Some Babies Come by Plane...

I wish I could remember the moment I knew adoption was a part of my heart. I can't put my finger on a date or time because I truly believe it has always been there. I remember when I stopped listening to the Bambi book-to-record set because I was heartbroken that Bambi was all alone without a Mommy to protect him. I remember going to the theater to see the American Tail and crying through the entire film because Fievel Mousekewitz lost his family. I was 8 years old. 8 year old children do not go home and cry for a fictional Russian mouse lost in a new world...but I did. I learned quickly that others may walk in and out but a Mommy is always there no matter what. Even at 8 years old the thought of a mouse or even a deer without the love of a Mommy brought me to tears. I think back on those little moments and realize that even then seeds were being sewn into my heart. Seeds that are sprouting even as I type these words.

As of this spring, we are officially passengers on the slow boat to China. It is a slow boat but at least the boat has FINALLY set sail. It is MOVING and that is what matters. It feels as if we have been running on a hamster wheel FOREVER. Running. Running. Running. Working toward the finish line yet going nowhere. Not anymore. Big decisions have been made. Plans are in process. Paperwork has begun. Praise the Lord!

We have been asked numerous times why we would want to adopt. My first thought is always "Why NOT?" We have been blessed with two amazing children. We want to grow our family. We have the means and ability to bring home a little girl who might otherwise never experience the definition of "family". A little girl who was chosen to be our daughter long before the American Tail was ever written.

We are excited, anxious, relieved, overwhelmed and generally in a state of disbelief. After many years of believing adoption was in our future (and a few years of diverting from that plan through the trials of parenthood) we find ourselves right back where we started...with a heart for adoption and a plan to make it happen. Some babies come by birth. Some babies come by car. Some babies come by plane. It is irrelevant how they arrive within your family. What matters is how much they are loved when they do. We have plenty of love to go around in this family and we can't wait to share it as a family of 5.


I pray that all children will be loved for who they are, for no reason other than that they are.

I pray that all children will be loved as first best, not second best, and that they will be loved with an intensity that can move mountains, because life will present plenty of mountains that will need to be moved.

I pray that all children will have someone who will
....seek them, and only them, out of the crowd on the stage
....push them to reach for their goals and discover their unique gifts
....hold them accountable for their actions with love and dignity
....advocate for them through this maze called life
....explain the unexplainable, and
....smile when they walk into the room, just because they did.

Mostly I pray that all children will have someone who knows them well enough and loves them deeply enough to see the divine spark that is unique to them.

I pray that this be the birthright of all children throughout the world. And since the birthright can only be fulfilled by parents, I pray that each child, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, finds their parent and each parent finds their child.

Thanks God.
Amen.

(prayer from "The Complete Book of International Adoption")