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Aug 27, 2013
Aug 23, 2013
Standing Out
I honestly teared up reading This Article by: Jay Forte
I finished reading it and took this beautiful, authentic, justified breath of fresh air.
New air!
You see, I live in a community, where nearly every one does look the same or in a certain way thinks the same. And I don't want to pull the negative from that.
However, I don't fit that mold. So, when I finished reading, Live Boldly: How to Find the Courage to “Stand Out” I wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream Amen Sister! I felt this reassurance that, I'm being true to who I am and that's a good thing!
Have you ever sat and thought about this: Why, as society, do we see someone with 'different' hair color or style and automatically think that person is looking for attention? Or that person is a misfit. Or that person is just weird.
Have you ever thought: Shouldn't fitting in or following the crowd be more detrimental to who we really are? What if my perfectly polished shoes, my suit and tie, my designer threads are really what is weird?
Did you ever hear your Mom speak these words: "If your friends jump off a cliff will you too?"
I have! My mom would say this to teach me that just because the crowd is doing it, doesn't mean it's right.
You know what mom. You were right. (I know, I can't believe I said that out loud) LOL!
Have you seen this picture circulating around Pinterest? I love the message it sends.
Live a life of standing out.
You weren't born to be like everyone else.
You were born to be YOU.
Challenge yourself HERE & NOW
To hold back on the quickness to criticize the person who looks different, thinks different or isn't fitting 'your' mold.
Stop the judgement and applaud the courage.
Then allow yourself to do this...
If
we could do this... the world would start to become as I believe God
intended it to be. Full of color, uniqueness, imperfect, beautiful
people who accept, love, embrace and courageously live life as
themselves without question.
So, the next time I feel different from the crowd and insecure... I'm going to take that breath of new air and applaud myself for being me. Imperfect, flawed, nerdy ME.
I finished reading it and took this beautiful, authentic, justified breath of fresh air.
New air!
You see, I live in a community, where nearly every one does look the same or in a certain way thinks the same. And I don't want to pull the negative from that.
However, I don't fit that mold. So, when I finished reading, Live Boldly: How to Find the Courage to “Stand Out” I wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream Amen Sister! I felt this reassurance that, I'm being true to who I am and that's a good thing!
Have you ever sat and thought about this: Why, as society, do we see someone with 'different' hair color or style and automatically think that person is looking for attention? Or that person is a misfit. Or that person is just weird.
Have you ever thought: Shouldn't fitting in or following the crowd be more detrimental to who we really are? What if my perfectly polished shoes, my suit and tie, my designer threads are really what is weird?
Did you ever hear your Mom speak these words: "If your friends jump off a cliff will you too?"
I have! My mom would say this to teach me that just because the crowd is doing it, doesn't mean it's right.
You know what mom. You were right. (I know, I can't believe I said that out loud) LOL!
I don't have to fit in with the crowd to be comfortable with who I am.
And neither do any of you.
"Someone greater than you thought you should be you!"
-Jay Forte
You weren't born to be like everyone else.
You were born to be YOU.
Challenge yourself HERE & NOW
To hold back on the quickness to criticize the person who looks different, thinks different or isn't fitting 'your' mold.
Stop the judgement and applaud the courage.
Then allow yourself to do this...
So, the next time I feel different from the crowd and insecure... I'm going to take that breath of new air and applaud myself for being me. Imperfect, flawed, nerdy ME.
Aug 20, 2013
Welcome Featured Member~
Aug 16, 2013
Unexpectedly Beautiful!
I was so happy to come across this blog post..
We too are HUGE baseball fans at my house, so this post really hit home with me.
My husband and I have always been very open to our children about me being a birth mom. They have been surrounded by it their entires lives, while I have been speaking and running Birth Mother Baskets and now working for Parentfinder.com
My children know they have a sister who was born before their dad and I got married. They know after a lot of thought and prayer that I decided to place her for adoption. As you can imagine, with this openness comes a lot of questions about where she is and if they will get to meet her someday. As they have matured, a little, so have their questions and thoughts about her.
