here today, and we all went out to dinner, which was nice.
I have been so busy since the first day of summer vacation with my kiddos. Planning lots of fun stuff for them and their friends to do. We just got back from Disneyland and Sea World a few days ago. My oldest son made the All Stars baseball team again. YAY!! It is actually a fun tournament. Zack's team won the district All-Stars tournament last year, and got to go and compete at the state tournament!! We were in Hawaii, so he missed the state competition last year. He is in the midst of daily practices (Except for Sundays) and then the tournament is in a couple weeks. Wish him luck!
Some bad news....it looks like my MIL has ovarian cancer. She has an appt with the GYN/ONC tomorrow at the Cleveland Clinic, so we'll see what treatment option he recommends.
Between her with the ovarian cancer, my BFF's mom with the lung cancer, and Dave's SIL with the brain tumor, sheesh....what the hell??
Well anyways sorry I don't have anything super exciting to share! Oh, wait....I messaged with Cambria's oldest birth-aunt the other day for the first time.....so that was nice. She said she was happy Cambria was being raised in a loving, nurturing home. Awww! So sweet!
Good night all!
My parents came up here today, and we all went out to dinner, which was nice.
I have been so busy since the first day of summer vacation with my kiddos. Planning lots of fun stuff for them and their friends to do. We just got back from Disneyland and Sea World a few days ago. My oldest son made the All Stars baseball team again. YAY!! It is actually a fun tournament. Zack's team won the district All-Stars tournament last year, and got to go and compete at the state tournament!! We were in Hawaii, so he missed the state competition last year. He is in the midst of daily practices (Except for Sundays) and then the tournament is in a couple weeks. Wish him luck!
Some bad news....it looks like my MIL has ovarian cancer. She has an appt with the GYN/ONC tomorrow at the Cleveland Clinic, so we'll see what treatment option he recommends.
Between her with the ovarian cancer, my BFF's mom with the lung cancer, and Dave's SIL with the brain tumor, sheesh....what the hell??
Well anyways sorry I don't have anything super exciting to share! Oh, wait....I messaged with Cambria's oldest birth-aunt the other day for the first time.....so that was nice. She said she was happy Cambria was being raised in a loving, nurturing home. Awww! So sweet!
Good night all!
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Birthday Picture
Here is one of the pictures from our recent birthday photo shoot for the kiddos. (Cambria had one done in September for her 1st birthday.) Our schedules are so crazy busy that I do one group birthday session for the boys (and do group pictures of all 4 kids too).
Here is Joshua, I can't believe he is 6! My baby boy!
Here is Joshua, I can't believe he is 6! My baby boy!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Worst Blogger
I am officially turning into the worst blogger. This is only my 2nd post this month, and I only blogged twice in April. I used to get so bummed out when my favorite bloggers started blogging less and less. And now, I'm becoming like them. Although, I doubt I'm anyone's favorite blogger (maybe besides my mom's! Haha!)
What have I been up to? Baseball! Helping my kids with their homework and projects. Driving my oldest two sons to guitar lessons. Driving Jacob to his catechism class every week. He made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation last week. And oh did I mention baseball? We are at the baseball fields 5 days a week (and sometimes 6 if they have a Saturday game or practice.) It is so exhausting. But fun and amazing to watch them play and see their progress this year. My oldest two love to play catcher. My oldest played an amazing game last night. He smacked that ball out to the outfield like a champ and was a wall behind that plate. They were winning for a while, which was exciting because they haven't won very many games this season.
And then the game was tied, which is when I took this fun picture.
The game was tied 7-7 in the 7th inning! That is my son Zack in the catcher's equipment. See that runner on base? That may or may not be his friend (sorry the picture is blurry, I took it thru the fence!) anyways, as I was saying.....see that runner on 1st? Yeah, he scored. And so did a bunch more people after we got short on pitchers. Zack couldn't go in to pitch because he caught for more than 4 innings, which is the rule, they can't pitch if they've caught for more than 4 innings. And they can only throw 85 pitches in a game, and then they need a 5 day rest period. Needless to say, our really good pitcher was still on his 5-day rest period.
But I digress....
