We Just Want You To Know...Our Adoption Journey

Goodness gracious!  Can't believe it's nearly the end of 2013 and I'm still blinking at how fast my kids are sprouting right before my eyes!  Hardly any time to take stock sometimes, but it is necessary. Apologies for not providing updates regularly though....  I'm either too busy, too tired (old mom syndrome), too distracted and yes, too dang lazy. My elder girl turned 8 recently and I asked a good friend to bake her favourite Oreos Cheesecake.  On the cake was to be a photo of her.  It was there and then that I started looking at the pics again and realised how time has passed!   I love this series of sculptures by Willow Tree; my sis-in-law sent a few to us when we had the girls. http://www.demdaco.com/Parents-with-2-children/00024,default,pd.html?start=20&cgid=1060003&brandId=WT Each time I marvel at my girls, I'm bathed in awe at how my life  changed so dramatically when we decided to be adoptive parents.  On the back...

In a few days' time, my younger girl will be turning 3.  No more a baby and she insists on that too.  We threw her a Dora themed party last weekend and it was just so heart-warming to see her little face light up when she saw the balloons, streamers and banners we put up for that day.  "Thank you, Mommy!" with her hands clasped - that made it all worthwhile for me.  In our family, it has somewhat become a tradition for the birthday girl to wake up to some sort of decoration in our house.  Nothing expensive nor fancy; it is the thought and effort that counts.  The looks on their faces:  Priceless. It really doesn't take much to make me happy as far as my kids are concerned.  Their emotions are worn on their sleeves and I just work at giving them a balanced life; as much as I know what 'balanced' means.  She has blossomed into a little being with a very big heart coupled with a quick tongue.  Very small and slim in stature.  Super ...

My little 19 mth old loves to sit on my legs... I'm her portable seat... with pleasure! Bouncing up & down on my little red wagon....

For those of you who are wondering this, well, there really isn't a perfect time... sorry to disappoint you. There are, however, some questions you might want to ask yourselves to derive when will be YOUR best time to adopt: 1)  When do you want your child/children to be when you turn 50?  (Well, either one of you; just benchmark against which of you will get there first.) 2)  Is your marriage currently child-friendly/child-safe? That is, is your relationship stable?  Dig deep into your hearts and be totally honest.  If it is not, do work at sorting out your issues because with a baby/child thrown into your family equation it will surely NOT help.  Imagine having all these issues to sort out ON TOP OF being exhausted, ill-adjusted to your new family, etc.... 3)  What kind of support do you have around you to help you?  Yes, spouses are included... 4)  Are your jobs secured in order to provide for the child?  No, you don't...

With a blink of an eye, #1 will turn 6 this month.... wow!  Can't believe how fast these 6 yrs have passed - some days of looking after her since she was a newborn & toddler seemed endless and long yet it has all gone almost too quickly.   She has blossomed into a beautiful young girl; always polite, pleasant, caring, thoughtful, matured for her age... all I had wanted and more in a child I call my own.   Yesterday, she dropped her first tooth; bottom right front tooth - had to do it at the dentist and she was a real trooper.  Though scared, she took a deep breath and left it all to the Dr Yang.  I was soooo proud of her.  Of course I have played Tooth Fairy last night.  Left a S$1 gold coin, a note saying "You were so brave!" and her little tooth under the pillow.  The look on her face was priceless when she found it.  Well, half of her thinks it was me and the other half thinks there really is a Tooth Fairy.  I'l...

I had a very unexpected morning today: bumped into some acquaintance on the way out. When he saw me carrying #2, a baby, he said his wife, who was seated in the car, would love to meet her. When I asked if they have kids, he said,"We had 2 miscarriages and have a long story.". well, I believe there is no such thing as coincidence especially with the Big Man above. He had sent them my way for a reason. When S said,"I don't recall seeing you pregnant but I guess I haven't seen you for some time.", I knew that was my que. I said,"I wasn't. And i too, have a long story. Ask your wife to come out of the car." The handful of childless couples I've met and journeyed with so far, all, like us before our girls came along, were trying different methods of conceiving and seeing different Western; or Eastern doctors. This process is important - it is important NOT to jump into it. It is necessary to know that you have tried all means necess...

I just gotta share this book that I'm reading with you. I don't know the reasons of your adoption(s); mine was clearly medical - crazy hormones that refuses to behave.  Even today.  With my crazy hormones, I'm constantly reminded of my infertility. What used to bug me like crazy, is today, just an irritating inconvenience - I shall spare of it the details. Anyway, I chanced upon the above book at the library last week. What made me borrow it was a particular chapter - Infertility & Medical Interference. Here's a segment which particularly caught my attention: "Some women feel that society devalues adoption and may reject it because of that....they reported that love in adoption is second rate because it lacks the biological bond, that the kids are second rate because their genetic past is a mystery, and that adoptive parenting isn't "real" parenting. Women who feel this way are still infertile, according to the authors of Let's Talk Adop...