I love that my children are free to talk openly about adoption and about me being a birth mom. Most does they are easy to answer, some days they bring heart ache but this experience with my oldest son was Unexpectedly Beautiful...
My son is 11 years old. He is obsessed with baseball. He can tell you any statistic or characteristic about some of the greatest players of all time. Especially, The Great Bambino. After finding a book at his school library on Babe Ruth he came home to discuss his great discovery with me.
my son: Mom, mom I got this book at the library today.
me: Great.
my son: It's about The Babe, mom.
me: Yep, cool. (This is me shamefully answering him while most likely concentrating more on the dishes then what he is saying)
my son: Mom! (Obviously noticing that I'm not giving him my full attention)
I looked up to see his frustration, standing with his hands on his hips. Which by the way, is incredibly adorable. I stop what I'm doing and look him in the eye.
me: Tell me about the book bud.
my son: Babe. Babe Ruth was adopted! Did you know that mom? Adopted.
me: No, I don't think I knew that. That's awesome.
my son: He has a birth mom just like what you are mom. I think he is my favorite player now.
I smiled and agreed with him. Then as if the conversation had ended, he walked over to where I was standing and hugged me...
my son: It's pretty cool mom, what you did. We'll meet her someday.
I squeezed him with all of my might and love. His sensitve sweet soul brings me so much joy and this moment was no different. This unexpected beautiful moment with my son reminded me once again how happy I am that we decided to be upfront with them about adoption. Although each placement starts with something unexpected it can lead all involved to what is beautiful about life... Love
by Nathaniel H. Goetz (vice-president and co-founder of Noah Z.M. Goetz Foundation)
We too are HUGE baseball fans at my house, so this post really hit home with me.
My husband and I have always been very open to our children about me being a birth mom. They have been surrounded by it their entires lives, while I have been speaking and running Birth Mother Baskets and now working for Parentfinder.com
My children know they have a sister who was born before their dad and I got married. They know after a lot of thought and prayer that I decided to place her for adoption. As you can imagine, with this openness comes a lot of questions about where she is and if they will get to meet her someday. As they have matured, a little, so have their questions and thoughts about her.
I love that my children are free to talk openly about adoption and about me being a birth mom. Most does they are easy to answer, some days they bring heart ache but this experience with my oldest son was Unexpectedly Beautiful...
My son is 11 years old. He is obsessed with baseball. He can tell you any statistic or characteristic about some of the greatest players of all time. Especially, The Great Bambino. After finding a book at his school library on Babe Ruth he came home to discuss his great discovery with me.
my son: Mom, mom I got this book at the library today.
me: Great.
my son: It's about The Babe, mom.
me: Yep, cool. (This is me shamefully answering him while most likely concentrating more on the dishes then what he is saying)
my son: Mom! (Obviously noticing that I'm not giving him my full attention)
I looked up to see his frustration, standing with his hands on his hips. Which by the way, is incredibly adorable. I stop what I'm doing and look him in the eye.
me: Tell me about the book bud.
my son: Babe. Babe Ruth was adopted! Did you know that mom? Adopted.
me: No, I don't think I knew that. That's awesome.
my son: He has a birth mom just like what you are mom. I think he is my favorite player now.
I smiled and agreed with him. Then as if the conversation had ended, he walked over to where I was standing and hugged me...
my son: It's pretty cool mom, what you did. We'll meet her someday.
I squeezed him with all of my might and love. His sensitve sweet soul brings me so much joy and this moment was no different. This unexpected beautiful moment with my son reminded me once again how happy I am that we decided to be upfront with them about adoption. Although each placement starts with something unexpected it can lead all involved to what is beautiful about life... Love
Thank you Nathaniel for your beautiful post.
