A Day to Celebrate, Again

I posted this a year ago, and came back to re-read it only, but want to say now, that he is an adult, a high school graduate, a person who knows he is my son and never gives me a second to doubt that he loves me, now that he has been in touch with his birth family and is getting to know about his roots,

I am more in love with being Austin's Mom than ever.  If anyone has any doubts that you can love an adopted child as much as one you give birth too, I can assure you, both my sons are wonderful, and very different from each other  but they both own my heart.

end edited addition from 11-16-2011

From God's Arms to My Arms to yours

by Michael McLean

With so many wrong decisions in my past, I'm not quite sure.
If I can ever hope to trust my judgement anymore.
But lately I've been thinking, 'cause it's all I've had to do.
And in my heart I feel that I should give this child to you.

[Chorus]

And maybe, you can tell your baby when you love him so that he's been loved before.
By someone who delivered your son, From God's arms to my arm's to yours.
Now if you choose to tell him and if he wants to know.
How the one who gave him life could bear to let him go.
Just tell him there were sleepless nights I prayed and paced the floors.
And knew the only peace I'd find is if this child was yours.


{Repeat Chorus}


Now I know you don't have to do this, but could you kiss him once for me?
The first time that he ties his shoes or falls and skins his knee,
And could you hold him twice as long when he makes his mistakes.
Tell him that he's not alone, sometimes that's all it takes -
I know how much he'll ache.

This may not be the answer for another girl like me.
And I'm not on a soapbox saying how we all should be.
I'm just trusting in my feelings and I'm trusting God above.
And I'm trusting you can give our baby both his mother's love.


{Repeat Chorus}

 Today is a Day that we Celebrate at the Goode Family home.  Even though we brought our oldest son home when he was less than 24 hours old, we had to wait until there had been home studies, and Doctor exams to prove that he could "thrive" in our home, before the adoption was finalized.  So when I took him in for his six month check-up (and discovered that I was pregnant) we were at the time when we could finally stand before a judge and have him pronounce us to be a family.

By that time our baby was running all over the place in his white walker, tearing things off shelves and filling the walker tray until the trail behind him was littered with books and toys and noisemakers.  By 7 months he would be running unassisted, not walking, or being able to stop he wold run until he crashed into a wall or piece of furniture and then take off again.

 He stood up in the Judges Chambers and held onto a bench and giggled as the judge told us we were parents - like we hadn't known that for a while now.  We walked out of the courthouse without feeling the ground beneath our feet, laughing in joy and relief.  Then we slid the song into the tape player and cried and thanked God for this baby and the Birth Mom who had loved him enough to hold him close and then place him into our arms.

 How could we have celebrated 17 adoption days already?  And how come no-one warned us that being the recipient of the baby was not the end of the journey,  No our turn to let him go is coming closer, and we get to be the parents who have to pass him into other hands.



  This time into his own.

 And another way that the song was slightly misleading I think, is it implied that he had ever left the hands of those who passed him on.

 Not true, he will always be held, in God's hands, Her Hands, Our hands and now His own as well.

 And in that sense of needing the whole world to raise a child, there have been so many others along the way, Grandparents and teachers, neighbors and friends, cousins and community - and there will be more - all there to love and support you,

and celebrate you.

But look at this young man!  Between God and his Birth family, and our family, we have watched him grow and become a strong, Kind, talented soul.  Baby, I love you so much!  DO you think you will ever know how much I love you, how many other people love you or how strong and capable and Wonderful you are?

Is it any wonder that we celebrate having been allowed to raise you up surrounded by our love?