Adoption Profile Video

Happy New Year

This was going to be a Merry Christmas post, but as usual I am about a week behind.   We love this time of year. The good food, fun times with friends and all the crazy business.  Our Christmas was wonderful, we spent time with family, nothing exciting.

There is something about spending time with people you don't see all the time. We had an early Christmas Dinner with my family a few days before Christmas.  Watching all 5 cousins play together is enjoyable.

 We spent Christmas day in Wyoming.  Santa spoiled her, she got the polar bear family and penguin family she wanted plus some too many other toys.  She played and played with her cousins, but she played most with Uncle Brandon's dog Eddie.  After we opened presents we went to Elle's parents home to visit them.  Although Elle was not there and was missed we were able to Skype with her there.  Of course Charlee was spoiled there and she was teasing everyone.  We then went back to Grandma's and helped get dinner ready for 30.  Charlee was a great helper, she cut some veggies and did a lot of clean up.  Now that she is 5 she is a big girl who can help.

We are grateful for our supportive family and appreciate it when we get to spend time with them.

I can't believe another year has come and gone.  It has happened so fast.  No amazing changes or great vacations, just enjoying our life and trying to find ways to squeeze more into a day then we should.

I am still having problems getting pics from my camera onto my computer  because of all the space, I am trying to move pictures to cloud storage system, but it is not going as smooth as I hopped.  HELP!  Any suggestions?  Tell me how you manage.

Happy New Year!!

Love Watching this Open Adoption Work

 4 and a half years later, and it still happens.   Just for everyone who asks, so do you still talk to the birth mom.  Of course.  While she no longer lives as close, the visits are farther between, they still happen.

 We have tried to skype a few times, sometimes Charlee is into it and other times she wants to run and play, but when she can see Elle, she is eating up all the attention, and why not?
We look forward to the time we do get to spend with Elle, Charlee's understanding of who she is grows.  She loves her, admire's her and for the next week she talks about visiting with her birth mom.  We love spending time with Elle, catching up and having fun together.

After the the previous visit, Charlee and I were looking at pictures and she asked me "How come we just call her Elle and not birth mom?"

  I replied, "Sometimes we call her mommy Elle or tummy mommy."  Charlee then got very mad at me, and  told me 

"you can not tell me I am going to call Elle, it is my birth mom and you are not the boss of that."

I agreed and told her she would need to ask Elle what she wanted to be called.

During the visit when Elle and Charlee were alone, I asked Charlee to ask Elle her question.  Charlee was shy and wouldn't not bring up the subject, I asked Charlee if she was alright if I brought it up and she nodded.  I told Elle that "Charlee wants to know what she can call you?"

And because of how loving and kind Elle is, she said, "You can call me what ever you want." Charlee replied" I want to call you birth mom Elle."  So for the rest of the visit she said it about 80 times and every time she would smile.  In the car or in public Elle always responded to her and was great about it.  I was grateful Elle was so accommodating to Charlee, and that Charlee expressed a need.  I know in the future they will continue to work out their relationship, with or without me.

 There is something there that is more than a friend, or an Aunt or another family member.  For Charlee you can see her connect on a different level.  I love watching their bond grow.  I want her to know where she came from, I want her to embrace that.  I want to be sure these moments happen.

Adoption is a gift of love that is given to the child, the child has a chance to be in a stable, loving home and an open adoption allows for the child to share more love with the birth family and adoptive family.

This relationship is as easy and comfortable, because we have made it so from the beginning.  It feels normal, to us.