I'm grateful for...#19

I have saved this one for last for a reason,

I'm grateful for Avery Leigh.

She is the reason that I am who I am today.

She is the reason I have grown the way I have.

She is the reason that I cherish Every moment of every day being a mom.

She is the reason that I look at motherhood with a whole new meaning.

Nobody else in this entire world could do to me what Avery has done.

I believe that her first mission on this earth, was to help me learn what it means to Sacrifice and what a blessing it is to be a mother.

I remember the day that I had with her in the hospital when it was just me and her.

I sat there holding her,

and she was staring up at me with what was most definitely,

a smile on her face.

I knew that she was aware of what I was doing and that she was grateful for it.

It was like she was speaking to me through her eyes.

I knew that I was doing the right thing for her.

I know her Spirit was speaking to me that day.

I just love her so much and I am so eternally grateful for her.

She changed my life forever,

and I am forever grateful for it.

I'm grateful for...#18

I'm so grateful for The Gospel.

Without it,

I know without a doubt in my mind,

that I wouldn't have been able to get through this whole experience as well as I have.

The Lord carries me through every step.

The process has gone so much more smoothly with His help.

I'm so grateful that I have been raised in this Church.
There is no way that you can experience what I have,

and not KNOW that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.

I know it with ever Fiber of my being.

and I'm so grateful for it.

I'm grateful for...#17

I'm so grateful for Eternal families.

Although Avery is a part of D&A's family here on this earth,

and I know that without a doubt;

I also know that we are all an Eternal Family.

I know that we will all eventually be a family,

because she was sealed to D&A in the Temple.

If I hadn't placed her for adoption,
she wouldn't have been sealed to me because her birthfather and I,

wouldn't have been sealed in the temple.

Adoption makes it so she is still able to be sealed to her parents.

I just love this Gospel. 

If this post is confusing beyond belief, try reading THIS.

I go into more detail and explanation there :)

I'm grateful for...#16

Although Adoption has helped me come to understand many things,

I think one of the most apparant and incredible things it has taught me,

is what a blessing it is to be a mother.

My whole life I have always wanted to be a mother,

but it wasn't until I was faced with the decision to place Avery for adoption,

that I really came to understand what an honor it really is.

Being a mother is the greatest gift God has given me.

I thank Him every single day for this wonderful blessing.

I thank Him for allowing me to go through this Adoption experience because it really has opened my eyes to what an incredible blessing it is.

Thinking of this brings tears to my eyes.

I'm grateful for...#15

I'm grateful for all around, Adoption blogs.

I know I've mentioned two in this list,

but it wouldn't be right to not mention all of the adoption blogs out there.

Every single one of them have an impact in one way or another.

I'm grateful and blessed to say that I get to be a part of all of this.

It's an incredible thing. It really is and I am certain that reading some of these adoption blogs,

have helped me heal in ways that I can't even explain.

I'm grateful for...#14

I'm grateful for Adoption Advocates.

If you're friends with me on facebook,

you may have seen recently that I posted about the wife of a birth father,

who was being attacked by a birth mother/Adoptive mother.

She was telling her that because she wasn't a part of the adoption triad,

she should not be blogging about adoption.

That is absurd to say the least.

I was fuming angry at this nasty commenter.

How could she say that to someone that is only supporting her husband and adoption!?

I said some harsh words (which maybe I shouldn't have...but boy did she hit a nerve).

I just have to say that I'm SO grateful for those that haven't been affected by adoption first hand,

yet they still support it just as if they were.

Because they want to share how much they have been blessed by it through other people.

I'm grateful for...#13

I'm grateful for Other birthmothers.

Knowing that there's other women out there that can relate to everything is a HUGE blessing.

They have helped me get through some times that I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it.

They've helped me know that I definitely was not alone and that there are other who have gone through it just like me.

I love that I have been able to interact with them,

one of which, has become an incredible friend.

<3 

I'm grateful for...#12

I'm grateful for FSA conference.

The first time I attended FSA, I was pregnant with Avery.

Dustin and Andrea made me aware of it and brought me with them.

I've been in love ever since.

The FSA Conference, to me is like an EFY for Adoption.

I love the way I feel about it.

I love the way Adoption makes me feel and the Spirit is always so apparant through the entire thing.

I'm grateful for...#11

I'm so grateful for a Supportive Husband and Family.

Tyson has been supportive towards me since day one.

Since the moment he discovered I was pregnant, not only was he so forgiving,

but he made me feel like I was still important and that this did not define who I was.

He wrote me all through his mission and still helped me feel like I was wanted.

He was so forgiving I just can't believe how incredible he was and has been.

He continues to support me through everything and even comes with me to the adoption presentations (when he's not working) and shares his thoughts and feelings.

I just love him!

My family as well.

If it hadn't been for them,

I can honestly say I would have died.

I was so depressed numerous amounts of times and I could always count on my mom, dad or sisters to cheer me up. My mom was especially supportive and helped me through the entire pregnancy/labor.

I'm so grateful for each and every one of them.

I'm grateful for...#10

I'm grateful for Mrs. R.

