Answering your questions

In my last post, I asked a few questions about who you are, how you found my blog, and what you would like to read more of or less of here.  I guess I have kind of felt like I am in a blog slump these days.  Does that even make sense?  I want to write (I love to write), but I haven’t been sure of what to write about.  And we’ve had a busy summer, but then I wonder if other people are interested in that or not.  So I really appreciate how so many readers responded and made suggestions.  And thank for all of the nice compliments, too – that was very kind and I guess I needed a little pat on the back to know that people are still interested in reading what I have to write.  So thank you.  It was really interesting to see who has been reading this for a while and see who has just recently started reading my blog.

I figured I’ll read through the comments and answer your questions.  I might need to use a few posts to do it, though.   I’ll start with Journey’s comment.  Journey at Our Journey To You wrote, “I would love to know what books you read or sites you visited either before/during/after applying.” 

I love my subscription to Adoptive Families magazine; if you don’t already get it, I suggest getting a subscription.  They have a lot of good articles every month.  I also liked Dear Birthmother.  Our agency required we read two books and that was one of our choices.  Adopting After Infertility was good, too.  The two books on the bottom of the pile – The Complete Adoption book and Adoption for Dummies – are good when you are just starting out.  I would probably recommend the Dummies book – not the greatest title but it breaks down information for the reader.  I loved reading memoir-style books – I know I read more than what’s even pictured here.  But a couple of my favorites were Trail of Crumbs, From China With Love, China Ghosts, and Two Little Sisters.  We weren’t sure whether we would do international or domestic adoption in the beginning, so I read books about both.

These are some children’s books about adoption that we like:

I Wished For You: An Adoption Story by Marianne Richmond
This one made me get so teary-eyed! It's about a little bear named Barley and how he was adopted. It uses accurate adoption language; it addresses why someone might choose adoption; it brings up how the adoption process is involved...
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
This is a book about a little bird who lives alone and wishes for a mother. He meets animals and asks if they could be his mother. Eventually he meets a bear who shows him how they don't have to look alike to feel like a family.
We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr
I LOVE this book. I love the way it's written and how it could apply to so many different types of families.
Horace by Holly Keller
This is a story about a little cheetah that was adopted by a tiger family. He worries that his adoptive family might not like his spots. He finds out how much they really love him and how happy they are to be a family.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
I love the illustrations in this book - there are so many great details. I love how the book is written, too...

And as far as websites or blogs about adoption that I read when we were starting out (and continue to read now):

One of the first blogs I read about adoption was Kate’s blog:  josiej2011.  I remember following Kate’s story of the adoption of their daughter, Josie.  At one point, I “lost” her blog…not sure how I managed that, but recently Kate commented here and we ‘connected’ again.  It’s great to see how they are all doing.

Production, Not Reproduction is a great blog about open adoption.  She tends to have a lot of links to other great blogs as well.

Karen writes One Good Egg, a blog about adopting from Foster Care.  She and I have “known” each other for quite a while.  I think we found each other on a chatboard years ago, if I remember right!

Brenda is the author of the blog, Forgetting to Remember to Forget.  She went through the same rollercoaster of infertility that we experienced and we supported each other along the way.  She and her husband have started on a journey to adopt as well!

Ella Minnow Pea is written by Rebekah and tells the story of their adoption of their son, Parker.  (She shares her own graphic design work and inspirations, too…it’s a beautiful blog.)

Melba writes Dreams Really Do Come True.  Melba writes about her son, Charlie, and the adoption process.  She also writes about life with a toddler.  I wrote a post about meeting up with Melba and Charlie just a week or two ago.

There are a lot of blogs on my sidebar, too…I recommend checking those out if you haven’t yet…Life According to Leah, When Hello Means Goodbye, Our Life in the Farm, Keeping Up with the Johnstons, Heart Cries, and The Road Less Traveled are just a few….These are blogs that I came upon during the adoption process.

There are also some really wonderful blogs out there written by birthmothers.  You might want to check out:  Birthmomtalks, It’s Just One Hat, and Amstel Life.   

If anyone wants to add more suggestions to the list (of books, websites, or blogs) feel free to leave a comment. I know I’m forgetting some! 

I’ll answer more of the comments/questions in some  upcoming blog posts.  Thank you again.

Friends through Blogging and Adoption

Melba and I have been reading each other’s blogs for quite a while.  She’s a great writer – check out her blog here:  Dreams Really Do Come True. 

We met for the first time last summer.  Her son, Charlie, and Zoe were so little then:

And here they are today – we met at the same kids’ museum:

At one point we talked about how it’s so nice to have friends who really understand the whole process of adoption – people who have been through it all.  I know I feel really lucky to know Melba and Charlie – I’m hoping that we can together again really soon. 

I loved hearing Zoe try to say Charlie’s name…it was kind of like Chaw-lie.  So sweet. 

Lifebook and Birthfamily Visit

One of the things I really wanted to do this summer was make a book for Zoe about her adoption story.  I ended up using Snapfish to put the whole thing together.  I think as she gets older, we’ll work on a newer book together; that way, Zoe can add in drawings or pictures that she wants to include, too. 

The book begins with us waiting for a baby and then getting “the call.”  I included pictures of her with her birth mom and birth grandparents at the hospital.  I included pictures of us holding her for the first time, too.  There are pictures of her coming home, family and friends who came to visit, and visits that we’ve had over the past 22 months with Zoe’s birth mom.  I tried to write it so that it would be easy for her to understand at this age. 

She loves looking at it.  In fact, once she pulls it out and brings it over to one of us, we know that we’re going to be reading it multiple times in a row.

We got together with Zoe’s birth mom (and her family and her boyfriend).   It was really good to see them. We met at our house and hung out for a bit.  Then we headed up to the splash park for a little bit.  We came back to our house and sat outside in the backyard and watched Zoe run around in her little pool and playhouse.  It was a really nice afternoon.  It was great to see how much fun Zoe had with everyone.  We’re so glad we were all able to get together.