A reader recently asked this question:

“This Christmas will be my (birth) daughter’s first Christmas. She is just three months old and I am struggling with what to get her. What do you give a three month old?”

Obviously a three month old isn’t going to know what you have given her. She won’t remember it later. But as a birthmother, I can understand why you want to give her a gift and why it is stressful to come up with a gift that is just right.

Charlie was just around three months old his first Christmas and I can remember thinking... more

Over the past few days in some of my Christmas posts, I’ve mentioned that I give Charlie an ornament each year as part of his Christmas presents. This really didn’t start out as a tradition but it certainly has turned into one.

When searching for something to give Charlie his first Christmas, I came across a really neat Precious Moments Christmas “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament that had a spot to write his name, birth date, weight, and length. I purchased the ornament and thought what a neat keepsake item it would be for him to have one day in the future.

The next... more

I love gifts that incorporate a child’s photo into the gift and nowadays there are so many different kinds of gifts that you can give that use a photo. These gifts are great for anyone in a child’s birth family such as their birthmom or birth grandparents and some are also appropriate for a birthmom to give her child. Below are some of my favorite photo gifts.

Calendar ~ You can have calendars made nowadays that feature a different chosen photo for each month. I don’t know any birthmother who wouldn’t love a calendar starring her child! I just made one of these easily through Shutterfly... more

After a week away from blogging, I think that I am back.

I wish that the time taken could have helped me to not only recover from my illness (I pretty much have) but also from all the things our family has recently experienced. Everything from the RAD our 5 yr old struggles with daily, to the lifelong challenges of adoption issues are difficult and can feel magnified when you're not feeling well. I understand that being ‘recovered’ from all that in about a week would be a bit of a miracle, so I will have to be satisfied that I feel somewhat better physically, and... more

Do you have a visit coming up this month? If you get together with your child’s family during the month of December, I have some holiday themed ideas that you could do during your time together. Whether or not you are able to do some of these ideas will depend on your child’s age, how close or far apart you live, the type of relationship you have with your child’s family, and how open your adoption is.

Trim the tree ~ When it’s time to decorate your Christmas tree, invite your child (and family) over to help! Serve some eggnog or holiday punch, turn on some Christmas carols,... more

In conjunction with his song, "Everything to Me" Mark Shultz is holding a contest and is calling for submissions of adoption stories.

In case you may not be familiar with Mark Shultz, let me explain. He is a Christian singer and song writer who is quite popular nowadays. His songs have a message that resonates with people.

Mark himself is adopted and had never given a whole lot of thought to his adoption story or his birthmother. He himself believed the popular misconception that his birthmother just “gave him away.” Talking with a woman after singing at a pro life benefit... more

That is one very special ornament you are looking at. It’s special to me for many different reasons.

First of all, I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday of the year. Although at times, being a birthmother during the holidays can be tough, it is still one of my favorite times of the year. I love decorating my home for the holidays and decorating my Christmas tree. In years past, I have had a “themed tree” where all the ornaments and decorations on the tree and in my living room were a part of some sort of theme like snowmen or angels. But this year, I just wanted to put... more

A birthmother recently asked me this question:

My child has a sibling via adoption. When I send a gift for my child should I send a gift for her sibling too?

This probably just personal preference and not all birthmothers may agree, but when giving a gift to Charlie, I do give a gift to his sister as well. I do this for a few reasons.

First of all, Charlie’s sister, N, is important to me too. One of the reasons I chose the family I did to be Charlie’s adoptive family was because of N. It was important to me that Charlie have a sibling... more

Buying Christmas gifts (or any gift for that matter) for our birth children can sometimes be very emotional. It’s often hard to know exactly what to get our children too since we are not with them every day.

I think Charlie’s second Christmas was my most difficult. Noah had just had major surgery and been in and out of the hospital for the surgery and rehabilitation afterwards so I was sleep deprived and stressed anyways, then add the emotions of dealing with Charlie’s second Christmas and it wasn’t a very happy holiday. I had a major breakdown wrapping Charlie’s gift that year... more

First of all let me say many thanks to everyone who left a comment and entered the book giveaway I was hosting for November - Adoption Awareness Month!

Everyone was very kind in their comments, and many who had not yet had the opportunity to read the book yet, were very excited and hopeful to win the free copy. I truly wish that I could award a copy to each of you who replied, it is really a great book. Sadly I could only choose one, at random reader.

And that WINNER... more