Enchilada Momma

I've decided to skip Motherhood Monday one more week. Here's a little guest post from one of my favorite people ever. Love my momma! 

My name is Sonja and I am Kristen's mom. Maybe you've heard the statement "You don't marry an individual, you marry the family." True. The same could be said about adoption. You get the whole enchilada. I'm one of two enchilada grandmas included in the Kristen and Josh family package. The other grandma, Tammy, is of the same mind. Our love for our families binds us together.

Kristen has been asking me to write a guest post for her blog for a while, and it's rare for me to refuse a request from one of my children. They usually make reasonable requests, so it's been easy to tell them yes. We want to be a "yes, you can" family rather than a "no, you can't" family. I think this is an important thing to know about us.

Another important thing to know about us is we are a vulnerable family, which means we are a strong family. Maybe you don't think vulnerable means strong, but it does.  How does a word that means exposed, defenseless or weak translate into being strong? Here's how:

·             We tend to give people a piece of our heart, rather than a piece of our mind.

·             We grieve our losses and we keep our hearts tender. We fight against becoming hard or bitter.

·             We put our hearts on the line and we open ourselves to authentic, deep relationships. It's scary, and sometimes we get hurt, but we want to do it anyway.

·             We are honest about our sins/faults/failures. We let ourselves really be known. We dare to be bare. I have repeatedly failed some of life's biggest challenges, and I publicly acknowledge that. (Really public . . . like in front of audiences.)

·             We have more relational energy because we don't waste it on keeping secrets.

Birth parents and hopeful adoptive parents are incredibly vulnerable. Your hearts are wide open and not at all safe from pain. You are exposing yourselves to the greatest risk of all - love - and laying down your lives for the sake of another.

I want the whole enchilada, so I too will be vulnerable and I will love.

I am an Enchilada Grandma.

My mom holding me "fresh outa the oven".