I have a Fed Ex tracking number to obsess over for the next few weeks. The email I received today explained that it could take a while for it to arrive, and not to freak out if it stays in one place for a while. Yeah, right. Okay, I won't freak out! ha!
I just started a new adoption book the other night and I haven't gotten very far. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has adopted or is thinking of adopting. It is about creating the child's lifebook. A lifebook is different from a scrapbook or a typical baby book in that I wasn't there on the night he/she was born. I didn't give the first bath or bottle. So the lifebook focuses more on the child's country and its customs and traditions.
It also focuses on the child's birth family and the people at the orphanage. I know this will be a challenge to complete. I have already cried a few times, and I'm only on page 7! While reading the introduction, my excitement for this entire grueling process was renewed!
The book explains that children have a hard time understanding the concept of birth and adopted children have a hard time understanding that their lives are not a mistake. Knowing who our parents are is the physical part of birth, but knowing that we were born in the very heart of God is the spiritual part. Isn't that exciting!
Even though my child will not know his/her parents, I have a responsibility to tell my child the truth-good and bad. Secrets may make things easier in the beginning, but I do not want to start my forever family based on not telling the truth.
The book also explains that even though adoption is tough for the birthmother and the child, God uses it for the good of everyone. I was floored by that statement. I often sit and cry thinking of the pain and suffering my child's birthmother has or will suffer. I could not imagine giving away my child....MY child! But thankfully, she has made this tough decision so that I can have this child as a part of my family.
I feel relief when I think of the wonderful people that I met in Ethiopia. The same people I met two summers ago will be caring for my child until I am there to bring him/her home. This has given me peace of mind beyond belief. Yes, some other adoption agencies were cheaper and the wait not as long, but seeing the place that my child calls home and meeting the women who care for him/her is far more important than a little bit of money.
Thankfully, we had some great photographers on our trip. I am excited to use their creativity and talent to make my child's lifebook something that we will always treasure.
I bought "Where the Wild Things Are" tonight. I am leaning towards this as a nursery theme if I get a boy. I have ideas stirring in my head at night and I have to wake up to put them onto paper so that they are not lost between dreams and alarm clocks. There are many people who have used this book as a theme and their nurseries are very inspirational. I want the room to be something that can grow as the child grows. I do not want it to seem baby-ish and then have to change it again in a year. Although I may change it anyway ;)
And if it is a girl, I am totally screwed! How will I ever choose just one cute pink theme!?!?! I can always rely on my pink and green turtles! Lord knows I have enough of that stuff, thanks to college!
So I guess I wait and see. And while I wait, I am going to continue cleaning out closets and cabinets to make room for another person in this house! Let the wild rumpus begin!
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