So back to my baby girl. I saw her all bundled up in her blanket, peacefully sleeping. Almost as if waiting for her Mommy and Daddy. And just typing this makes me tear up with happiness. That perfectly cute baby was our daughter. My heart was pounding and I was in a state of excitement, gratefulness and nervousness the whole time we were together in the hospital. Since then, when I recall those first few moments and days, I get so emotional and thankful for what came to be.
As many know, I read at least one book a day to my daughter. As I read more and more books, I’m impressed with their features, wowed with their art, humored with their rhymes and sometimes shocked with the lack of story. But most of all, while reading, I was saddened to find barely any of these baby books showing realistic images and stories that featured adoptive families. I know there are plenty out there, mostly picture books with lots of words, too many for reading to a young baby. But also, not enough books that just have the idea of adoption woven into the story without having to outright say it the whole book. For example, when I tried finding a baby memory book or a first year book to make, almost all of them featured pages about being pregnant, having sonogram pictures, and baby arrival preparation. These are such wonderful events! I was able to share in the excitement of them with my sister during her two pregnancies. But for me and my daughter, we needed different ideas. Side note, my sister ended up buying me a custom made memory book for my daughter's first year! And I made a few of my own photo books.
But the idea carried over to the books I was reading to my baby girl. Since I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I went ahead and wrote it! One of my dream jobs is to be a children’s book writer. During my first few years as a teacher, I wrote two middle grade books that my third and fifth grade students loved. But since then, the idea was on the back burner for a variety of reasons.
The writing bug came back when I felt God prompt me to first begin my blog about our journey to parenthood. The response was and is overwhelmingly amazing. The idea that our words, whether written or spoken, can potentially be life changing for others is a responsibility I don’t take lightly and am honored to have the ability to help others. As a matter of fact, someone who read my blog, asked me to reach out to her sister and help them on their adoption journey. And they’re about to adopt a baby!! God put me in a place where I had the opportunity to help their journey to parenthood and that baby to have a loving home and family to be part of! Life changing!!
So I enthusiastically wrote this picture book for my baby. To try to express my immense love for her that began the moment I met her. And if it is a book that other adoptive parents can read to their baby too, then that’s all bonus! Plus, it was a fun project to work on with my sisters, one who illustrated, and the other who edited and brought the whole thing together. Their support and encouragement pushes me to keep writing. For that I am eternally grateful to have such amazing sisters.
My purpose in writing will always be to make a positive impact on others, to share love, and to show hope in God. As the pastor at our church has said, as long as there is Jesus, there is hope. Meaning, even when I didn’t know if I would become a mom, I knew I could put my Hope in God’s plan. That I could trust in God and no matter the outcome, I knew it was His plan. A small part of me wondered if I could get to be a mom, but most of me knew in my heart that God placed that desire there and my hope would come to fruition one day.
And to think, it all came together the moment I met my baby girl.
**My book, The Moment I Met You by Michelle Holly is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle form.
