So call me a Rule-Breaker!

In beginning my adoption research, I have discovered that there are a lot of rules about what to avoid when describing your family to a potential birth parent. For instance, "don't mention if you have a biological child,” or "avoid mentioning religion,” and so on. You can probably see a trend here, but so far I have broken at least one of these “rules” every time I have posted on this blog. So, call me a rule-breaker… but I'm not going to distort important information about our family! I'm aware this might "turn-off" some potential birth parents from choosing us... and while we yearn for another child, I am not interested in writing fiction here! I want our birth parents to know us and love us for who we really are, and to choose us because our home is right place for their child to be raised. And if our home is the “right” place, then there is no need for purposefully unanswered questions or false pretenses.

You may have noticed the name of our blog is “Adopt Our Family.” There is a reason for that. Adoption, to me, means more than just adopting a child… it means that the child, the birth parents, and everyone in between, will forever be part of our extended family, and us a part of theirs. Whether open or closed, there will be a binding tie between us… a tie of amazing, selfless love for one special child. You are adopting us as much as we are you… and thus, the blog name finally makes sense. :)

Now, I will just make sure I have sufficiently broken the “stay away from religion” rule and say this… We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or as some like to say, MORMON). As such, we believe that each person on this earth is a beloved child of God, which means we are all members of His eternal family. So, it makes very little difference to us if we are blood related or not, whether you never speak to us again, or see us every week… you will still be a part of our family. As a member of our family, we promise not to lie to you. We will not “leave out” the fact that our daughter is biological so that you will assume she is adopted, or “forget to mention” other important details, even when advised to do otherwise. If that causes any concerns for you, then you probably shouldn’t choose us… If it takes us 10 years to adopt, that’s fine. Not ideal, but fine. I am a very patient person…. But I will not break your trust by misleading you. That is not what family does, and that is not how I want to begin our relationship with you. So go ahead, call me a rule-breaker! …for once I am okay with that.