Hooray, It's Adoption Day!

On May 11, 2005, the judge said, "Da" to our orphan petition, and Olga Tr_______ became Marina Joy S_______. Last night, we celebrate Adoption Day. We thought our long journey was ending. Hmmm...

This was actually our first time to really mark the day. Marina's first adoption day was three days after baby brother was born via C-section and coincided with Abby's dance recital. I think we said, "Happy Adoption Day, Marina!" But, that was about it. Poor baby.

Our birthday tradition is to have a party on a weekend close to THE day. Then on the birth day itself, we watch the home movies of their birth and first weeks and read their baby book. For Marina, we have modified the custom a little to incorporate adoption. Last month, we had her big party (in her case, parties), then on THE day, we watched her refferal video and clips from trip one, and we read her life book. Last night, we watched her homecoming video, and read some of our adoption books. There is no video of trip two. There are some things in life you do not want to commit to memory. We also read some of our favorite books about adoption. Some of you PAPs might want to look in to these:

Little Miss Spider by David Kirk- This is one of our more recent addition to the adoption issues library. It contains perhaps one of my most favorite quotes on adoption:

For finding your mother,

There is one certain test,

You must look for the creature

Who loves you the best.

Marina's Little Book-This is a book that comes with a personalized cover. My niece--also adopted--has the same book, but her cover says "Skylar's Little Book." The art in this book is somewhat cheesy, but I love the words. Presents a Christian view of adoption in simple terms, emphasizing that they are not a mistake and that God has a plan for them. Most adoption books talk about the adoptive parents waiting so long to have a child. I know this is true for many (maybe most) adoption stories, but we like this one, because it omits that part, fitting our situation more closely. You can send for your own copy at mmoran@syringa.net .

All About Adoption- This book is just what the title implies: a thorough introduction to adoption, the issues that adopted children face, conflicts and feelings. This one is still way over Marina's head--she picks her nose as I read--but, I think it will be a great opener for important discussions as she grows, and it also helps the older kids understand what it means to be adopted.

Seeds of Love: For Brothers and Sisters of International Adoption- This was our standby when we were waiting to bring Marina home. We must have read it a hundred times. It's a must have when there are siblings in the picture. The older kids enjoyed hearing it again. It was the first time we had read it in two years.

The picture for this post is not from Adoption Day, but it just about sums up the adoption for me, and I love it. I think it is from Grandma's camera, because I do not have it on my CD's. The first time I saw it, I caught my breath. Then I cried. That's me standing in front of our nation's flag with her newest citizen in my arms. She is mine, she is home, she is free.

Happy Adoption Day, Marina!