Mother's Weekend

Celebrating my first Mother's Day was fabulous! The weather was beautiful and I was able to spend the day outside with my family. Joseph even surprised me with flowers that he picked out himself! It is so awesome being a momma.

Something about this weekend, though, that many people don't know is that the day before the traditional "Mother's Day" is a day called "Birthmother's Day." This year we celebrated Birthmother's Day in a special way. We framed a picture of Joseph's birthmother and I from Ethiopia and put it in Joseph's room. We had been debating for a while about when we would show him this picture. Originally, we thought about waiting until he was older to show him, but recently we thought, "Why not now?" I think putting the picture in his room when he first arrived home would have been confusing, but he certainly has formed a strong bond with the two of us now. Plus, I wanted him to see the picture now while he still could remember her.

So we did it! When we showed him the picture, he immediately pointed to me in the picture, and said "Momma!" I then pointed to his birthmother and said, "This is your birthmother," and then back to me, "and this is momma." I do think he remembered her, but just wasn't quite sure what to think since it has been 9 months since he has seen her. We now have the picture sitting on his dresser in his room.

It was awesome to be able to honor Joseph's birthmother by doing this. She is such a strong and amazing woman and it is so important for Joseph to grow up knowing that. This Mother's Weekend I thank God for Joseph's birthmother and for the amazing gift that she and our Heavenly Father have given us.