I guess what I'm saying is I haven't been blogging much because I've been busy spending time with my kids, which is what I'm supposed to be doing. Cambria and I went and had a playdate with her little 1 year old friends this week, and we go to mommy-and-me gymnastics, etc. etc. And now my kids are on summer vacation- day 1 of that going on here today! 2 birthday parties yesterday and 1 today for my boys. Plus a birthday party for Cami's little friend last weekend.
Plus I know I say this a lot, but this school year was so challenging. The worst one yet. Don't get me wrong, my oldest two boys got straight A's and are in the honors program (my kindergartener doesn't get A's and B's, instead they get E's and S's, etc.) But getting them to that point of year-long straight A's was tough. So much stupid homework and projects that required parental assistance plus a lot of cash. My 3rd grader's teacher sent home so much nightly homework and they had to answer questions on a class blog every week, and none of it counted towards his grade! All that work for nothing! Only a few big assignments and tests counted for his grade. What a waste of time to try and get all the problems right, when we never even got them back to see if he got them right and he got no credit for it. And some people might say that it was good practice to do all that homework and reinforcement of the concepts. Well, was it? Really? He doesn't even know if he did the homework problems correctly, because they were never returned or a score entered on the Power School. At least my 6th grader got credit for all of the nightly homework he did.
My oldest son decided he wanted to go to a new school for 7th grade. Shocking. He wants to go to this new school that is coming to my town in August. It is called Ba.sis School. You should google them. They are absolutely amazing schools that started in Tucson, AZ (interestingly, that is where Dave and I met!). Highly academic schools. Challenging, and hardly ever any stupid projects!! Lots of focus on math, which is what this country needs. 2 of my college roommates send their kids there, and they love it. US News & World Report consistenly ranks Ba.sis in the top 10 (and lately in the top 5) of US high schools! So my nerdy smart boy should do just fine there. The problem is what to do for high school. He loves baseball and wants to play on the public high school baseball team. So if he makes the team for high school, we will send him to the public high school. Ba.sis has some sports, but it is on a small-scale. I guess we have a couple years to decide on that.
And lastly, the topic of our open adoption. And how it's going. Hmmmm.... it's going ok. I think we are in a transition period. Sometimes her birth mother & I talk a lot, then we go periods of weeks to a couple months without a lot of contact. I posted a picture of her and Cami on my Insta.gram taken in the hospital on birth mother's day. I sent her some pictures and gift cards for her and her 2 kids she is parenting. And I haven't talked to her since, except for a quick text she sent saying she got the stuff I mailed her. I did talk to her birth mom's mom and Cambria's birth father's mother thru FB messages) around Mother's Day too and I sent them Mother's Day cards & pictures of Cambria. I talked to her birth mom's mom about meeting her when we go back East towards the end of the year. We are thinking of maybe going to Florida over Christmas break and will stop in NC. She said she would love to meet us. That was nice! I am also hoping to meet up with her new sister and new adoptive parents while we are out there. I told her if she knew someone with an iPhone, that we could face time and she could see Cambria that way, and so far she hasn't done that. Oh well, I tried.
Oh! One more fun thing I did which has kept me from blogging was I hosted a lunch Bunco at my house a couple weeks ago, which was so fun. There were 16 of us!! Lots of laughs.
And I can't write this long blog post without mentioning a snippet about D's SIL! She actually texted my husband happy birthday wishes on his birthday which was 2 days ago. Shocker! I wonder if D's brother hacked her phone & sent Dave the happy birthday wishes? Haha! LOL! And I heard from another family member that D's SIL was still talking smack about D and me to my in-laws last month when they were out here visiting. And my MIL who is usually very mousy and meek and timid told her knock it off and she didn't come here to hear that stuff! Bahahahaha!! Anyways, I could go on & on, but I won't.
Have a fun summer everyone. I have no idea when I will get the chance to blog again. I did recently have my kids' pictures taken for their birthdays.....I'll have to post a few of them. They turned out so cute.
What have I been up to? Baseball! Helping my kids with their homework and projects. Driving my oldest two sons to guitar lessons. Driving Jacob to his catechism class every week. He made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation last week. And oh did I mention baseball? We are at the baseball fields 5 days a week (and sometimes 6 if they have a Saturday game or practice.) It is so exhausting. But fun and amazing to watch them play and see their progress this year. My oldest two love to play catcher. My oldest played an amazing game last night. He smacked that ball out to the outfield like a champ and was a wall behind that plate. They were winning for a while, which was exciting because they haven't won very many games this season.
