Home Adoption Index

They placed you in our arms, and all our dreams came true.

Page Toppers

Our Family Tree

We've added to our family tree
A stronger one to make
A child from another plant
Has become our new namesake.

Just as a limb is grafted
From one tree to another,
It alters and improves the plant
Making it, uniquely, like no other.

Our family tree has been improved
Adoption made this so.
For love, much more than blood lines,
Makes us thrive and grow.

We chose to share our life and love
And all the joys to come
Our "family tree" has blossomed
With the arrival of our cherished one.

Roots and Wings

(Suzanne Gulbin)

Who are you
that you should
come to us?
Your name is Wonder;
Your name is Joy.
You have come gently
into our lives
bringing purity
and the freshness
of new beginnings.
And what shall we
give you in return?
We offer you all that we can
our best intentions -
our promise of love.
We offer your roots.
We offer you your wings.
We offer you tomorrow.
We offer you ourselves.

My Harvest

(Carol Lynn Pearson)

I did not plant you, true.
But when the season is done,
When the alternative prayers for sun
and for rain are counted,
When the pain of weeding
And the pride of watching are through,
Then I will hold you high,
A shining sheaf above
the thousand seeds grown wild.
Not my planting,
But, by heaven,
My harvest -
My child.

Answered Prayers

One sought for you a home
that she could not provide;
The other prayed for a child
and her hope was not denied.

Our Very Own Son

Born not from our flesh,
but born in our hearts,
You were longed for and wanted
and loved from the start.

 Conceived from a blessing
sent straight from above,
Our very "own" son
at last home to love.

 The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

Our Child!

With anxious hearts and open arms,
we sought you everywhere.
You, dear child, are a gift from God,
The answer to our prayer.
No matter whether birth or choice,
A home is blessed from above.
When caring parents claim their child,
A family is formed by love

Asian Adoption

God sends us many precious gifts,
But there none that can compare
With the wonder of our baby
Who's the answer to our prayer.

The sparkle in those almond eyes
Is like the twinkling stars at night,
And the smile on that moon-shaped
Face is like sunshine's golden light.

An angel child with raven hair
And tiny little nose.
Skin so soft and perfect
As the petals of a rose.

No miracle's as wondrous-
Not trees, nor sky, nor sun-
As this "little bit of heaven," and
Our new life that's just begun!

Chosen Child, Welcome Home

Tonight as you lie sleeping
for the first time in your bed,
There must be something lasting
and profound that should be said!

But as your face is gazed upon,
framed by dark, raven hair,
no words can tell or quite express
the feelings that we share!

The wait is finally over,
You're home at last to stay.
And there'll always be the memories
of the joy that's filled this day!

With love that's brimming over
by the sight of you alone...
Welcome home, dear cherished one,
At long last, Welcome Home!

Labor Of My Heart

I would have given anything
to be the one to know
the pain of bringing you into this world
but it couldn't be...

Though I did not bring you here
still I labored in my tears
through the long nights I prayed
you would come to me...

Chorus:
You are the labor of my heart Child,
you are the labor of my heart
with all my strength I prayed
till they laid you in my arms Child,
you are the labor of my heart...

Blessed be the maker
of bone of other bone.
He made flesh of my desire
and today I take you home...
(Repeat Chorus)

Adoption

Not flesh of my flesh,
Nor bone of my bone,
But still,
miraculously
my own.

Never forget
for a single minute,
You didn't grow
under my heart,
But in it.

Seeing You

Love touched our very hearts
with tenderness anew,
the day we heard your little voice
and cast our eyes on you.

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other,
One - you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives shaped to make yours,
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.
The first gave you life, and the second taught you to live in it.
The first gave you a need for love and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality; the other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent; the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions; the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile; the other dried your tears.
One gave you up - that's all she could do.
The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.
Now you ask through all your tears the age-old question through the years;
Heredity or environment - which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling - neither - just two different kinds of love.

Definitions to answer questions from insensitive people

(Ann Landers)

Natural child: Any child who is not artificial.
Real parent: Any parent who is not imaginary.
Your own child: Any child who is not someone else's.
Adopted child: A natural child, whose parents are not imaginary, chosen by us and is now ours.

