mummy

photo by PinkStudios Photography

today, my mum turns 50. 

honestly, i have a hard time believing that's true.

maybe it's because i just can't see my mom aging. or maybe it's because she hasn't changed hardly a bit since i was a little girl.

of course, she's updated her hair and her wardrobe choices

the credit for this can primarily be given to my little sister

burning the black and pink-floral stirrup pants

and modernized shopping sprees

but honestly, she hasn't changed. 

she's still my mommy. she's still the one that brought us coffee in bed and read us books every morning, even though we didn't always want to take part. 

she's the one that surprised us all several years ago when she ran break-neck speed up a hill to play an improptu game of hide-'n'-seek while we were out for a walk.

she's the one that does the funny faces, the "ostrich neck," and attempted to do the cupid shuffle on our Florida vacation.

she's the one that laughs so hard that she can't stop. 

who can't be tickled, or else she gets injured (every single time). the one who takes forever to pack for vacation, and then brings enough for a month on a week-long vacation. 

she's the one who passionately loves my father, and has worked alongside him for more than 25 years. 

she's the one i still call when my heart aches. she's the one known for a listening ear and a tender heart. 

her prayers shake the world.  

her children will rise up and call her blessed.

mummy, i am rising up and calling you blessed. 

you have done wonderously. you have walked the path to heaven, and we are following you close behind. i am so glad to have you in my life, to call you Muvver and Mummy and Mummy Dearest. 

thank you for adopting me. thank you for opening your heart to another woman's child. thank you for following the call of God and marrying Daddy. thank you for making us a family. 

thank you for loving me regardless. thank you for wanting me. for caring for me. for being everything you are and have been to me. 

happy birthday, mummy.

 i love you

Adopted

Alek and I, 2011
Photo by DramaticElegance

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ~Romans 8:15

I'm adopted. 

While to you, this may seem slightly insignificant, it is indeed one of the most intrinsic parts of my life. 


Ever since I was a little girl, I've know that I had another mom and another family. I was told from a very early age that my teenaged birthmother loved me very much, but wanted to give me a better life with two loving parents. 


I'm also part of a growing adoption vein known as "open adoption," in which I and my parents maintain a close relationship with my biological mother and any family members who wish to stay involved. 


I have spent Christmases, birthdays, various holidays, and even just casual summer afternoons with my mother, step-father, grandparents, great-aunts, and the most recent addition of my now-15-month-old brother, Alek. Each and every one of them have remained such a wonderful part of my life...my biological family all attended my wedding, and my step-father even walked me halfway down the aisle. 


My adoptive family is beyond incredible. My parents waited and prayed for eight years to become parents. In 1990, they met my birthmother and adopted me...in 1992, they met my sister's birthmother and grandmother, and adopted my little sister the following spring. 


This afternoon, I traveled with my adoptive mommy to attend my great-grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. It was quite a barrage of emotions and feelings to see each member of my biological family again...as it is every time I visit them. 


I hope they know how much they all mean to me, really. I do my best to tell them...but I'm honestly not sure how to fully put it into words. 


They didn't have to keep me in their lives...but they did with open arms and loving hearts. 


They didn't have to continue to keep in contact with me for the past 20 years...but they have, and have made me feel like I truly am a part of their incredible family.


They didn't have to love me the way they do...but they do, with all their hearts. 

Me and my biological mother, Barb
Photo by DramaticElegance

It continually blows my mind.


I have been blessed beyond all words to have such an incredible adoptive family, and such a wonderful biological family. 


The legacy of faith flowing through my blood and carried strong through my linage is unmistakable, and a powerful blessing. 


I belong to three families. 


One by salvation, one by genes, one by choice.


All by love. 


See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. ~1 John 3:1