Aug 13, 2013
Featured Members ~
Aug 9, 2013
Adoption Stories
Lesily's story has been popular on the Birth Mother Basket blog, so I thought you would all enjoy it here as well.
Adoption Story
I had
always dreamed of being a mom. The oldest of four children, I felt like
taking care of little ones was just part of who God created me to be.
After meeting my husband and getting married at 19, we decided it would
be best for us to wait until we finished college before starting a
family. Then law school came along, and well, I was 26 before we even
started trying to get pregnant. Fast forward seven long and painful
years of failed fertility treatments and lost hopes, we knew that it
wasn't in the Lord's plan for us to grow our family the traditional way.
Very long story short, we started praying about adoption, and decided
we would pursue a domestic adoption through an agency. It seemed
overwhelming, but we got all the paperwork and home study done, and then
it began...the wait! We were approved in October 2008, went through a
failed adoption in December and in February, we met the birth mom of our
oldest son, Ian. Going into this, I have to say that I was SO afraid
of an open adoption. But, the baby wasn't due until the end of May, so I
got some time to really know Carie (Ian's birth mom) and we truly fell
in love with her. Before Ian was even born, she became part of our
family. Ian actually ended up being born 6-7 weeks early, so we had
time to get to know her even more while we waited weeks for him to be
able to come home. This was a emotional time for my husband and me, but
it allowed us to give Ian to the Lord and trust Him completely with the
situation. He was so faithful to both Carie and to us, and I am so
grateful for both our son and his birth mom. In 2010, we started the
process again and after a relatively short wait, we were matched with
Anna, the birth mom to our youngest son, Flynn. Unlike Carie, Anna was
very young, and so things were a little different, but equally
beautiful. We met Anna in February and Flynn was not due until the end
of May (sound familiar?!). We had several months to get to know each
other and again, I was completely amazed by the grace God showed our
family. Anna and her mom were absolutely amazing and they quickly
became like family to us too. When Flynn was born, my husband and I
were able to be there at the hospital and care for him from the very
first moments of his life. What a gift Anna gave our family.
It's
really hard to describe in words exactly how we feel about adoption.
Looking back on those painful years of infertility, I can see the work
the Lord was doing in my life. I can honestly say I would not have it
any other way! Adoption is such a wonderful blessing to our family, and
it is a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness and grace to us over
the last several years. We have such great relationships with both our
birth moms and truly, they are family to us. The selfless choice both
Carie and Anna made to place their boys with our family feels almost
overwhelming to me. I love them both more than I could ever say. We
are eternally thankful that they chose to give life to their boys and
make us a family...and now we wait for baby #3 :).
Our Birth Moms
We have
always had contact with both of our sons' birth moms. Ian's birth mom,
Carie, lives about 5 hours away, so we see her a few times a year. She
generally comes to visit (with her husband and kids - both older and
younger than Ian) and stays with us at our house for a few days. These
are times that I hold near and dear to my heart. Getting time with her
is such a blessing to our family. Flynn's birth mom, Anna, lives about
an hour away and we see her about once a month. She just graduated from
high school and will be going away to college in the fall, so I'm sure
that will change a bit, but we're a priority to her, so I'm sure we'll
see her often. She has an amazing story, and she has started sharing
her story of teen pregnancy and adoption with the junior high kids she's
been mentoring. I'm excited to see how God will use her story to
influence others in her life.
Q: How has being adoptive parents affected the way you look at life?
A: I see being adoptive parents as an amazing privilege. I can see the way the Lord has done a work of redemption in our lives - healing our pain of years of infertility, and also in the lives of our birth moms. Family isn't all about genetics...it's about love. Life doesn't always happen the way you think it will, and with adoption, our has become much more beautiful than I could ever have imagined!
