From and For Children. Part 2.

 Adoption Questions from Children, Adoption Answers for Children. Part 2.

This is a follow up from our previous blog post, more questions with simple answers about our adoption.

Who are we adopting?

A little girl from Thailand who needs the love and security of a family.

How old is she?

Today…she is three years old! We were matched with her when she was 20 months old. She will come home the same age we brought our son home.

Who is she living with right now?

She is living with a Thai foster family who is loving her as their own as she waits for us to come get her.

Terminology of people in our children’s lives

How we describe all the ‘parental figures’ in our children’s lives are:

• Birth parents: This is who’s belly they were in, whom they share generic characteristics with, and who wanted only the best for these kiddos - which they believed was through adoption.
• Foster Family: This is who cared for them and loved them as their own child while we waited to travel (think of an amazing babysitter!).
• Forever Family: Their family forever, never changing, inseparable love united by God through His incredible family design of our family.

Will our son and daughter look alike?

Yes, they have the same heritage, the Thai heritage. Which means they will physically look different than their forever parents, and similar to each other. Both have the same color hair, skin, shaped eyes, etc.

When our daughter joins our family, will she go into my (Rachel’s) belly?

What a great question from a sweet young mind - no, she will not :) She is now three years old, and I am not her birth mom, but her forever mom. Our first time meeting her will not be in a hospital, but instead in a meeting room most likely at the foster care office.

Why can’t our daughter be with her forever family today?

To protect her and other kids, we have to go through a series of approvals by various adoption agency levels and government boards. We have all the needed approvals, and are now waiting for travel to open up in the midst of a global pandemic. Because of COVID, most governments are trying to limit international travel to keep the virus spread at a minimum.

What will it be like when our daughter comes home?

Have you ever traveled somewhere where they spoke a different language, the buildings and people looked like nothing you have ever seen before, and you have no one you know around you? It’s scary and out of your comfort zone. We are thankful our daughter will have our son who at least looks like her. She will not speak or understand English, and the newness will be scary. She’ll also be really sad because she just lost the only family she ever knew, her foster family. So our family will take big steps to show her love and we’ll take slow steps to expose her to our culture and people, so as to let her grieve and not to overwhelm her.

From and For Children. Part 1.