Our First Adoption Family Day in Boise

My oldest son, Jaden, joined our family through adoption as an older child through Foster Care. He came home on his 6^th birthday, which made it even more special. There are a lot of important words and terminology in the Adoption world that, unless you have been blessed by the experience, you may not have heard. Here are a few of the most used:

• Adoption – Adoption refers to the act of becoming a parent to a child in every way except biologically.
• Forever Family – Becoming a family forever, without fear of losing each other.
• Gotcha Day – This refers to the day that your child comes home to their Forever Family.
• Family Day – This refers to the day that your adoption is finalized in the courts and your child is seen as being a member of the family in every way, just as if they were born into it.
• Birth Mom/Dad – This is a touchy subject for a lot of adoptive parents and children. The correct terminology for a child’s biological or birth parents is just that, Birth Mom/Dad or Bio Mom/Dad. It is not okay to refer to them as the child’s “real parents”. The parents who raise a child, tuck them in at night, read to them, and take care of them when they are sick, those are the “real parents”.
• Foster Home – A home that takes in children who are in Foster Care either temporarily or until they find their Forever Family. Sometimes children will see many different Foster Homes over the course of their life. Some children move so fast from one home to another and they don’t have many personal belongings.

Gotcha Day and Family Day are usually celebrated by families each year similar to a birthday. Symbolically, it is a rebirth and new start for not only the children, but the rest of the family as well. It’s so fun to look back every year as we celebrate and see how much he has grown, physically and emotionally.

A common misconception associated with adoption is high adoption costs, that you are essentially “buying you child”. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. In actuality, the fees associated with an adoption are typically payments to people who are working for you to complete it. Lawyers, Social Workers, Judges, etc. These are professionals with bills to pay and mouths to feed too. They are paid for their time and expertise in completing an adoption plan.

Since moving back to Boise recently, this will be our first celebration of Family Day for us here! We usually celebrate by going out for a special dinner and dessert, all his choice, of course!