Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone! This is our favorite holiday and we've spent the morning reflecting on why. It can't get too gory like Halloween. Christmas is too commercialized and not everyone celebrates it. Other holidays aren't as focused on simply gathering family and just being grateful for what you have. We love it!
We're grateful today for all of you and the impact you've had in our lives. We're very happy to be here with each other and appreciate all of the love we've received in recent months. We're also grateful that the opportunity for our kids to find us is being explored as our book is shown to prospective birth mothers. I've mentioned this to a few people and it's always met with curious responses, so I realized we might not have shared what this part of the process looks like with you.
When a pregnant woman approaches our agency, she is provided counseling about her options. She receives support whether or not she decides to parent her baby. If she decides that she wants to place the baby with a family for adoption, then she is shown profile books of families who might match what she is looking for with regards to her preferences for her baby. Our profile book is linked on this website over there on the left, under our picture.
When I imagine that someone is looking at our book, I pick up our copy and try to feel what she might be feeling as she turns the pages of our lives. Josh and I have loved our book since we put the finishing touches on it last spring. It very clearly demonstrates our love for each other, our lifestyle and our values. Lately though, it's felt a little overwhelming to me as I stroll through the story. It's not as simple and straight forward as some of the others I've seen and I began to feel that we'd overdone it. The agency is consistent in saying that the book will speak to our birth mother, whenever that happens, so just be genuine. Josh said that, if anything, it shows we put a lot of effort into whatever we do. We just have to know that someone out there will like our style and not be overwhelmed by the details.
Yesterday, as if on queue to remind me that our seemingly over-the-top approach can resonate with people sometimes, we received the exciting news that we won first place at something near and dear to our hearts. Last August, we entered our chicken coop in a contest for best design and recycled material use through a regional gardening magazine. We received the winter edition and there we were, First Prize! We're pretty excited about it and we chuckled that the judges were impressed with the detailed thought that went into the design and construction. Everything we tend to do is nothing, if not detailed to death. So, I'm grateful to be reminded that this little personality quirk does achieve results sometimes.
Happy Thanksgiving! Give all of your family and friends extra love today.
We're giving thanks for all of you!
