Happy Birthday America!

Watching the 4th of July parade in Granbury. Happy birthday America. And happy family day for us! (I have to admit, when I see the military veterans walk by I always get a little emotional. I'm so grateful for all who have sacrificed to make this country great!)

Adoption is special

"I think open adoption is special because it really is about the combined love of everyone involved coming together for one child. You have different people, coming together who often are different ages, maybe from different areas, and different walks of life, who try to put those thoughts aside and focus on what has brought them together; the shared love of one child." -A birth mom

When You're Not Chosen

I just read this post (here) and am now in tears. Adoption is HARD, it is hard for everyone involved (birth parents, adoptive parents, adoptees). It's beautiful, miraculous, wonderful, such an incredible gift, and I am so incredibly grateful for it, but it is hard. I ache for birth parents. I pray for them, I cry for them, I think about them. I have thought before about how hard it must be not only to choose whether to parent or not, but also to choose who the parents will be. I hadn't thought before that birth parents also ache for us - for those they didn't choose. From the time we started the adoption process (meaning actually had our profile up - not just all the time it took to know it was right and do all the necessary stuff to be able to adopt) until we became Abby's parents was 2.5 years. In those 2.5 years we were not contacted by a single prospective birth parent - not a single one. I knew that our profile had been looked at several times, but none of them contacted us. I started to wonder what was wrong with us - were we not good looking enough, not smart enough, do they not like our jobs, were we not funny enough - what about us wasn't enough to even inspire a desire to learn more about us. I knew intellectually that when our child's birth parent found us we would connect, and that a failed placement or not getting chosen would be hard, but still no contact was also a hit to my self-esteem. We've now had our profile up for over 6 months and again, no contact. (Our case worker did show our profile to a prospective birth mom but we were not chosen.) Having had things work out so perfectly with Abby I have more faith in my Father's plan and so I'm more patient - but still I wonder why don't you even want to know us? We have the cutest kid in the world that wants to be a big sister so badly and she will be fabulous! Why wouldn't you want that for your baby? Anyway, I digress. Before reading this post I never thought about birth parents thinking about those of us who they considered but didn't choose, but now I will. And I feel grateful that they care, and at the same time sad to add one more thing to their heart break.

More Awesome Abby Amazingness

Saturday morning Ryan was bathing our dog Penny in the backyard. Abby asked me what Daddy was doing so I told her he was giving Penny a bath. she said "No, a shower", and I had to agree. A shower is more accurate for cleaning Penny with a hose.

That evening we went to an outdoor concert. At the end of it there were fireworks. As we were walking to the car she said to my mom "Showers of light are fireworks." My mom told me this so I asked her if she had told Abby that, she said no. I asked everyone else, they all said no. She came up with that on her own - 2-year-old reasoning. I love my brilliant daughter!

Future Big Sister

Goatee

A nice goatee to accompany her smoothie-stache

Can I Get A Little Privacy

Abby loves her daddy so much that sometimes it is a challenge for him to get some privacy...