Growing up I always played house. I loved to pretend to be a mom taking care of little babies. As time passed, I started dating, got married and always imagined becoming a mom. I dreamed about what that moment would feel like when I first met my child.

I never imagined I wouldn’t be at a hospital. I never imagined I wouldn’t be meeting a newborn.

I think it’s because I never could have imagined the journey my life would take or how my family would be pieced together.

Now I am overwhelmed with memories of that fateful fall evening when a tired, confused little boy walked through our doors. I wasn’t making calls to my family sharing that we were on our way to the hospital. I was answering a call from a social worker and learning about a child who needed a safe place to stay. I wasn’t holding a newborn wrapped in a blanket, I was bending down to look into the beautiful eyes of a child to start building trust.

Often, instead of looking into newborn eyes that are full of light and new beginnings, we see children who are carrying the weight of the world and have experienced too much in their young lives.

When you are a foster or adoptive parent, the details of your family’s story may be different. But I would bet they are just as treasured, just as memorable and definitely just as important.

What do you remember about the first time you met your children, however they entered your life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK7aYpEnCCI