5/9/10

Happy Mother's Day to the 3 mothers who have made the biggest impact on my life.

I have these 3 women to thank for all my best blessings, including my own opportunity to be a mother.

Hope your Mother's Day was sweet a one.

Adoption Awareness Month

I had some plans of how to recognize Adoption Awareness month (which is November), but life got the best of me and blogging hasn't been the priority as of late. I do have a few things I want to share this month. The posts will be random and interspersed with my regular blogging topics, but stay tuned if this adoptive mothers insight interests you. For now, here is my favorite adoption video.

daughter.

I love you Naomi.

I'm so glad I'm your mom forever.

celebrate.

blessing.

After our temple sealing, all our guests and family were invited to our home for Naomi's baby blessing and dinner. John blessed our daughter with both her grandfathers and our Bishop. This blessing John gave her was one of the most amazing blessings I have ever heard. It was such a sweet experience to do it in our home, so full of our loved ones, on this very special day. I will never forget the things John promised Naomi. There is nothing like listening to the man you married using his Priesthood to bless your babies. Nothing like it.

Naomi, some day I am going to explain to you how incredible your daddy is, and how lucky you are that he is yours.

eternal.

Saturday August 22, brought the day we have prayed for and waited for since Naomi's birth. We took our family to the Salt Lake Temple and Naomi Grace was sealed to us for eternity. There are many reasons that the temple is a quiet, peaceful place, but I learned this day that one of those reasons is that there are no words to express the feelings that take place there. I could never accurately describe what it felt like to hold John's hand before the sealing and discuss quietly how we couldn't believe this day had come, what it felt like to meet our sealer and feel his genuine love and happiness for us, and there is absolutely no words to express how full my heart was when we walked into the sealing room that was full of people who love us. The emotions that a mom feels seeing her babies dressed in white is beyond any words or expressions... they are some of the strongest, deepest feelings I have ever had, but I could never describe it to you. Some words from Henry B. Eyering about eternal families and the sealing power will have to suffice.

"It is the sealing power and our knowledge of it which changes and transforms our family life here and our expectations for the joy of family life in the world to come. The thought and the hope that I can have eternal relationships carries me through the trials of separation and the loneliness which are part of mortal existence. The promise to the faithful in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we may have associations and an expansion of families in the eternities. That assurance changes forever and for the better all of our associations in families."

I feel like my family was transformed in the temple that day, and we are changed forever because of the blessings that we received that day.

Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18

final.

Friday, August 21 brought finalization day for Naomi's adoption. This experience was very surreal, sitting in a courtroom with our attorney, holding the baby I'm hoping the Judge tells me we get to keep forever. It was like an out of body experience hearing our attorney talking about Naomi and our family, presenting documents, asking us questions and signing papers in open court. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was a more memorable event than I had anticipated. I think I had thought of this as more of a formality, and the sealing was what I was really looking forward to, but other than a few nerves, this was an incredible experience. I didn't think this actually meant that much to me, being that I already considered Naomi ours, but it mattered more to me than I thought. I had to fight back tears while the Judge told us that from this day forward Naomi would be officially and legally our daughter. Judge Roth was a very sweet man.

We are so happy with our Attorney (left) and our Agency (represented by Kathy on the right). There is nothing I would change about our experience in getting Naomi. I have definitely come to the conclusion that everyone should adopt. I really mean that, it has taught me so much, made my heart grow so much bigger than I thought possible, and opened my eyes to a whole world I never knew before.

My mom came with us to help with Boston in the court room. Her support in every aspect of our adoption has meant so much to us and made such a difference to us. Thank you, mom.

Our first photo as an "official family" outside the District Courts.

What a day, what an experience, but the weekend was just beginning...

Firsts

1. Naomi had her first experience with rice cereal. And is really cute, though that is not a first.

2. Naomi's court date for finalization is finally on the calendar, as well as our temple date for our sealing. For the FIRST time it feels like this might all end soon, and she is really, really ours forever.

3. Boston ate his first crayon, and consequently I woke up to a crib full of barf this morning. Complete with chunks of crayola pink.

4. Boston put his first 2 words together. "Shut up." Awesome.