Read this open letter from an adoptee

Please read this brutally honest letter. I'm not adopted but I'm a parent to 3 children came from Korea. One of them has their own hurts surrounding their adoption. That child has lots of questions...some of them are easy for me to answer because I have the information, others are deep thought provoking ones. I take those questions as they come and answer those that I can whether they are easy to answer or hard to answer. Sometimes that answer is "I am sorry, I do not know". And I feel horrible that I don't have the answer. "I don't know if your First Mom looked into your eyes and smiled. I don't know if your First Mom's favorite color is blue. I am so sorry that I don't know." Any time a question gets asked, it is always followed up by a hug and kiss.


Please read this article and let me know what you think.

~Jen

Birthday wishes for the Birthday Girl

As my oldest daughter celebrates her 6th birthday, I have my hopes and dreams for her as she gets older.

• I wish that she grows up knowing that she is very much wanted, cared for and loved. From the moment I heard that Seong Tae had a younger sibling, she was wanted and loved.
  
• I wish that nobody hurts her precious heart in her life. She has a big heart and while she may not voice her love, she shows it.
  
• I hope that her love of animals continues. One of her first words was an animal and she loves all animals big and small.
  
• I hope that her dream catcher in her room catches all of the bad dreams she has.
  
• I hope that she finds the love of a lifetime who puts her up on a pedestal, treats her like a princess and loves her for her.
  
• I hope that she lands her dream job whatever that may be (right now that is an elephant and beluga whale trainer).
  
• I hope that she never feels the pangs of hunger and that the shelves of her home are always full of food and that her home is full of love and warmth.
  
• I hope that her love for singing continues along with her love for gymnastics. You could ask her to sing and she'll clam right up with embarrassment however if you sit in my home and listen, you'll hear her singing upstairs.
  
• I hope that her love to help others continues and she finds a way to help others in need each day of her life.

Happy Birthday my sweet lovable girl. You are my princess and I'm happy that I have you in my life to love, hug, tickle, cry with, kiss boo-boos and so much more.

My Dream...

Like MLK, I have a dream. Like him, I hope that one day that our founding forefathers' words on the Declaration of Independence will ring true...that all men (and women) will be created equal.

I hope that one day my children will not encounter racism anywhere and to dream big (and if the dream of theirs is to become President of the US that is fine with this mom).

I hope that my children will be able to have open adoption relationship with their First Mom.

I hope that one day all children that are given up for adoption are truly orphans and aren't sold or stolen from their First Families.

I hope that one day men, women and children aren't bought and sold into slavery.

I hope that we can live in a society of peaceful existence without any prejudices or stereotyping.

I hope that one day I can say that I don't have any white privileges since all races have the same rights and privileges as I do.

I hope that my readers do something to help the world that they live in whether that be the world inside their homes, outside their door or the online world.

I hope that my readers understand that racism does indeed exist (whether it be subtle or not so subtle) and do stand up against it.

These are my hopes and my dreams today.

~Jen

Wonderings...

Tonight I've been sitting here wondering many things:

(1) Who is reading my kids' blog on here? I know a few of you who are who are lurking and that's fine...I'm just wondering how many.

(2) How are my kids' foster families doing and what they are doing? We love you and miss you deeply.

(3) When can we head back to Korea?

OMG did I just type that in????

That means I got to fly again and after that horrific flight from Incheon to Atlanta you probably thought that I wouldn't do so...but alas no we want to head back to spend more time in warmer weather to see the sights, to visit again with the foster moms, to see more of Korea than what we have seen in a small 1 week trip. We need more time there...we need more time there. God help Jeff before and during the flight however.

(4) When can I head to bed before 1 am??? Looks like not tonight. And I'll be woken up in the girls' room (yes we're still sleeping in there) at 7 am. Until we have a moment to clean off our bed from our trip, we are sleeping in the girls' room on the floor.

(5) When will our kids stop getting colds and passing it on to us?? I'm tired of dealing with runny, stuffy noses.

(6) And Did I mention when can we head back to Korea?????

~Jen