Both of You

(2/16/99 by Nicole Marie Dugan - who found her birth father at age 28)

When I was small, he held my hands and had the key to my heart.
Kenneth is his name; he is my father and was from the start.
Nothing can change that now, not time, not death nor fate.
I will always be his daughter and will always bear his name.
But now, I have a second chance, as you have come into my life.
You didn't know about the pregnancy but without you, there would be no me.
Now I have you in my life and want to love you and you me.
I am excited and thrilled that you are my family, my friend and my second daddy.
I know twenty-eight years have passed and we cannot go back and fill those gaps.
I just hope that the family and friends around us will come to learn and understand, the bond that heredity holds.
I was given the best parents ever - they were sent from The Good Lord Above. I believe in angels and I know my father in heaven, is giving you the gift that you once gave to him...
And that, my dad, is me.

Adoption

You first came to us in an envelope
With letters, forms and such
Just two tiny little pictures
With nothing warm to touch.

You grew in our imagination
In our hearts and in our minds.
You brought us greater joy
Than we ever thought we'd find.

A phone call started labor pains
Which lasted 'til we met
Strangers brought together
A day we won't forget.

You bloomed as you were planned
In our hearts, our lives, our home.
Our child of chance, of plan, of will
You're now our very own.

When Love Takes You In

(Stephen Curtis Chapman)

I know you've heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You've heard about a place called home
But there doesn't seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you're sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I Love You

And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go

There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here

The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in...

Happy Adoption Day

(words and music by John McCutcheon ©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs)

Oh, who would have guessed, who could have seen
Who could have possibly known
All these roads we have traveled, the places we've been
Would have finally taken us home

Chorus:
So here's to you, three cheers to you
Let's shout it, "Hip, hip, hip, hooray!"
For, out of a world so tattered and torn,
You came to our house on that wonderful morn
And all of a sudden this family was born
Oh, happy Adoption Day!
There are those who think families happen by chance
A mystery their whole life through
But we had a voice and we had a choice
We were working and waiting for you

(Repeat Chorus)
No matter the name and no matter the age
No matter how you came to be
No matter the skin, we are all of us kin
We are all of us one family
(Repeat Chorus)

From God's Arms to My Arms to Yours

With so many wrong decisions in my past,
I'm not quite sure if I can ever hope
To trust my judgment anymore.
But lately I've been thinking,
cause its all I've had to do.
And in my heart I feel that I
Should give this child to you.

Chorus:
And maybe you can tell your baby,
When you love him so, that he's been loved before;
By someone who delivered your son
From God's arms, to my arms, to yours.

If you choose to tell him, and if he wants to know,
How the one who gave him life
Could bear to let him go,
Just tell him there were sleepless nights
I prayed and paced the floors
And I knew the only peace I'd find
Is if this child was yours.
(Repeat Chorus)

Now I know that you don't have to do this,
but could you kiss him once for me
The first time that he ties his shoes
Or falls and skins his knee?
And could you hold him twice as long
When he makes his mistakes,
And tell him he is not alone-
Sometimes that's all it takes.
I know how much he'll ache.
This may not be the answer for another girl like me;
But I'm not on a soapbox saying how we all should be.
I'm just trusting in my feelings,
And I'm trusting God above,
And I'm trusting you can give
This baby both his mothers' love.
(Repeat Chorus)

Half a World Away

(Jill Marshall-Work - words and music copyright 1999)

A half a world away
Sometimes it seems we're so far apart
But a half a world away
Is not too far for a journey of their heart

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm waiting for you
My precious son, my baby boy
I know you're waiting too

A half a world away
A child waits for a family of his own
While a half a world away
A family waits to come bring him home

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm whispering a prayer
My precious son, my baby boy
I hope to soon be there

I hope that we
will no longer be
a half a world away.

ABC's of Adoption

(Jeanne Pettenati)

A is for Adoption...
The way my family came together.
Did you know that adoption is forever?

B is for Birth mother...
the woman who gave birth to me.
Birth parents make an adoption plan so that we can join our families.

C is for Children...
Hooray for the children in our families!
We come from many, many countries.

D is for Daddy...
who loves me very much.
I really look forward to being with him so much.

E is for Embrace...
I was embraced by my family!
And it is special because of me.

F is for Foster Family...
some of us live with foster families before we are adopted.
They nurture us until with our family we are united.

G is for Grandparents...
so happy to have a grandchild like me!
They are proud of the new addition to our family.

H is for Home...
to make sure my home was the right place for me,
the adoption agency looked at the plan very closely.

