I follow several people and agencies on Twitter that have to do with or are involved with the adoption process. It’s sort of like my way to peek into the process for other people without having to be intimately involved. I can see as much or as little as I would like. Many of them also have their own websites, which are nice to read, too.

One of the people I follow (@openadoptsupp) is actually a website that provides support to people going through an open adoption process. They have been revamping and relaunching parts of the website, and I noticed some definitions of open adoption that I wanted to share:

What is open adotption?

• Open adoption is about honoring the connection adoptees have with both of their families.
• Open adoption recognizes the love and rewards of adoption.
• Open adoption recognizes the losses and grief of adoption.
• Open adoption does not diminish one family in favor of another.
• Open adoption is flexible, understanding that needs and circumstances change.
• Open adoption sets boundaries on the basis of what is best for the child in question.
• Open adoption looks like different things for different families.
• Open adoption is about commitment and sharing and love.

Tomorrow I am getting together with 4 or 5 other waiting and hopefully soon-to-be adoptive moms from our Home Study class with the agency. We are getting together in Plainfield to eat dinner and spend time together. We keep in touch via a private yahoo group, and it is great having other women to go through this process with. Two of the ladies have adopted once before, and the rest of us are going through it for the first time. Having a support group is great, and I know that I can talk openly and honestly with them about anything – anything at all – and not have to worry about being judged. I can ask questions, too, which is great!

Hopefully the husbands will enjoy their free time with all of us out of our houses! HA!

Today was became officially active with our agency! Our brief profile is on their website for potential birth parents to see, and our full bio is in their office ready to be shown to anyone that expresses an interest in us. We are the first couple from our “class” to get approved and become active, so we are really excited!

We also got a package in the mail today from the agency that had our original pictures we had sent them, and also a final copy of our profile. They changed the main picture of us on the front of our full profile to match the one on their website, and I am really glad. The one they had used in the initial draft was okay, but not a personal favorite, and I like our full profile a lot better now that they changed that picture!

So…theoretically we could get a call at any time with a “fall in your lap” adoption, but most likely we will have many months of waiting. We’re ready for it though and have a lot to do to keep ourselves busy in the meantime.

Keep us in your prayers!

Today is Mother’s Day, and it was a wonderful day! We had a great time at church this morning, ate lunch out at Applebees, I got to take a much needed nap this afternoon, unpacked the sewing room and went to church again this evening. Now, I am relaxing in front of the TV and enjoying the rest of the weekend.

Darryl said something to me today that sort of surprised me. He said that at church this morning, when they asked all the moms to come forward and get a small potted daisy and be prayed for, he said I looked really left out and sort of sad as I stayed in my pew. I can honestly say that I did not feel left out or sad in the least. I know that my time will come soon, and I do not think anything but happy thoughts toward the ladies that already have the gift of motherhood.

I guess what I am saying is that I don’t want people to think I am sad, or upset or eternally stricken in some way because I am not yet a mother. Sure, it can be frustrating at times because my road to motherhood is more complicated than others, but in general…I am okay with it. Like I said, I know my time will come.

So celebrate! Enjoy your day, and relish in your motherhood. Don’t worry about those of us who aren’t there yet. We can celebrate next year. Hopefully!

This weekend is Mother’s Day, which is a wonderful time for families and friends to celebrate the lives and hard work of all of the mothers that they know and love. But did you know that this weekend also celebrates a special group of mothers as well? Birthmother’s Day is celebrated the Saturday before the traditional Mother’s Day holiday, and is a day that I hope to be able to celebrate with a special woman next year.

I do not know much about this newer holiday, so I did a little searching online today and found an article that explained it pretty well. My first thought was to question why birthmothers would not be celebrated on the same day as all the other mothers out there, but the article had an interesting thought:

Birthmother’s Day is celebrated the Saturday before Mother’s Day. It seems appropriate that their day comes first since it is only because of their selfless sacrifice that I even celebrate Mother’s Day. Birthmother’s Day was started in 1990 by a group of birthmothers in Seattle, Washington. It’s a day for birthmothers to unite and be honored for the gift of life that they gave twice–once in birth, once in placement.

So, if you know a birthmother, be sure to thank her today for the huge sacrifice she made to help another family become parents.