A week after we returned from our first family holiday, we were scheduled to be in court to finalize Alex's adoption.  Page 8 of Alex's  Life Book  commemorates that day.  For this page, I decided to keep it simple:  there's just one photo -- a family portrait, taken in front of the judge's bench.  I retyped some of the adoption language from the decree granting the adoption, and used that as a backdrop for the photo.  I added the following quote, from Desmond Tutu:  "You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you."  And, for the first time, I added ribbon to the page -- sort of to signify that the three of us were "bound" together for life, I suppose.

With this page, I think I'll leave you guys to finish the life book on my own -- after all, everything that I'll do from here on would be exactly the same stuff any family would include in their children's scrapbooks.  Doing this book has been a wonderful exercise, though, and I STRONGLY recommend that every adoptive familiy create a life book for their little ones, even if they also have a blog (as I do).   The truth is that a life book (a) gives your child something tangible to hold that tells her own, special story, (b) will become a wonderful tool to discuss your child's adoption, and (c) is, frankly, pretty darn impressive.  I mean, imagine:  as your child grows up, she'll have in her possession an heirloom created by YOUR HANDS -- something she can share with her children, and her children's children.  The act of putting together a book like this is an act of love -- and one your child is sure to appreciate.

For those of you who are about to start their own life books, I'll include links here for each page that I did.  Trust me, the life book that I created for Alex is FAR from professional -- but, perhaps, you'll get some ideas on how to create yours (or not create yours, as the case may be!).  Thanks to those of you who left words of support along the way ... it meant a lot!

Creating a Life Book:  Getting started

Creating a Life Book:  page 1, Alex's birth

Creating a Life Book:  page 2, the first 24 hours

Creating a Life Book:  page 3, placement day

Creating a Life Book:  page 4, spreading the news

Creating a Life Book:  page 5, christening

Creating a Life Book:  page 6, the first six months

Creating a Life Book:  page 7, our first family holiday