I is for I...
I am special indeed!
Many wonderful things begin with a small seed.

J is for Joy...
my parents jumped for joy when they heard I was born.
With a child, their lives took a new form.

K is for Kisses...
my mom and dad kiss me a lot.
I am sure they will continue even after I am no longer a tot.

L is for Love...
all the members of my family love each other!
Because of adoption, our hearts locked together.

M is for Mommy...
who carried me in her heart and mind before I was born.
She wished for a child every evening and morn.

N is for Nursery...
The room designed especially for me!
Reading and playing there makes me very happy.

O is for Orphanage...
that is where some of us stay,
Until our happy adoption day!

P is for Paperwork...
Mom and Dad had to fill out paperwork to adopt me.
They had to record many things about their history.

Q is for Questions...
we all have questions as we grow.
Your parents will help you find out what you want to know.

R is for Reading...
there are good books to read about adoption.
I can learn how my experiences are shared with other children.

S is for Social Worker...
who helped Mom and Dad adopt me.
Social workers are there to counsel our family.

T is for Teddy Bear...
my favorite toy.
Teddy is always here for me and brings me lots of joy.

U is for Understanding...
understanding that an adoption plan is made from love.
The angels smile on adoptive families all over the world from above.

V is for Voice...
Mom and Dad smiled big smiles when they heard my voice the very first time.
Before I was born, they dreamed about it sometimes.

W is for Waiting...
my parents waited and waited for me to join them.
Hurray for parents taking good care of their children.

X is for eXcellent...
adoption is an excellent idea,
Here, there and everywhere.

Y is for You...
wonderful you if you are adopted too.
The world is a better place because of you.

Z is for Zzzzzzz...
the soft sound I make while sleeping at night!
Now I am where I belong and it feels perfectly right.

 Adoption Album Ideas

(compiled from a message board)

Some ideas if you've met the birth parents:
If it is an open adoption you might take photos of meeting the birth parents. Also save copies of any letters exchanged. If you don't have photos try to provide a general description of the birth parents - i.e. height, eye color, etc. If you want to and have a lot of info you could make a separate album with information about the birth family. Some people consider that type of information private and want it for their child when they grow up but not necessarily for casual friends to look at in a baby book.
Write as much as you know about the day the child was born - little details can be important to a child. Also mention if the child takes after their birth family in any way. Children adopted at older ages especially like this type of information as because it bridges the connection between the birth family and adoptive family. For a foreign adoption, include some specific things about the child's country of origin.

Page Idea from an adoptive parent: I have ONE shot of DS# 2's adoption finalization. Us, DS#1, and the judge holding DS#2. I cut it in an oval shape, matted it in black with deckle edge, matted that with gold mirrored paper with deckle edge. The date was black title blocks with gold letters and numbers.
At the top was the date with the child's name below it. At each side of the photo were the phrases "Adoption is finalized" and "Oh, happy day". Below the photo is said "Judge _____ presiding".

For a foreign adoption be sure to keep track of all the stuff leading up to your flight to pick up the child. Also keep a detailed record of the child's first few weeks in their new home. Calendar pages are great for both of those.

A sentiments album would make a great gift for new adoptive parents. Put a 4 x 6 the photo mounting sleeves on each page. Add titles (see list below) to some of the pages and maybe a few stickers but leave plenty of room for journaling.

My daughter is adopted from China. Because we were traveling for almost three weeks, I have lots of pictures of our trip. I made an album of just the trip, which also includes all the official things we had to do in China. We have pictures of us packing, and as we were set to leave, and all the photos we took up till the time we arrived home (including the "welcome home" banner made by our neighbors). I will also do a baby book for her. It will include the entire process leading up to the adoption, including all the things we did to prepare for her arrival - painting her room, taking Chinese lessons, etc. I will include her referral photo, a photo of her foster family, letters from them, etc. Also, a few pictures we took in China, including photos people took of us first meeting her at the orphanage. Last year for Christmas I made her a Sentiments album that told her adoption story in very simple terms. She loves it, and can now recite the story by heart. I used CM ivy and flowers and passages from my church's Sacrament of Baptism as part of the journaling. The doves and flowers from the wedding pack would also work.

The Christening page is a good place to journal about how/why the baby's name was chosen and what the name means. If you didn't select the name try to find out who did and why.