The question...

When you adopt a child, you know there will come a day when that child will know that they were not born from your body.  You have no idea how or when that day will come, and what questions will be asked that cause you to reveal that information to your child.

From the beginning of our adoption journey, we knew that we would be open with our child about the story of how he came into our family.  And since there is obviously a slight racial difference, we knew it would never be a secret that he was adopted.  But as the years passed, and I have been asked probably 100 times if he is adopted by perfect strangers, he has never noticed or cared that he looks different than the rest of us.

We talk about babies, and when he was a baby, and when the girls were babies...and probably 9 months ago he discovered a picture in my bedroom of me VERY pregnant with A.  We talked about Mommy's big belly, and that baby A was growing inside Mommy's belly.  And for a while he would go to my room, look at the picture, and get this cheesy grin on his face, like he knew a secret.  It was very cute!!  But he hasn't looked at that picture in months...

Yesterday, R was playing Play-Doh at the kitchen table while I was fixing his dinner.  Concentrating on his work, he asked "Mommy, when I was a baby, did I grow in your tummy?"  And there it was...the moment I knew would come...and somehow wasn't ready for...

I walked over to the table and explained to him that he didn't grow in my tummy.  He grew in another Mommy's tummy, and she loved him so much that she wanted the very best for him, and she wanted him to not only have a Mommy, but a great Daddy that could teach him how to grow into a good man.  So she let her baby come to be part of our family.  I told him that God brought that Mommy to us, and brought him into our family in a different way than having him grow in my tummy.

He continued playing with his Play-Doh, not even noticing the tears in my eyes.  Seeing that he was done with the conversation, and that was enough information for him at that moment, I went back to preparing his dinner.  A few minutes later he looked up at me with those big brown eyes and said "I love you, Mommy."   And my heart melted!!  What a story we have in this little guy!!  And so much more story to tell him in the future!  It truly is a God story!!

While I was shocked at the moment that he asked his question, I can't wait for more questions from him as he becomes more aware.  We have such a story to tell him.  He was loved from the beginning...by the woman who carried him for 9 months...and then by us the moment we met him...and he is loved still...by the woman who carried him for 9 months, by us, and pretty much everyone else he meets!!

This is the moment I fell in love with this little guy.  This is the first time we met him, after knowing he had been born, but was in the NICU...with no other information...for 24 hours.  Having biological children, I had no idea how I would feel holding a baby in my arms for the first time, knowing he was mine, but without that bond of carrying him for 9 months and delivering him.  I could not have loved him more at that moment...overwhelming love and wanting to protect and comfort him...it was amazing!

A Day at the Zoo!!

We LOVE going to the zoo!!  If I had known how much we would love it, I definitely would have bought a zoo pass...but we get in for half price because they have a great military discount, so it is still an inexpensive day of fun for us!  We ventured out for a day at the zoo not long after R left for the summer...and it was a day of "firsts" in several ways!  We saw parts of the zoo that we never saw the times that R navigated us through, little R rode the carousel without Mommy for the first time ever and experienced cotton candy for the first time!  He also decided on this day of "firsts" that getting his feet wet in the little creek was fun!  He HATES getting his shoes wet any other time, but he splashed in the creek for at least 30 minutes before I had to drag him away, explaining that there was a lot of zoo left to see!  It was a lot of fun for little R, and it is an activity that the girls enjoyed, too!  When your 3 kids range in age from 13 to 3, it's very difficult to find activities that they ALL enjoy!  The zoo is definitely a hit with all of us!!

 Getting their feet wet in the creek!  First time R has EVER willingly gotten his shoes wet!

First taste of cotton candy...MMMMM 

First ride on the carousel without Mommy standing beside him...and yes, I was a little nervous!! 

We were watching the sleeping lions behind these rocks.  R got bored and started climbing on the rocks.  I made a comment as we walked around to the front that the sign probably said "NO CLIMBING"....yep, sure enough! 

R's favorite spot...the gorillas!  And we just happened to run into one of his favorite friends from Mother's Day Out!  They didn't want to part ways!  (On a side note, this is pretty typical of R with boys his age...he is still usually several inches shorter...he's our LITTLE guy with a BIG personality). 

 Mommy and R...and a goose! R decided to "strike a pose"!!



All 4 of us!!  It took 3 tries...I kept cutting R's head off in the picture! 

We had to wait a while for the train, so T kept us entertained with her train token!  Pirate sounds topped off the entertainment! 

This is what R thought of her trick!  He loved it...couldn't stop giggling! 

And this is R's version of the pirate trick...he tried and tried...and finally (somewhat) succeeded!!

Creative Kids!

My girls LOVE being creative! T has such a passion for art, and she is quite talented...really think she will pursue this passion further in the years to come! A loves art too, but she is so critical of her own creations that it prevents her from having the confidence to create things. R usually has NO interest in art...at his Mother's Day Out, they send home a binder full of art projects a few times a year, and his is usually quite empty because he declines participating in the art projects. He had a meltdown when he was introduced to fingerpainting...he had NO interest in getting THAT stuff all over his hands! So when they all wanted be "artsy" this day, I had to get the camera out...not sure I will ever see all 3 of my kiddoes so intent on an art project at one time!!

 T's play-doh creation...not sure what it was, but it was good!

R's play-doh creation...again, not sure what it was, but he was participating so it was photo-worthy! 

All 3 of the kiddoes...look at R's focus!!

You have to hold your mouth "just right"...and for some reason, it's easier to be creative when you are shirtless!! : ) 

What a creation she is...

And A too...what a unique creation!

I just loved this one!!  What a creation he is!! 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

 Psalm 139:13-14