*2 Moms

A friend sent this poem about the two mothers an adopted child knows:

ADOPTION

Once there were two women
who never knew each other.
One you do not remember
the other you call Mother.
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 a 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-
it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for a child
and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me through your tears,
the age old questions through the years,
Heredity or Environment-
which are you the product of?
Neither my darling- neither
just two different kinds of love.
-anonymous

I will never fully understand what Liv will feel when she thinks about her birth mother. Will she feel love and appreciation for the opportunity her birth mother gave her? Will she feel confusion? Bitterness? Anger? Will she feel abandoned? Will she have empathy for her birth mother, knowing the hard life she faced, the lack of money to provide for this little one she obviously loved?

Lord, help me create a secure, loving, gracious environment for Liv to grow up in - knowing she is valuable and loved no matter what she does, knowing we will never leave her. Help us have a close relationship where she feel comfortable to share her struggles. Help me know how to respond and encourage.


Liv got some new clothes at last week's 25 cent sale. Even if some of these are too small for her, we can donate them to the orphanage for other children to enjoy.

*A Time for Everything

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

So, is it time for me to prepare for the arrival of my little girl?
As I have searched other blogs, I've found many that post pictures of their future child's stuff - baby supplies, clothing, toys, bedroom, etc. Right now Liv's bedroom is also our sons, and that is how it's going to stay until some day we may be able to afford a bigger place. Koen's room is great though - it is pretty big, and we painted it light green and blue striped before he arrived. I'm not sure how to make it a little more girly, or if I need to for Liv. I'm also not sure what to do about crib bedding. I love the froggy set I have for Koen, and it is lt. green and lt. blue as well. I thought that if I add a splash of pink or something that it would work, but I do want my little girl to have the cute little bed of a little girl. I might have to make something. I was also thinking of perhaps painting over the blue stripes on the wall with brown stripes, and have a green and brown room. Doesn't sound pretty, but I think it would look nice.

The Nursery - Koen and Liv's room, not usually this clean but this is the picture we took for our paperwork (The blue isn't really this bright in normal light).

It's hard to know when we should be physically preparing for her arrival. Realistically the soonest the agency has said we could have her if all moves as predicted would be about a year from now, and the longest it could take (according to their current time-line) is June of 2009, which is very, very far away! However, like I said before, there is a little hope in my heart that God will surprise us and she could come home sooner. And if so, I want to be ready.

There is a great second hand kid's clothing store near me that has a major sale once a month, where I can get lots of things for super cheap. Here's a few of my finds that I hope Liv can use and enjoy: