Open Adoption

The words "open adoption" mean so much on so many different levels to so many different people. For us it is contact with our children's placing families of PJ and Mary. When introduced to "open adoption" when we first pursued adoption it was a scarey place. I felt God put barriers there for us to start. Lets face it, I would forever be thankful that not only did they choose life for their "extra" frozen embryos. They chose Peter and I to adopt them. They entrusted us to love and raise them. BUT then there is the fact that your not sure your really going to click with the placing family. Most relationships grow over time, you learn a little about the other and you decide if you would like to grow more. With open adoption, you are thankful but you are not sure your going to like them. I hope this comes out right. Anyways we have been blessed beyond measure with two wonderful placing families. We have grown to love these families. With both families we started with communication through our adoption agency, then moved to emails and then exchanged addresses to exchange family christmas cards.
Both families are very different. Communication is different with each one. Just proves that open adoption is not a cookie cutter cut out of what to do or follow. Over the past few years I became very god friends with a woman who went through IVF and still had 12 embryos left after her family was complete. She chose embryo adoption to place her embryos. I have been able to follow her journey from the time of decision of placing her embryos. It has been such a special friendship and an interesting prespective of a placing families emotions they go through when they do place embryos. She has taught me so much and helped me understand so much more of a placing families experience. Because of my friendship with her Peter and I were open to meeting one of our children's placing families in January this year. It was so wonderful to meet the family we had been in contact with. Special times and special meomories. Next month we are meeting that same placing mom and her mother in law (techniqually one of my children's genetic grandmother). I feel very blessed the way God weaved our families together with wonderful people that I can like enough to meet not only once but twice. Now my prayer is that the other one of my children's placing family we will get to meet some day. I will leave that to God and His timing.
I think and pray for my children's "first families." Galina and Anya have some family in Russia. I think of them often and pray for them. I also think of their family that have passed away. Then I think of PJ and Mary's placing families and pray for them. Such important people in this world. I am thankful for them.