Birthmother Baskets

As all you know we are getting ready to do a service night brainstorming night on Feb 3,2010. yes it was moved up.. one of the ideas was taken from a young ladys blog about birthmother baskets. It would be such a good idea to do a similar one within our area. to get some ideas here is the blog http://birthmotherbaskets.blogspot.com.

Please help me come up fundrasing ideas and ideas for the baskets as well as where we and get donations from. i will have some ideas ready for handout when we come. Remember this is for our fellow birthmothers. Please if you have crafty talents or any ideas dont be afraid to share. please contact me if you have questions: mustangchick8@gmail.com

Birthmother Service Night Feb10, 2010

As all you know we are getting ready to do a service night on Freb 10th, one of the ideas was taken from a young ladys blog about birthmother baskets. It would be such a good idea to do a similar one within our area. to get some ideas here is the blog http://birthmotherbaskets.blogspot.com.

Please come up with me fundrasing ideas or ideas for the baskets. i will have some ideas ready for handout when we come. Remember this is for our fellow birthmothers. Please if you have crafty talents or any ideas dont be afraid to share. please contact me if you have questions: mustangchick8@gmail.com

Facebook Page

I think most of you probably already know, but in case you don't, I thought I'd mention that there is a Facebook page for the birth parent support group HERE. There's not a lot of activity on it yet, but it's a good way to keep up with things if you're as Facebook addicted as I am :o)

At Last

Another Adoption Miracle!

Gifts

"We all enjoy giving and receiving presents. But there is a difference between presents and gifts. The true gifts may be part of ourselves--giving of the riches of the heart and mind--and therefore more enduring and of far greater worth than presents bought at the store." (President James E. Faust, "A Christmas with No Presents." Ensign, Dec. 2001 4)"

Birth Mothers truly give gifts. The gift is not only to the adoptive couple but to their Heavenly Father. They give the best gift of all- a broken heart and a contrite spirit-willingness to follow the prompting of the Spirit even when it means they are breaking their own hearts.

Blog Spotlight: The R House

If you've never heard of Mrs R and the R House, you are missing out. Mrs R is an adoptive mom of two and it is physically impossible to read through her blog without thinking adoption is the most amazing thing in the world. Her love and respect for birth mothers is humbling. I think she's probably done more to promote adoption on-line than anyone else out there.
She also has links to just about every adoption resource on the internet, for birth moms, adoptive parents, adopted children, and people who just want to know more about adoption. This month she's also featuring a blogroll of people (including yours truly) who took her National Adoption Month challenge to blog every day. I've spent hours reading those blogs and being both awed at how many miracles there are in adoption, and sad at how many wonderful couples there are who are unable to have children the usual way.
I think that's why it's so important to spread the good word about adoption to as many people as possible and make sure the whole world knows that it is an option for unplanned pregnancy, and it can be the most amazing thing in the world.
Kudos to Mrs R for taking it upon herself to change the world!

Blog Spotlight: United by Love

One thing I have discovered in the past few months is how many amazing adoption websites there are out there. I want to spotlight some of them this month, and since this blog here is primarily for birth mothers, I thought today I'd begin with United by Love.



United by Love is the birth mother branch of FSA, Families Supporting Adoption, an offshoot of LDS Family Services. The UbL blog has articles about adoption, links to birth mother blogs and other resources, and a regular "Ask a Birthmom" panel. Most recently it featured a guest blog by our very own Tamra, who wrote a great bit about adoption myths and misconceptions. If you haven't checked out United by Love, I recommend doing so. It will make you proud to be a birthmother! The tears are plenty today.
Its been a very long week of TAN DUVETS!
A long week counting down the days til Miss Mara turns one.
I havent posted Halloween pictures, soon, i promise.
I knew a package was coming.
All week I have been wondering what it was going to hold.
Josh & Lizzy always send the sweetest things
& the nicest notes.
So I have been anxious. . .
I arrive home & just feel like I need to check the mail.
There is was a little white box.
No one is home which I am glad for.
Inside I find a gift bag, so cute, for her birthday party.
Two CD's, 1 for Kristofer pictures of her & him.
Another with pictures from when she was born & just little.
* by this time I am sobbing *
2 letters....
First from Lizzy, she tells me how glad she is to "know" me,
she says Mara is like me, skeptical grin, easy laugh, resilient & happy.
& that Mara always gets 2 kisses in the morning & the night from her.
Second from Josh, he says thank you for their little princess,
how fulfilling this year has been for him,
& how beautiful his Lizzy is being a mother.

I just want to say, that when I state that I miss Mara, its not a miss like I want her back or regret, I just miss her, I miss Josh & Lizzy in the same way. From May to November I formed a bond with two completely strangers that no one really understands, except us.

Every single day I pray & hope that Lizzy is giving her that extra kiss from me * & i got that conformation today *. The last couple days have been filled with emotion & memories leading up to her birth 1 year ago. The emotional preparations I was going through, hoping I could get through the next step of getting her to her family. I dont think of Mara as my daughter, she is Lizzys & Joshs daughter. They are her mom & dad. She is My Angel, I am not her mom. I am in Josh's words :: The Woman who had enough Faith, Courage, & Love to make an Eternal Family :: & I wouldnt change it for the world!!!

Yes, my heart aches, I am only human. My heart also SHINES! When I see that smile, my heart lights up, my face gets those dimples that only show when I smile a honest happy smile. Although she is so many miles away, & kisses are far between, she brightens every single day for me! She is a joy in my life, she is one of the two reasons I'm striving to be the best I possibly can.

November is ...

You can read more about it here, or just Google National Adoption Month.

In honor of NAM, and since no one else ever seems to update this blog, I am going to sort of take over for November. I'll be posting links to my favorite adoption websites and reviewing adoption books and that sort of thing. Adoption is an amazing thing, and I am so glad there is a whole month to celebrate it!

Life

“Life isn’t always easy. At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa — up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way.

We all face rocky ridges, with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon. Sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision. Sharp edges of despair and discouragement jut out of the terrain to slow our passage…

Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed.

Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears, inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing, ‘All is well! All is well!’ ” (M. Russell Ballard Ensign, May 1997, 61)