And then the game was tied, which is when I took this fun picture.
The game was tied 7-7 in the 7th inning! That is my son Zack in the catcher's equipment. See that runner on base? That may or may not be his friend (sorry the picture is blurry, I took it thru the fence!) anyways, as I was saying.....see that runner on 1st? Yeah, he scored. And so did a bunch more people after we got short on pitchers. Zack couldn't go in to pitch because he caught for more than 4 innings, which is the rule, they can't pitch if they've caught for more than 4 innings. And they can only throw 85 pitches in a game, and then they need a 5 day rest period. Needless to say, our really good pitcher was still on his 5-day rest period.
But I digress....
I guess what I'm saying is I haven't been blogging much because I've been busy spending time with my kids, which is what I'm supposed to be doing. Cambria and I went and had a playdate with her little 1 year old friends this week, and we go to mommy-and-me gymnastics, etc. etc. And now my kids are on summer vacation- day 1 of that going on here today! 2 birthday parties yesterday and 1 today for my boys. Plus a birthday party for Cami's little friend last weekend.
Plus I know I say this a lot, but this school year was so challenging. The worst one yet. Don't get me wrong, my oldest two boys got straight A's and are in the honors program (my kindergartener doesn't get A's and B's, instead they get E's and S's, etc.) But getting them to that point of year-long straight A's was tough. So much stupid homework and projects that required parental assistance plus a lot of cash. My 3rd grader's teacher sent home so much nightly homework and they had to answer questions on a class blog every week, and none of it counted towards his grade! All that work for nothing! Only a few big assignments and tests counted for his grade. What a waste of time to try and get all the problems right, when we never even got them back to see if he got them right and he got no credit for it. And some people might say that it was good practice to do all that homework and reinforcement of the concepts. Well, was it? Really? He doesn't even know if he did the homework problems correctly, because they were never returned or a score entered on the Power School. At least my 6th grader got credit for all of the nightly homework he did.
My oldest son decided he wanted to go to a new school for 7th grade. Shocking. He wants to go to this new school that is coming to my town in August. It is called Ba.sis School. You should google them. They are absolutely amazing schools that started in Tucson, AZ (interestingly, that is where Dave and I met!). Highly academic schools. Challenging, and hardly ever any stupid projects!! Lots of focus on math, which is what this country needs. 2 of my college roommates send their kids there, and they love it. US News & World Report consistenly ranks Ba.sis in the top 10 (and lately in the top 5) of US high schools! So my nerdy smart boy should do just fine there. The problem is what to do for high school. He loves baseball and wants to play on the public high school baseball team. So if he makes the team for high school, we will send him to the public high school. Ba.sis has some sports, but it is on a small-scale. I guess we have a couple years to decide on that.
And lastly, the topic of our open adoption. And how it's going. Hmmmm.... it's going ok. I think we are in a transition period. Sometimes her birth mother & I talk a lot, then we go periods of weeks to a couple months without a lot of contact. I posted a picture of her and Cami on my Insta.gram taken in the hospital on birth mother's day. I sent her some pictures and gift cards for her and her 2 kids she is parenting. And I haven't talked to her since, except for a quick text she sent saying she got the stuff I mailed her. I did talk to her birth mom's mom and Cambria's birth father's mother thru FB messages) around Mother's Day too and I sent them Mother's Day cards & pictures of Cambria. I talked to her birth mom's mom about meeting her when we go back East towards the end of the year. We are thinking of maybe going to Florida over Christmas break and will stop in NC. She said she would love to meet us. That was nice! I am also hoping to meet up with her new sister and new adoptive parents while we are out there. I told her if she knew someone with an iPhone, that we could face time and she could see Cambria that way, and so far she hasn't done that. Oh well, I tried.
Oh! One more fun thing I did which has kept me from blogging was I hosted a lunch Bunco at my house a couple weeks ago, which was so fun. There were 16 of us!! Lots of laughs.
And I can't write this long blog post without mentioning a snippet about D's SIL! She actually texted my husband happy birthday wishes on his birthday which was 2 days ago. Shocker! I wonder if D's brother hacked her phone & sent Dave the happy birthday wishes? Haha! LOL! And I heard from another family member that D's SIL was still talking smack about D and me to my in-laws last month when they were out here visiting. And my MIL who is usually very mousy and meek and timid told her knock it off and she didn't come here to hear that stuff! Bahahahaha!! Anyways, I could go on & on, but I won't.
