A Christmas Yet to Come

     Heather of Open Adoption Bloggers recently added a prompt to write about a holiday moment made possible through open adoption.  Since we are a waiting family, I took a different approach.  I hope you will enjoy reading about our wishes for a Christmas yet to come.

     Christmas is our favorite time of year, but it can also be a bittersweet time for families like us who are waiting to adopt.  There are a multitude of kid-centered activities to enjoy and we often find ourselves making statements like, "When we have a baby..." or "I can't wait until we have kids and..."  That doesn't mean that we miss out on having fun.  We just borrow our family and friend's kids and have a great time spoiling them!  But in the back of our minds, there is always the hope and prayer that next year we will be celebrating with a little one of our own. 
     We've thought and talked and dreamed about how the holidays will change once we adopt.  So here is our "wish list" of some of our favorite holiday traditions that we look forward to celebrating with our kids someday.

     Baking Christmas Cookies:  Amy especially loves to bake.  We look forward to sticky fingers, a messy kitchen, and packaging up a box of goodies to send off to our child's birthparents (or having them join us if they live close enough).

     Caroling:  We both love to sing.  We love the thought of bundling up the kids, spreading some "joy to the world," and then heading home for some hot chocolate and cookies. 

    Decorating the tree:  If you've read my previous post, you know how ecclectic our tree is.  We look forward to adding a baby's first ornament as well as kid created ornaments.  We also envision fun times heading out to cut our own tree, tromping through the snow to find just the right one.

     Zoo Lights:   There is something magical about Christmas lights.  Add lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) and hopefully our kids will be as mesmerized as we are. 

     Bronners:  Speaking of fun family outings, Bronners is one of our favorite places to visit!  We don't get there as often as we used to, since it's back home in Michigan.  But this 5 football fields worth of wonder is at the top of our list to take our kids to.  We can't wait to see their faces light up with amazement and joy.

     Christmas pageants:  Our nieces and nephews have often enjoyed putting together a Christmas play for the adults.  There's nothing cuter than little kids dressed up as angels, wise men, and shepherds.  Definitely a picture perfect moment! 

     Christmas Morning:  This may sound crazy to some people, but we are really looking forward to waking up to the sound of kids jumping on our bed and yelling, "Wake Up!  It's Christmas!"   We will race down the stairs with them to see what "Santa" has left under the tree!

     The Christmas Story:  It has been a tradition in both of our families to read Luke Chapter Two before opening gifts.  It reminds us of the greatest gift-Jesus- and the love God has for each of us.  The story takes on new meaning as we anticipate a baby coming into our lives and changing our world forever. 

Friends and Family:  Spending time with friends and family is one of the best things about Christmas.  Hopefully, through open adoption, we will have plenty of opportunities to share some special time with our child's birthfamily whether in person or through skype.   

     These are a few of our favorite things...we hope you will add some of your own!