I learned about her Through Andrea right towards the end of the pregnancy.

She has done so many things for the adoption world.

She has organized events, done everything she can to help birth parents and is an all around incredible woman. She helped me get through some tough times too and her blog has done so much good.

I'm grateful for...#9

I'm not only grateful, but it was just an all around great feeling,

to know that I was placing Avery with a family that was financially stable.

They are so so great at saving their money and have always seemed like they can afford the things they need.

It was comforting to know that,

because at that time of my life, I was ANYTHING but financially stable!

haha My parents might have been,

but I wasn't even close to financially ready to raise a child.

I'm grateful for...#8

I'm grateful for Supportive Blog readers.

It felt SO GOOD to receive comment after comment from people that gave me support.

Most of them I didn't even KNOW and it was soo helpful to hear the kind words.

Not only did it help confirm to me that I did the right thing,

But it helped my self esteem too.

So,

Thanks to all of you that have been so supportive.

I can't even begin to explain how grateful I am for that!

p.s. I received a question on the post I did about music.

Besides Michael Mclean, Cheri Call (I think that's her name) sings a song called "Delivery" aboud Adoption which is SO good.

There's also a song by a man named Mark Shultz who sings a song called "everything to me"

Other than that, the song "One more Day" By diamond rio really hit home for me.

I loved all those songs. They really helped :)

I'm grateful for...#7

I'm grateful for pictures.

Not only is it so good to be able to see pictures of Avery,

but it's fun to show others that I'm close to.

Especially the ones that want to know how she is doing,

but haven't ever seen her...or only saw her in the hospital when she was born.

It's so great to have pictures where I can show others beautiful Avery.

Including those I give Adoption Presentations to.

I'm grateful for...#6

I'm grateful for Music about Adoption.

There is something about words and music together that is so comforting.

Music was something that helped me during and especially after placing Avery for Adoption.

I would listen to it all the time and even cry with it sometimes.

It was therapeutic.

It also helped me realize that someone else in this world had experienced what I'd experienced.

It helped me to know that I wasn't alone.

It also helped me express how I was feeling.

I'm grateful for...#5

I'm grateful for the Foster to Adopt program.

Without it,

I wouldn't have my cute little brothers in my life. They are so sweet and bring such a joy to everyone in the family.

I also wouldn't be married to Tyson.

It's because of Foster to adopt, that I met him.

He is the Love of my life and I am so grateful that I'm married to him.  

I'm grateful for...#4

I'm grateful for good Communication.

Without it,

Open Adoptions would be a mess.

I strongly believe that Communication is #1 in having a successful Open Adoption.

I'm so grateful that Dustin, Andrea and I have learned how to communicate,

and that if there is any miscommunication,

we're able to talk about it and get it resolved so so quickly.

<3

I'm grateful for...#3

I'm grateful for LDSFS.

The way they treat Birthmothers is so awesome.

They give us free counseling for life and not once have I ever felt like I was bugging them.

They treat Birthmothers like Gold.

It's been 3 years and I still feel like they would be there in a split second if I needed it.

I'm grateful for...#2

I'm grateful for Dustin and Andrea.

They have made the entire adoption experience so much easier than I could have ever dreamed.

Both of them always know exactly what to say when I come to them about something.

Whether it's adoption related or not,

they are incredible at getting through to me about anything.

I feel so blessed to have them in my lives.

Adoption brought them to me and I'm so grateful for it.

I have received lifelong friends through this experience.

Andrea and I have this relationship that I don't think anyone else in this entire world has.

It's brought me so much peace.

Our relationship goes so much further than just adoption and I know that not everyone can say that.

I don't know what I did to deserve the honor of knowing them,

but I'm so grateful for it.

I'm grateful for...#1

I'm so grateful for Open Adoption.

Without it,

I don't know where I'd be in my life.

Especially Emotionally.

I know without a doubt that if Open Adoption had not been available for me,

I would not have healed as well as I have.

I am 100% certain that Open Adoption is one of the biggest reasons I have been able to  move on with my life.

I'm so grateful for it and I am constantly thanking my Heavenly Father for this opportunity. 

November is good at trying to escape...but I have caught it just in time

I am very fully aware of the fact that November is National Adoption month.

I feel terrible for failing miserabely at posting about it so far. It's already the 10th!

There has been so much going on in my life that I've completely lost track of time.

I can't believe that this month is already 1/3 of the way through.

I've been trying to decide what to do about this since it's way too late to do what I usually do.

(unless you're aware of what I usually do and you want to quickly shoot me an email, I can spotlight you :))

I've decided,

that although it's going to be short and sweet,

at least it will be SOMETHING,

I'm going to post about one thing I'm grateful for everyday for the rest of the month and why.

Of course it's going to all be adoption related,

because lets face it,

Adoption has changed my life and made me who I am today.

I'm so sorry for my lack of posts.

My daughter has been experiencing some medical problems and we found out recently that she is going to need surgery; which has resulted in me feeling all sorts of emotions and being very distracted.

I hope I can make up for it somehow!