Acceptance

Isn't it something we all crave to some degree or another?  To fit in to a certain crowd of friends, to not feel like the outsider in a new situation. When I found out having children the natural way was not going to work out for me. I struggled with a different kind of acceptance. I had to accept the fact that my family would be different than others. As my  husband and I sat through Foster Care training classes and other parents would bring up concerns about finding babysitters for their foster child because their own family did not accept them and would only babysit their biological children, I grew concerned. When I did respite (fostercare babysitting) for other foster families and people would say to me "Oh they were actually cute little kids!" I was mortified.... but held my tongue. Just because your birth parents don't make great choices does not mean you have the plague or will be born ugly. It caused me to worry some more. I had a friend tell me it was unusual for children adopted out of foster care to be so smart and do so well in school. I am sure that was meant as a compliment? Parenting is hard regardless of how your children come into your family. I worried if I was up to the extra challenges. These kids go through so much as it is. I worried  about how acceptance would come for them. Would the label of foster child or adopted out of foster care haunt them their entire lives? So many people are afraid to adopt substance abused children. Some think they are broken. They definately come with their own set of challenges, but so do kids born biologically into familes. We were spirit children before we came to earth and we do not change who we are (our personalities) just because of our birth circumstances on earth. Only two of my kids were not exposed to drugs inutero. They were all born to Bio Moms who smoked the entire pregnancy. Most of my children will struggle with ADD/ADHD. My Wild Thing suffers from sensory disorders,early onset ADHD amongst a few other things. It is NOT their fault!! It is funny to see the reactions I get in public. I get glares, and I am often questioned about my sanity. I have been questioned about how I could possibly give birth to all these kids, with the underlying how many men have been in her life look? I am often appalled at their immediate change of demeanor when I say my children are adopted. Some still look at me crazy for making the choice to adopt so many, but most congratulate me and move to the other end of the spectrum. My family has found acceptance though, where it matters most. I know my Father in Heaven knows so much more than I. My family is exactly as it should be. My chiildren have great friends. They excel academically. Our family has treated my children with nothing but unconditional love. It was that way from the moment the CPS stork delivered them to our door. My parents always made a special trip to come meet each new Grandchild. Mr. M's. parents and siblings embraced them the same. They  have never been anything but accepted by my close friends and family. We are grateful every day for the love and support we feel. We are so grateful for how loved our children feel. We are so grateful to all those who's Christ like love has touched our little family. I feel so blessed to know that so many of my worries were unfounded!!