How to Scrapbook Your Child's Adoption

I was never going to be a scrapbooker. The books I saw were lovely, but the idea of cutting my photos and then taking the time to add something those crazy people called embellishments? Let's just say I wasn't a "sticker" kind of gal.

And then we adopted my son. We had dozens of rolls of film developed and I wanted to record all those thoughts that were going trough my head, but I couldn't find a baby book or adoption book that would do justice to his unique, precious story . And I kept hearing about "life books." Every child has a one of a kind story about his or her birth, but for the adopted child, the story is even more personal and special.

So I went down to the local craft store and started picking out stickers, trying to avoid those with clip art of storks and pregnancy quotations. Eventually, I started creating my own scrapbook overlays with transparencies so I could have professional looking pages about the journey from "the wait" to the Adoption Day celebration. Now I can't imagine that I nearly passed by the idea of scrapbooking his story and having missed out on this joy.

Why do I scrapbook my child's adoption?

1. We all know how unique our own story is about deciding to adopt and waiting. Our kid's stories or no less special. Don't be tempted to use a book where you just fill in the blanks, because it's nearly impossible to since you don't have all of the answers, nor do they all apply. And what child wants to see blanks in his book? For example, even adoption books may or may not have a place for information about the birthfather or if the adoption was international or domestic.

A bonus is that when you scrapbook the album, it can be perfectly timed for your child's understanding of his or her story, depending on the age and what you have shared. As your child gets older, he will ask more questions. You can easily add a page that answers this right into the book. Recently my son has asked, "What would you have done if God had sent you a different little boy? Would you have loved him as much as me?" This is an ideal chance for me to make a new page for his album, relating how God picked him out just for us.


2. It's always fun to look back at photos, but I am often amazed that the memories attached to them can fade so quickly. If I didn't take the time to journal about the moment or even put a sticky note on my calendar about I've forgotten the specifics already. What exactly was the funny thing my son said that made us all giggle for fifteen minutes when that photo was taken? Photos bring back some memories, but it's usually about the event and not the story about our child who did or said something that we want to remember forever. Besides, every child loves to hear about the cute things she said when she was young!

3. Adoption is a special gift and I want my son to know that we acknowledge it as such. Just him seeing me spend the time to putting together an album, lets him know it's important to me. Whatever I share about his birth family, how he came to be a part of our family, visits we may have with the birth family (or if you adopted internationally, then special trips to your child's country of origin) lets him know just how special his story is. It's important that our kids know that we are never threatened by their story. We need to make sure they know that their whole life is precious to us, and not just the time that they have been a part of our family.

So I converted. As an adoptive mom, I have a new appreciation of scrap booking. I don't see it as a silly craft, but a remarkable tool to make a record of this miracle that God gave us-the joy of being parents to our son.

Adoption scrapbook albums are a great deal more than what some people call a "brag book" or photo album. These books, whether called international adoption lifebooks or just an adoption book, is a special account of pictures and memories, a custom-made story book of your child's life, and a keepsake for him to always know how much he is treasured. There are always concerns about how adoption affects a child, but through an adoption scrapbook album, I hope our son will know that we have always embraced and celebrated how he made us a family--through the joy of adoption.

Lisa is the founder of www.scrapbookmyadoption.com. You too can make an amazing adoption life book quickly with essentials from Scrapbook My Adoption. Complete books using overlay transparencies, digital files and embellishments, make it simple to have an personalized life book your child will treasure.

Scrapbooking your child's adoption story is a wonderful way to get it down in a book for him or her to be able to share with you for years to come. As a busy mom, however, too often our good intentions turn into an overflowing box of memory items that get stuck in the closet, waiting for the day when we can sit down an concentrate without a little voice interrupting our thoughts. We so want to do the perfect album, it often becomes a task larger than we can take on.

Don't postpone your child's adoption scrapbook any longer. It's important that they get to flip through this book and share in the photos long before they go off to the university.

Here are some tips to help you in scrapbooking your child's adoption album:

[1] Journal about all your memories. If you feel exhausted at night and too tired to write then just start tape-recording them to use later. Though you think you'll remember it all, soon new memories will overlap some of those early precious ones. So take the time to write down both important and unimportant details.

[2] Record what you know for your child which is appropriate for his or her little ears. Perhaps you were able to spend some time with the birth mom and you have some personal reflections on how kind she was. Or maybe you have no information at all if your child was adopted from an orphanage. It's important to be honest but it also needs to be something that you can read from your book to your 5-year-old. If your child's birth mom has many other children which she is still raising, or your child was the result of an abusive situation, this isn't appropriate for the book.

[3] Arrange the photos you want to use in your album. You don't want to use every phot you own, but rather just choose the ones that are the most precious for this particular album. Make sure everything is in order if you are you arranging the book chronologically about what size of album to you'd like. They are typically 8" x 8", 12" x 12" or 8.5" x 11". The 8" x 8" albums are an advantageous size for because little hands can easily hold the book and flip through the pages.

[5] Try to find whatever supplies you'd like to use. I had a hard time being able to find anything other than a couple of stickers that mentioned adoption. Frustrated with this, I designed my own 8" x 8" overlay transparencies. Overlays are great because they make your book look like it was done by a professional, they is no glue or tape needed and anyone can use them (no skill required)

[6] Keep it simple and don't be tempted to put every thought you have in the book. Consider your child's attention span too. Add more pages later as your child asks questions and you want to answer them in the book (what kind of car did my birth mom drive?) You may also want other things represented, such as your child's country (or even city) or birth.

[7] Add some poems and quotes. When you lack information about your child's birth or are overwhelmed by writing down all your thoughts, it's a nice touch to add a few adoption quotes. But be sue to not rely on them completely. Quotes are nice and can add to the album, but it's your own personal thoughts that will be most precious to your child as they get older.

[8] Use child-friendly language. For example, don't ever write, "Your birth mom loved you so much that she gave you away." This could scare your child into believing that pretty soon you will love him too much and give you away too. Keep the wording simple: "Miss Clara wanted you to have both a mommy and a daddy and she knew that we were really excited to be your parents."

Too often we delay starting a book because we get have big plans to create that masterpiece of a baby album. We want it to have scrapbook pages for every bath, haircut, smile and tear. Rather than waiting until you can do it all just get the adoption story into a small book. Later you can add pages if you want. Remember, the sooner it's ready for your child, the more time of their childhood they will treasure it.

Lisa is the founder of www.scrapbookmyadoption.com. You too can make a gorgeous adoption album quickly with tools from Scrapbook My Adoption. Complete books using transparency overlays, digital files and embellishments, make it simple to have a beautiful lifebook your child will treasure.