Monday, February 7, 2011

Media Monday!

Monday is my laundry, grocery shopping, errand day. I know I should divide it out better among the days, and on a good week I do! However, Monday is ALWAYS laundry day. I have been wanting more focus on this blog, so I came up with.....Media Monday! Each Monday (hopefully) I am going to post some recent media (TV, newspaper, magazine, etc) or books that talk about adoption and what I like or dislike about them. I have a few to share today, so hang on... :)

1. This coverage about Oprah's half sister finding her family (and Oprah)
  • I love that Patricia was really seeking to find her birth mom (and family). Everyone has that desire to know who their parents are, where their traits come from, who they look like, etc. We are hoping for an open adoption so that the child we adopt never has to wonder about what their birth mother and birth father are like, or where their green/blue/brown eyes come from, etc. They will hopefully be able to interact and continue the special relationship they have with each other.
  • I love that Oprah was willing to talk about adoption, and about how her mother (or any birth mother) should not feel ashamed for placing a baby for adoption. It isn't something to be ashamed of, but rather it should be thought of as a selfless act, done with GREAT love.
  • I do NOT like that Oprah said that her mom "gave up a baby" for adoption. No birth mother gives a baby up, she gives the baby more by PLACING him/her for adoption.

2. This article in The Friend (a church magazine for the kids)
  • I loved how excited the little girl was to hear about her adoption, and how the parents talked about the birth mom.
  • I love that they kept a "treasure box" that had all pictures of the birth mom, pictures of the family with the baby at the temple, etc. I am definitely going to find a way to keep everything all together (maybe through a photo book, scrapbook, etc.) so that the child we adopt will be able to access all the info he/she wants when he/she wants it.
  • I LOVE this quote from the story “When your birth mother handed you to me, it was the most special moment of my life. I could see her love for you in her eyes, and I immediately loved you too."
  • “We have wanted to welcome another child into our family for a long time,” Malia said. “Today we got a special phone call from the social worker. I’m going to have a sister! It’s more exciting than Christmas Eve." That is exactly how Caden feels. He frequently tells me that he doesn't have "anyone" to play with (meaning a sibling). He is excited to adopt a baby and asks about it often.
  • At the end, it talks about how the big sister was going to soon make a treasure box for her sister too. Caden has already talked about how he is going to share his stuffed animals with the child we adopt. We have read many kids books abut adoption, and we talk about it often. He is ready to celebrate the process of adoption and also give gifts to the baby that we adopt. (He has even already drawn a picture of our family with the baby we adopt!)
3. A Mother for Choco, by Keiko Kasza
  • I have read this kids book many times, and it always warms my heart. I love that the baby bird (Choco) that is looking for a mom has an idea of what his mom would look like and what she would do. He finds many different animals that don't look like him, and he keeps looking. Finally, he sees Mrs. Bear and KNOWS she can't be his mother. However, Mother Bear sees his sadness and wants to help. She asks "if you had a mommy, what would she do?" Choco points out a few things such as a mother would: hold him, kiss him, sing and dance with him to cheer him up, etc. Mother Bear does all of those things with Choco and then invites him home for apple pie.
  • At the end, Choco realizes it doesn't matter if we look like our parents or not, because that isn't what makes a family. A family is made out of love, service and having fun together. Whether or not the child that we adopt looks like us, we will still love and kiss and play with them just the same! (side note: we LOVE celebrating cultures and we look forward to celebrating any culture that is brought into our family through the miracle of adoption).

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