A Loving Family...Or a Scandalous Photo?

October 23, 2006

We received a call from Angela today, to let us know about a new pregnant mom, and to give us some updates. She gave us some information about this mom, and let us know that she is due Jan. 20th. This mom could really use the blessing of God's power & loving guidance in her life. Please be praying for her.

The two pregnant moms (due in November) that we've mentioned recently are both meeting with their caseworkers this week. One of them is the mom that inspired us to rush the completion of our profile books, and she will be receiving one of our new books to look at! Please keep them both in your prayers today.

Calvin asked Angela if she could give us her impression of our new books, from a caseworker's perspective. Overall, she really liked our books, and said they were much clearer and more concise than our previous ones. She did mention, though, that some caseworkers have been removing our first page, thinking birthmoms would be offended by our photo. Either it is scandalous for Michele to have taken off her shoes, or they don't like a picture of a wife snuggling in her soul mate's lap. We've been discussing it, and I think we're going to request that they cease censoring our book, and leave the book intact.

This picture really shows a very accurate snapshot of who we are as a family. It was the photo we included with our Christmas cards last year, and a large copy is displayed in our home. This is a photo of us as a deeply in love married couple, who are soul mates longing for a baby. And if birthmoms aren't comfortable with it, then we aren't they family they should choose. We would feel more comfortable knowing that birthparents had actually seen this photo and decided against us, than knowing that it was hidden from them- and they did choose us!

We anticipate that our children will witness the hugs & kisses of their mommy & daddy someday. (We hope they do!) Growing up, we both were raised in families where our parents showed affection for each other (and still do!), and I think our lives are richer because of it. Even now, decades later, it provides joy in seeing how much our parents love each other. We want our kids to know that their parents & grandparents are securely married and deeply in love. Birthparents need to be aware of the fact that our family is huggy & snuggly.

(I tried to post a copy of the photo, but blogger is being ornery tonight. I'll try again tomorrow. Sorry!)