Different Trips To The Same Place...

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait--and wait--and wait.Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"

After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."

"By BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.

It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia.

Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with other who also traveled by sea rather then by air.

People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are about to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy."You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.
By Diane Armitage printed in the April 21, 1995 "Dear Abby" column.

National Adoption Month

A big THANKS, to all those who helped out with the Halloween Carnival and those who came.  It was a big success.  We hope that with this kind of turnout we will be able to plan more activities like this one.  I hope every one had a blast!  

Don't forget National Adoption Month is this month, (November).  As we go throughout the month let us all reflect on the blessings of Adoption.   Here are a few great ideas to make this month special:

Create a new family tradition that celebrates your family and how you came together each year. 

Send an email to all of your friends and family about National Adoption Day. 

Reach out and share your adoption story with others. 

Talk to your place of worship about having a service that delivers a message on adoption. 

Create a family tree that incorporates both birth and adoptive family members 

Catch up on scrapbooking projects that celebrate your family 

Give thanks to those who helped you build your family by sending Thank You Cards. 

Write to your local and state representatives about adoption and issues that concern you. 

 We will be taking off a few months from activities for the Holiday's and such, but please come to our activities next year.  We will have some fun activities in the upcoming year.  We hope to see you all there.  We will keep you posted with any new happenings.  Have a great Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.