In our family we are so blessed and thankful for adoption. That doesn’t mean we don’t recognize the loss that inevitably comes with adoption, but for us, National Adoption Month is 30 days of gratitude and recognizing the light, love, and loss of adoption.
1. We start National Adoption Month with a daily gratitude post on social media. We love adoption, and we love inspiring others with our story. We share snippets of life, fun things we do throughout the year, and more. It’s important for us to share the joy and beauty of adoption. We honor all sides of the adoption triad.
2. We love to bless our birth moms. They are such an important part of the triad. We pour love into them as often as possible, but especially during National Adoption Month. One of our birth mothers lives locally, so it’s easier to pick her up and treat her to dinner, coffee, or a pedicure. Others live farther away, so we bless them with trinkets and photo books. One of our birth moms is working on her faith and spiritual growth. For her, we’ve bought Bible study books for her to continue her growth.
3. We share the stories of our children’s arrival in our home. We sit as a family and talk about the highs and the lows. We process feelings, hug, talk about feelings, and pray together as a family. Their stories are important. The beginnings and the middles. We try to help them process the big feelings and the small ones. We share pictures of them as babies, encourage them to ask questions.
4. This year we are featured on our adoption agency’s website. We plan to share our story with others looking to adopt. We hope to inspire others to choose adoption for building their family. We believe in presenting a full picture of our adoption journey and want to share that with the world while maintaining respect for our children’s histories as well as their biological families is important.
5. We love to bless local foster children. Two of our children were adopted from the foster care system. We like to gather toys, blankets, clothes, and toiletries to donate to kids that are going through a tough time.
6. This year we are ending National Adoption Month with the adoption of our third child. We will have a photographer with us to capture the day. Court. Home. Her very pink party with pizza. All her choice. They will provide a video of the day, the emotions, and the sweet memories to look back on for years to come. We honor adoption days like birthdays. We have a party to honor her and celebrate our forever family. We allow them to choose where they want to celebrate and who they want to celebrate with.
How does your family celebrate adoption? It’s important to honor their stories. We anticipate that these traditions will change considerably as they grow older. We will always honor their stories, their first families, and National Adoption Month in some way. Find what works for your family. There’s no right or wrong. If it feels wrong for your family, find something to do quietly. Donations and blessings can be sent to pregnancy centers, foster families, a homeless shelter. We try to focus on others because of the blessings we have. Adoption is beautiful. Celebrate!
