Selecting parents who would raise my daughter was no easy task. While I went into adoption without any basic knowledge of process or legal rights, I did understand that I needed to find parents that fit a certain idea of what I wanted my daughter to have in her life. Despite our unethical agency, I found what I was looking for in J & D, and in all honesty, a whole lot more than I initially expected.

I wanted the Munchkin to be raised in a similar environment to the one I would have raised her if things had... more

I'm always worried that the Munchkin will think that I placed her for adoption because of a lack of love. If you've read anything I've written, you know that simply isn't the case. My love for her knows no bounds. I hope that it something I able to appropriately convey through both word and action over the years. Beyond that love, I hope she is also able to understand that my love is unconditional.

She can tell me she hates me and I'll still love her. (I honestly can't count the number of times I told my own mother that I hated her... more

Our open adoption has opened the door to let me see and possess quite a few funny pictures of one Miss Munchkin. You see, in closed adoptions, mothers were left wondering if their child participated in anything that they had done as a child, what they were like personality wise and if they ever made funny faces (among a host of other wonders). While I have wonders and fears of my own, I am privvy to a lot of things that other mothers weren't or aren't and, quite frankly, I feel lucky.

Yes, the Munchkin is in dance, much like I... more

This photo is from a visit last summer. I'm feeling nostalgic this summer as our family unit is about to change again this winter with the arrival of Munchkin's next brother. I'm realizing, quite suddenly, that the bonding between Parker and the Munchkin will never be exactly the same as what Nicholas had with her over the past two years. Ages will be further apart and there will be more people involved which means less time for one-on-one, head-smooshing kisses like this one.

I realize... more

As my two (current) children don't live in the same house and interact on a daily basis, I'm always kind of nervous when we get together for a visit. Will Nick respond well to the Munchkin's antics? Will the Munchkin ignore Nicholas? Will they get along? Will they fight? What if Nick pulls her hair? What if the Munchkin pushes Nick?

Those worries always pulse through my veins in the days leading up to one of our visits. Dealing with situations that do go awry can be hard when you're a birth parent. Obviously, one of those children is... more

I wrote an attempted humorous post about Nature vs. Nurture with this picture on my personal adoption blog. I continue to look at this picture daily, taken at our visit last month. I'm amused because it's funny in itself. (Have you ever tried to make the face? Go ahead. I won't laugh.) But the more I stare at it, the more I'm overcome with love.

I see a lot of myself in my daughter. In her eyes, as she inherited my eye shape, and in other certain aspects... more

I grew up with a pretty cool Dad. Not only was he involved in my life, but he was someone I could count on through all things. As I was making my adoption plan for the Munchkin, an involved Dad was something I wanted for my own daughter. She got it, tenfold, in J, her Dad (adoptive).

Watching them together pleases me to no end. While I have discontent with other things in our adoption or with adoption and general, as I've said, J and D have given me no reason to feel that way towards them as parents. J is a great Daddy... more

I've been absent from the Love Thursday scene for quite some time. In fact, I came back on my personal blog just in time for the creators of Love Thursday to announce that they are no longer participating in the meme. I decided, however, to continue it as I felt so lead. Why the specific absence on the adoption blog? Well, to be honest, I ran out of recent pictures to share and that was really hard for me to even process. As an everyday parent of our... more

As I've written about quite a few times recently, I love watching Nicholas and the Munchkin interact during our visits. On the first night of our most recent get together, the Munchkin discovered Nick's favorite toy: his Little Tikes Ride & Rescue Cozy Coupe. He will spend hours climbing in and out of his fire "car," laughing, driving, backing into things and generally keeping himself busy. As we don't have another child running around our home on... more

Taken on the same day as last week's Love Thursday photo, this one has some special meaning. First of all, I was laying upside down on our small hill and the Munchkin came to join me. Then she decided that we needed to have eggies on our bellies. Kids are interesting.

Kids also "know" things without knowing there is anything to know.

When I was seven years old, my Mom and I went to my Grandma's house. I was playing on the floor... more