A: I see being adoptive parents as an amazing privilege. I can see the way the Lord has done a work of redemption in our lives - healing our pain of years of infertility, and also in the lives of our birth moms. Family isn't all about genetics...it's about love. Life doesn't always happen the way you think it will, and with adoption, our has become much more beautiful than I could ever have imagined!
Q: What would you say to help educate people on adoption?
A: People have SO many fears about adoption. I know I did! The most common misconception that people have about adoption (specifically our open adoptions) is about the birth moms. People don't understand why we have such close relationships with them and honestly, sometimes they think we're crazy. It has been my mission to educate people about our situation. I get so many questions from well meaning people who are worried that they'll try to take their babies back or that our relationship with them will be confusing to the kids, and on and on. Birth moms are amazing and they are the ones who gave life to their babies. Truly, birth moms are the most selfless and amazing women. They grow their babies in their wombs, taking care of them, having to endure lots of questions and criticism themselves - not to mention the emotional pain involved - in order to place their child with a family who can provide for them in a way that she cannot at that time in her life. Birth moms are heroes, and I think if people really thought about it clearly, they would agree!
A: People have SO many fears about adoption. I know I did! The most common misconception that people have about adoption (specifically our open adoptions) is about the birth moms. People don't understand why we have such close relationships with them and honestly, sometimes they think we're crazy. It has been my mission to educate people about our situation. I get so many questions from well meaning people who are worried that they'll try to take their babies back or that our relationship with them will be confusing to the kids, and on and on. Birth moms are amazing and they are the ones who gave life to their babies. Truly, birth moms are the most selfless and amazing women. They grow their babies in their wombs, taking care of them, having to endure lots of questions and criticism themselves - not to mention the emotional pain involved - in order to place their child with a family who can provide for them in a way that she cannot at that time in her life. Birth moms are heroes, and I think if people really thought about it clearly, they would agree!
Q: If you could tell your birth mom anything, what would you say?
A: I
feel like I've told both our birth moms this many times over...Thank
you! You are amazing! I just really want you to know how much you mean
to us and how much we love you. Not just because you gave us your
child and made us a family, but because of who you are. You really are
an amazing woman and we are blessed beyond measure to have you in our
family.
In three words describe what adoption means to you?
love ~ redemption ~ forever
Aug 7, 2013
My Little Butterfly
This is the poem I wrote after placing my baby for adoption and the feelings I had after holding her for the first time.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
You were placed in my arms,
And I couldn’t help but cry.
You were so precious so beautiful.
I stared at you with pride.
Your hands so tiny,
Your eyes so bright.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
And I knew it would be hard
To say goodbye.
I cried for you at night.
How could I let my
Little butterfly go?
Then I thought of the new world
You will see.
Of the loving parents that will
Take care of thee.
And I felt peace.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
And no matter how hard it is,
I must say goodbye.
So, open your wings
And don’t be afraid to fly.
Fly away to a new life.
Where opportunities are
At every door.
And my love around every corner.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
But, quickly you left
To live your new life.
You’ll always be in my heart.
Your memory in my every thought.
Those tiny hands,
And bright eyes.
I will forever love you,
My Little Butterfly.
© gina crotts 2000
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
You were placed in my arms,
And I couldn’t help but cry.
You were so precious so beautiful.
I stared at you with pride.
Your hands so tiny,
Your eyes so bright.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
And I knew it would be hard
To say goodbye.
I cried for you at night.
How could I let my
Little butterfly go?
Then I thought of the new world
You will see.
Of the loving parents that will
Take care of thee.
And I felt peace.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
And no matter how hard it is,
I must say goodbye.
So, open your wings
And don’t be afraid to fly.
Fly away to a new life.
Where opportunities are
At every door.
And my love around every corner.
You were finally here,
My little butterfly.
But, quickly you left
To live your new life.
You’ll always be in my heart.
Your memory in my every thought.
Those tiny hands,
And bright eyes.
I will forever love you,
My Little Butterfly.
© gina crotts 2000
Aug 6, 2013
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