Some of my thoughts...

This post is about something’s that I think about that I don’t think others would think about unless you have adopted, been adopted or have gave a child up for adoption. Last night when Sam and I were going to bed I asked him if he thinks our babies have been born yet. Something I think about a lot. He said no, I said yes.


When I think about our children being born it brings me great joy to know that our children are one step closer to being with us. However, at the same time it brings me great sadness. I am sad because as I am about to become a mother at the loss of another mother. A mother that had to give their child up out of circumstance and not out of choice. Some give their children up because they are so poor they cannot survive with another child, they are sick, or worse, they die during childbirth. These families use adoption as a last resort and as a means of survival for everyone involved. This decision forces them into what we would think of as unthinkable. They abandon their children. These children are left to be found in public places such as a bus station or a dump. Dumping grounds are actually very public gathering spots in Ethiopia. 80%+ of children that are in Toukoul, where we are adopting, is because they were abandoned.

So last night when I asked Sam if he thought our babies were born yet, I also thought what they were doing right now. I thought they are just fighting to survive. They could be alone, scared, hungry, who knows. I also thought of their mother and how she must feel. I read this post tonight about a birth-mother and really just resonated with me.

People often say to Sam and I that our kids will be so lucky. They will be lucky because I think we will be great parents and I take it as a compliment when people tell us this. I also want people to think and to pray for their birth-mom. Our happiness is born out of someone else’s sadness. And that part makes me sad.