Have a fun summer everyone. I have no idea when I will get the chance to blog again. I did recently have my kids' pictures taken for their birthdays.....I'll have to post a few of them. They turned out so cute.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Birth Mother's Day
Today is Birth Mother's Day. It is the day before Mother's Day. Which is perfectly fitting. Without birth mothers, there wouldn't be mothers. So they should be honored first.
I'm thinking about Cambria's birth mother J today. I am so, so thankful and grateful that she chose us to parent her child. I am so in love with my daughter and feel blessed every day for this gift that she gave us. J follows me on Insta.gram, so I posted a picture of her holding and looking at Cambria in the hospital on IG. I am usually fiercely private about her, but she said it was ok to post the picture.
Open adoption will have its bumps along the road, but I'm glad we're on the journey.
Happy Birth Mother's Day to all the birth moms out there. Please know that we adoptive parents love and respect you for your sacrifice you made. You made the most selfless decision to put the needs of someone else (your child) above your own needs....you endured heartbreak to give your child the life you wanted for them with another family. I've had 3 biological children, so I know that maternal bond and love that happens the instant you see your own flesh and blood. It is magnetic. I've been at the same place in the hospital as you on the day of discharge with the baby strapped in his/her carseat for the first time ready to go home and experience their first car ride....only it is at that point that we took different turns at the fork in the road. I went home with my baby, and you went home alone and most likely devastated. I can't imagine. You are far stronger than I am. Please know that we adoptive parents truly appreciate you giving us a chance to be parents and do something for us that we couldn't do for ourselves. I wish you didn't have to go thru so much pain in the process.
The interesting thing is, when I saw my adopted daughter for the first time, I fell madly in love with her the same way I did with my biological sons. Instantly. I loved her so much that I started to panic and worry every day until our adoption was finalized that the birth parents were going to decide to take her back. I love her so much and couldn't bear the thought of losing her and not being able to see her everyday. And yet, you carefully and thoughtfully made the decision to place her for adoption with another family even though you knew it would hurt like hell, but you did it for your child....to give them exactly the life you wanted them to have but knew you couldn't provide at that time in your life. I am awestruck by your insight and bravery and maturity and love for your child.
Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy Birth Mother's Day.
I'm thinking about Cambria's birth mother J today. I am so, so thankful and grateful that she chose us to parent her child. I am so in love with my daughter and feel blessed every day for this gift that she gave us. J follows me on Insta.gram, so I posted a picture of her holding and looking at Cambria in the hospital on IG. I am usually fiercely private about her, but she said it was ok to post the picture.
Open adoption will have its bumps along the road, but I'm glad we're on the journey.
Happy Birth Mother's Day to all the birth moms out there. Please know that we adoptive parents love and respect you for your sacrifice you made. You made the most selfless decision to put the needs of someone else (your child) above your own needs....you endured heartbreak to give your child the life you wanted for them with another family. I've had 3 biological children, so I know that maternal bond and love that happens the instant you see your own flesh and blood. It is magnetic. I've been at the same place in the hospital as you on the day of discharge with the baby strapped in his/her carseat for the first time ready to go home and experience their first car ride....only it is at that point that we took different turns at the fork in the road. I went home with my baby, and you went home alone and most likely devastated. I can't imagine. You are far stronger than I am. Please know that we adoptive parents truly appreciate you giving us a chance to be parents and do something for us that we couldn't do for ourselves. I wish you didn't have to go thru so much pain in the process.
The interesting thing is, when I saw my adopted daughter for the first time, I fell madly in love with her the same way I did with my biological sons. Instantly. I loved her so much that I started to panic and worry every day until our adoption was finalized that the birth parents were going to decide to take her back. I love her so much and couldn't bear the thought of losing her and not being able to see her everyday. And yet, you carefully and thoughtfully made the decision to place her for adoption with another family even though you knew it would hurt like hell, but you did it for your child....to give them exactly the life you wanted them to have but knew you couldn't provide at that time in your life. I am awestruck by your insight and bravery and maturity and love for your child.
Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy Birth Mother's Day.
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