I got this idea for a birthmother gift from a book I did for my husband. Because none of our family members were able to come to say goodbye to my husband before either of his deployments, I put together a scrapbook of pictures and messages from loved ones (I updated it with new pictures and messages before his second deployment). It was a 6x6 scrapbook that he was able to take with him and when he was feeling down, or lonely, or just needed to feel close to home, he could pull out the book and read encouraging words from those who love him most.
When I was trying to come up with an idea for a birthmother gift to give to Kristina at placement, my mom reminded me of these books. I added pictures of our families and letters from us and our parents and told Kristina a little bit about our families. The letters were just thanking her for trusting us to be Emily's mom and dad, and telling her how much Emily means to us and how much Kristina herself means to us. I know it's probably funny to have put in pictures and such of our families when Kristina is family, but Kristina knows my dad's side of the family. But she doesn't know my mom's side, or Jacob's family and I wanted her to see the family that Emily is now a part of. So that is why I did that part.
But one thing I decided to add were letters from some of my birthmother friends. I figured who would know what she is going through better then someone else who has been through the same thing. There were letters from birthmothers who had placed many years ago, some who had placed recently. Birthmothers who are of our same faith, birthmothers who are not. Some are married, some are not. From all walks of life, all ages. I asked them to be open and honest with her, to give her words of advice, tell Kristina what helped them to get through the days, weeks, months and years after placement. I can't thank them enough for doing this for Kristina.
I was going to decorate a scrapbook, but found a really pretty binder. I did the photo pages digital scrapbooking style and found some paper that coordinated with the book to print the letters on.
When I was trying to come up with an idea for a birthmother gift to give to Kristina at placement, my mom reminded me of these books. I added pictures of our families and letters from us and our parents and told Kristina a little bit about our families. The letters were just thanking her for trusting us to be Emily's mom and dad, and telling her how much Emily means to us and how much Kristina herself means to us. I know it's probably funny to have put in pictures and such of our families when Kristina is family, but Kristina knows my dad's side of the family. But she doesn't know my mom's side, or Jacob's family and I wanted her to see the family that Emily is now a part of. So that is why I did that part.
But one thing I decided to add were letters from some of my birthmother friends. I figured who would know what she is going through better then someone else who has been through the same thing. There were letters from birthmothers who had placed many years ago, some who had placed recently. Birthmothers who are of our same faith, birthmothers who are not. Some are married, some are not. From all walks of life, all ages. I asked them to be open and honest with her, to give her words of advice, tell Kristina what helped them to get through the days, weeks, months and years after placement. I can't thank them enough for doing this for Kristina.
I was going to decorate a scrapbook, but found a really pretty binder. I did the photo pages digital scrapbooking style and found some paper that coordinated with the book to print the letters on.
Don't forget about the current giveaways! Today is the last day to enter the photo session giveaway for an AZ family.
1 comment:
Wow, love that idea! It's way cute! I'm still trying to think of things for Samantha. Thanks for the idea!
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