Blog Carnival III: Adoption Photos

The writer's over at Grown In My Heart are hosting another adoption carnival this week and I decided to play along! Here's what we're supposed to do:

Carnival III: Photos of Adoption. What is your most treasured adoption photo (or two)? Block out faces if you have to, find a scanner, or simply tell us about it if you can’t post it. We do understand that. Adversely, if you don’t have one, tell us why you don’t.

Yeah, I couldn't decide on just one picture, so you get to see a few! I think all of these are on our Adoption Blog, but I don't think they were ever shared here. It was fun to go back over all the pictures we took when we were in Vietnam in 2007, but I knew even before looking at the photos which ones were my favorites.

This is one of several photos we received as part of our referral. I love it because it was the first tangible thing we had to link us to our children. I love that one shirt has the word "boys" on it, just in case you didn't know they were boys (and trust me, we knew!) and that the other shirt is pink. What you don't know about this photo is I had to crop it to make it acceptable for public viewing. I guess everyone wanted to make sure we knew 100% that Matthew and Nicholas were boys. :-)

Referral Picture: Matthew-left, Nicholas-right.

The next photo is one we took when we walked into their room at the orphanage. Their caretakers had dressed them the same, and put them in the same cradle so we would be able to see them together as soon as we walked in the door. Those outfits are one of two things we have from their time at the orphange. Although they never wore the hats or the onesies after this day, I have saved them to give to them when they become adults.

I honestly have no idea who's who in this photo.

The next two photos were taken just a few minutes after we arrived at our hotel. Dan took a ton of pictures the whole time we were in Vietnam, but the two below remain two of my favorites.

Nicholas

Matthew

The last image was made by our dear friend Aimee while we were still in Vietnam. The three pictures above (not including the referral picture) were the ones we sent via e-mail to friends and family. Aimee took those three photos and created a baby announcement for us. Although we never sent announcements in the mail to anyone (who has time with twins???), it is also a favorite of mine, and one we shared via the internet.

(Click to enlarge)

You've Been Boo'd!

The air is cool the season fall
Soon Halloween will come to all
The spooks are after things to do
In fact, a spook brought this to you
"BOO" is a shield from the witching hour
Just hang it up and watch its power
On your front door is where it works
It wards off spooks and scary jerks
The treats that came with crypted note
Are yours to keep, enjoy them both
The power comes when friends like you
Will copy this and make it two
Then others here among our friends
Will give warm fuzzies that do not end
We'll all have smiles upon our face
No one will know who "BOO'ed" whose place
Just two short days to work your spell
Or a big zap will strike your tail
And don't forget a nifty treat,
Like something cute or something sweet
Please join the fun, let's really hear it
And spread some "BOO's" and Halloween spirit.

Happy Almost Halloweeen to you! I hope you get Boo'd, too! And if you haven't, start the tradition in your own neighborhood, just like someone did in ours. Click here to find out how to do it!

Happy Anniversary

All of my life Ihave dreamed that somehow love would find me
Now I can't believe you're standing here
If beauty is all in the eye of the beholder then I
Wish you could see the love for you that lives in me

And you would know you have my heart
If you could see what I see
That a treasure is what you are
If you could see what I see
Created to be the only one for me
If you could see what I see

It's all of the light and the grace
your belief in me drives me to say
that I promise you
A faithful love, forever true

If you could see...
Then you'd understand
Why I fall down to my knees
And I pray my love will be worthy of
The One who gave His life so our love could be

If you could see what I see

You're created to be
The perfect one for me
If you could see what i see

If beauty is all in the eye
of the beholder then I am beholding...
true beauty

Happy EIGHT Years, Dan. I love you!

Blog Carnival: What No One Told Me About Adoption

The writers over at Grown In My Heart wrote an article with the same title as above, and invited everyone to add their own thoughts. I've been thinking about this article for a while now, not knowing exactly what to say. The first several months of our lives as adoptive parents are such a blur to me...it was all we could do to keep up with two babies, even with all the help we had.

I believe our adoption agency did a great job preparing us to be adoptive parents. We were required to take several parenting classes before we could submit our dossier to Vietnam. We had several meetings with our social worker, who was an adoptive mom herself, and she was a wealth of information. Our agency responded quickly with answers to any questions we had. All in all, they provided us with a great support system, which left us feeling prepared. But even with that great support system from our agency, our family and our friends, there were still some things I was not prepared for. Here are just a few thoughts...

1. No one told me I would have a full on panic attack in the middle of Babies-R-Us while trying to work on our baby registry. We're talking chest pains, tingling left arm, I thought I was having a heart attack panic attack. When this happened, I had no idea I was stressed! I thought I was going with the flow and pretty at ease. Obviously not!

2. No one told me that my children would not sleep through the night until they were 15 months old. Although sleep routines were formed easily, we fed them every three hours all night long for months.

3. To piggy back on the previous one, no one told me to expect my children to be malnourished.

4. No one told me about eczema.

5. No one told me how much support I would need. Even though I did a lot of things on my own with the boys, I had no idea I would need and want help at night. (Thanks for all the months of taking the night shift, Mom!)

6. No one told me how quickly my children would be accepted into our family and circle of friends. I knew people would love them because they were ours, but even now when I overhear someone talking about the boys, I know they are loved because of who they are, not just who their parents are.

7. No one told me how much I would crave adult interaction. Just two months after our adoption was complete, I joined a Bible study and became a board member of the local twins club. I loved my boys, but I missed my old life. These two groups helped me find a little balance in my life, and I think have made me a better mom.

8. No one told me there were actually cute boy clothes out there, and how long my children would stay in one size! And no one told me how much fun I would have shopping for said clothes.

9. No one told me how much I would love each stage of their lives, and how much I wouldn't miss the newborn stage. I always thought I would be saddened to miss out on those first few weeks of a baby's life, but I didn't. I have loved watching them grow and change and learn. It has been an amazing experience, and I learn right along with them.

**10. No one told me how difficult it would be to get social security cards for our children.

**11. No one told me what a pain health insurance would be.

12. No one told me how adorable footed pajamas are!

13. No one told me how much I would love making baby food.

14. No one told me how much deeper in love I would fall with Dan as I watch him be a dad.

15. In short, no one told me how amazing life would be with two sweet little boys from Vietnam.

**Please note, our issues with SSA and health insurance have more to do with the fact that we adopted twins and less to do with the fact that they are adopted. :-)