Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Sharing Bag

Ty was so excited that he was selected for the sharing bag at preschool, this week. He must have asked me ten times before dinner when we were going to work on it; I am not sure the last time I saw him so excited. The letter inside the bag explained that he was supposed to select an item that had special meaning and come up with three clues, so that his classmates could try to guess his item, before the big reveal.

Ty selected the book Rebekah recorded for him on his first birthday. I wrote the clues in picture form on big pieces of paper, so that Ty could pull them out one-by-one and "read" them. Ben and I were taken with his excitement and eagerness to practice the clues - It's a rectangle...It has pictures...It's something you can read.

I explained to Ty that once his classmates guessed his special item, that his teacher would ask why it was so special to him. It was really sweet to hear Ty explain that he is adopted and that his first mama lives in Colorado and took care of him in her belly. I wish more than anything I could have been in the room for his big moment...to hear him explain his story to his three year old peers.

Because LJ was so new to our family, we did have a meeting with the teachers, before school started, to talk about our concerns and the ways we have found to reinforce security in LJ. In that meeting, I mentioned that both boys are adopted, but we didn't get into much detail about their adoption stories or that we have a relationship with Ty's birth family. I am so curious as to what he said and if it made sense...I did not see the morning teacher when I picked the boys up in the afternoon. I will, definitely, inquire about it, next week, at drop off.

Whether it was a cohesive conversation or not, I am just thankful that Ty is so proud of his story. Tomorrow happens to be Rebekah's birthday and I wanted to share this cute video of the boys singing happy birthday. They pretty much melt my heart with every word.

My life is richer than I ever dreamed it could be.



4 comments:

  1. Thank you for this reminder today of how worth it it truely is to go through the adoption process and come out on the other side with those precious boys. My husband and I are waiting to be matched with a birthmom and your blog gives us the encouragement to keep believing God is going to follow through on his promises. Your family is a blessing!!!

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  2. They are both so adorable!!!!

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  3. Your boys are the sweetest! I work with birth parents all the time and as I watched this an idea popped in my head (although I'm sure you've already thought of this!). Even though you all don't have a relationship with LJ's birth parents at this time, you could still have LJ do this. You never know when you all or he may have a relationship with his mother and imagine how powerful a video (or years of videos) would be for birth parents to receive. This could be the very thing that leads them to sobriety or helps them to receive treatment for a mental health issue, etc. (not sure the issues birth parents are struggling with). I always encourage birth parents (that likely will have no contact with their birth children until they are adults) to get as healthy as they can so that when their children come looking for them (most do) that they can have a healthy life with them for the many years after 18.

    What a GIFT your family has been for these boys! It makes me keep coming back to read about all the new adventures. It is SO refreshing to know that there are families that STICK IN THERE when things get tough!

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