Adoption Box

During the adoption process we received a lot of stuff. The agency provided us with information about the birth parents, letters from the birth family, medical histories, social history for the birth parents and anything else they wanted to share with their child. We also have all the goodies you go home with from the hospital. We didn't know where to put all this stuff. We knew we wanted to keep it all for our boys but putting it in a box and shoving it in the attic didn't seem right so what should we do with it? So, we came up with the adoption box.

When we started the adoption process we made a trip to Wal-Mart and bought a Rubbermaid storage bin and started putting everything we knew we wanted to keep for our boys in the box. I decorated the box with the boy's names and stickers and we keep them in their closets.

Someday, the boys are going to want to know all about their adoption. I think their adoption box will definitely provide some answers. I have copies of all the paperwork Brian and I filled out so the kids will know where we were at that time. It shows why we pursued adoption, what led us to the agency, what our fertility struggles were, where we worked, our salaries, all the personal information the agency requested. I have the paperwork from the birth families the agency provided us with and any and all information I have about their birth parents. Also included is hospital paperwork. (APGAR scores, their little hats, blankets, combs, foot prints, etc.)

I specifically include a journal I kept during the process for each of them about the days leading up to and the days following their birth. Brian and I chose to write our story in their journals about how we met, fell in love, got married and decided to start a family. I keep the outfits they came home from the hospital in and their baby books in the boxes. Most importantly, I keep a copy of the adoption portfolio we created and a photo of their birth parent(s).

We will always be honest with our boys about being adopted but I think the box may help provide some answers when they are ready for them.