NO ----- No thanks!

When I tell someone new about my daughters, it is difficult to balance their stories. I want to make sure they understand how, when given the opportunity, these precious souls have changed their world, my world, and everyone who meets them. We expect or at least hope that when a child is born into a family that their most human needs will be met. We expect them to be fed when hungry, comforted when sad, smiled at to show love, and laughed with for humor. With this formula you expect a degree of success, a child who can show love, discipline, and ambition to achieve.

Of course we all know children that even with a "normal" family there can still be problems.

But for my daughters and others who are adopted, little is known about their early days. The history is either not recorded, vague, or if known, the opposite of what we "wish" for a child.

For Grace and Annabel, there is not much history. The chance that we will know if there are siblings in their family, where the birth parents are, and the circumstances that required them to be abandoned is fairly slim. DNA testing may progress until a network could be established, but for the meantime, we are left mainly with unknowns.

This is National Adoption Month.

If even one person who reads this and considers adoption, the possibilities are endless.

There are so many children who need a "forever" family and so many families that need these wonderful children.

One website that I like to see is www.rainbowkids.com. On this list are "waiting" children from all over the world. This is where I found Annabel.

Annabel's history is even sketchier than Grace's. And while the past is important, the future is where the promise it, and the present is what we get to enjoy while pursuing the future.

I titled this post, NO --- No thanks!

When I first adopted Annabel and she was offered something she thought she might not like, her emphatic response was NO. there was no reasoning with her or even getting her to "try" just a bite.

This week someone pointed out how polite she is; when offered something she does not want, she responds, "No thanks!" She has learned and continues to learn. She has learned to share love and knows to expect it in return. She has learned there is food tomorrow, as well as today. She has learned there is one "forever" mom who holds her best interests at heart.

There are also grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles who love her and she loves them. There is school to go to, bikes to ride, neighborhoods to explore. But there is also a small child whose background is unknown and a mom who HAS to watch for those things that may still need help to overcome