From and For Children. Part 1.

 Adoption Questions from Children, Adoption Answers for Children. Part 1.

Our second adoption has had a new dynamic to it that has been fun, sometimes amusing, and often eye-opening in needing to explain the adoption process. We have had questions from a child. Our child, our son! And with that, we and/or he has had questions from friends about our adoption.

So, today I will share with you some of the questions we have heard, and how to appropriately and helpfully answer those sweet questions.

Now I will throw a disclaimer in here. These answers are how you can talk to your child about OUR adoptions. Many families will refer to certain people or terms different, they may celebrate certain times differently, and they may have taught their adoptive child an explanation different that how I describe below. Please trust and follow the lead of the adoptive family, they have thought long and hard about why they do things the way they do. So simply stating, always please try to be sensitive to individual families.

What is adoption?

God makes families two ways: through birth and through adoption. Adoption is a legal bonding of children to parents, not through a blood/birth line, which is similar to how a man and women become family through marriage. Both types of family structures are orchestrated by God, both are equal, and both are beautiful.

Why did we choose to adopt?

God says His name is to be great among all nations. The people of Thailand do not know the hope of Christ. We chose to obey Christ, as God asked us bring these sweet children into our home to give them a family and show them the love of Christ.

When did we adopt our son?

Our son came to the United States with us in September 2016 to be united with his forever family. He was legally adopted into our family one year later in September 2017.

Does our son know he’s adopted, and will our daughter know?

Absolutely! Our son remembers Thailand and the day he hit the gavel in the courtroom confirming his adoption. God intended for our son to live over three years of his life in Thailand, and in God’s perfect design in writing our son’s testimony, He happened to bring our son into our family. Each day of his life is valuable, as is our daughter’s, and so we regularly talk about their life in Thailand. And besides, come winter time, it is a bit more obvious his skin color does not match ours.

Does our son really have a sister?

Although we haven’t been asked directly, most are confused when our son describes his sister but he has never played with her or she doesn’t live in our home. Yes, he has a sister. We considered the moment we ‘met her face’ and were matched as the day he gained a sister. That was July 3, 2019.  He has been telling his friends about her for almost a year and a half.

Are our children biologically related?

As in, do they have the same birth parents? No. But both perfectly chosen by God to be siblings through adoption. And once again, although she will not legally have our last name for some time, she is considered part of our family already.

Coming up later this week, Part 2…more specific questions on our daughter and our second adoption. AND, please let me know if you have any questions!

From and For Children. Part 2.