How did I celebrate adoption awareness day?

The Monticello Temple

Where we were sealed as a family on June 17, 2006

I did something really cool actually. Something I had never done to celebrate it before. Something that celebrated one of the most special parts of our adoption. And it wasn't even my idea. I had been looking for something really special to do this year. All of the old traditions that we usually do didn't seem right this year given our circumstances and life changes, plus in this year where our lives have been completely changed it just seems right that our traditions change a little too. But try as I might, I couldn't find anything that seemed right. I was just about ready to give up and forget about it when my friend Chris came up with the answer.

In our church we have temples where saving ordinances are done - the things that we believe are manditory to returning to our Father in Heaven again. One of these ordinances is Sealing. We believe that families can be together forever, even after death, and the sealing ceremony is where we are given that opportunity. Through our whole adoption ordeal we kept being told that our children might be taken away from us. That was our greatest fear. When finally we were able to finalize our adoption that worry was partially over. They were legally our children, and no one could take them from us. That was such a relief, I can't even explain to you what it felt like. There are no words to describe the overwhelming peace that rushed over us. The only problem was that this was only true in life, not for eternity. If our plane had crashed on the way back to Utah, all ties would have been broken.

If two people are married and sealed in the temple then each child that is born to them is born under the sacred sealing covenant, and therefore has the power to be sealed to that couple forever. That isn't the case with adoption, you have to take the children to the temple and have them sealed to you after finalization. So to us that sealing day was when the adoption process was truly finished. It was when our family was finally a whole both on earth and in heaven. It was literally the best day of my life.

So Saturday I honored that day. In the temple we do our own ordinances, but then we act as a proxy to do those ordinances for people who didn't have the opportunity while on earth. On the day that celebrates bringing families together I went to the temple and I was able to help bring families together for eternity. I was able to help several families be sealed together in the exact same room where my children were sealed to me. It was the best way ever to spend my day. I hope to make this a continued tradition. I am very grateful for some wonderful friends who helped me have the opportunity to do this.

After that we called our birth family, had our adoption love party, and celebrated in a few of the ways we usually do. It was a wonderful day to honor adoption.