Day 1

Day 1 of conference was wonderful here is some information I have that I wanted to share
Husbands of Birth mothers
I thought this panel was awesome.. although my husband was on it so I am not a good judge of that but the best judge. I think the best advice that was given was be up front and honest about i being a birth mother let the guy you are dating know... in alot of cases they won't mind they will admire you for your strength courage and honesty... however that's not to say everyone won't mind... some guys you date might care... but a great quote is
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss
If they were meant to be in your life they would accept you for who you are and if they don't then your are better with out them in my personal opinion...
Anywho another thing that I liked that was mentioned someone asked what did you family say when you told them you were dating a girl who had placed for adoption... My husbands response was
"Your not getting married to your in-laws so if they don't like it you can just move away"
So true not the move away part although I guess you can but when you are going to get married being accepted by your future in-laws in going to a challenge no matter what... birth mother or not its still scary... but adding that into the mix is still even scarier... however now that I am married and gone through all that its so important to know that in the end all that matters is you and your spouse... don't worry about anyone else or that can hurt your relationship with your spouse.  I think Dr. Seuss' quote fits well into here to!


Next was the giving back class and I adore and love Jessa (she does the Birth mothers 4 adoption and Scholarships 4 Birth mother blogs) She placed a few weeks after i did and I wish I had jumped in and done more like she has done...
She talked about giving back as a birth mother something I am so interested in.. She quoted The Princess Bride saying don't get into the pit of Despair - it can suck you and you can get stuck forever
Giving back has many benefits for others and for you They talked about the proper terminology which I will post about later.
Something I loved that was said was be proud for what you have done tell people about it share your story anyway you can. Let people know about adoption, these are new statistics from the national council for adoption. Last year in the U.S. there were 1.2 Million abortions and only 18,000 infants born in the U.S. were placed for adoption... Those numbers make me sick... how many children could we have saved if the world was educated about adoption and its benefits?

So lets get out there and spread the word!

 

Sister Beck at Conference

This past weekend was amazing for so many different reasons!

I wasn't able to go to as many classes as I had planed because of a massive Headache I got towards the end of the first day but I would love to share with you the my favorite parts of the first day!

Sister Beck is a wonderful speaker every time I listen to her even if its a a training meeting for Relief Society she can just lift your spirits up and make you feel like you can conquer the world!

Julie Spoke alot who the needs for the adoption program in the church have changed so much of the years  and instead of it being for children with out parents its now helping parents with out children. She talked about how many women in the bible were unable to have children and dealt with the pain and sorrow of not have the blessing of a child for many years.

The she shared a wonderful story about her family and how her father and his first wife had 4 children and sadly the 4th was taken from them shortly after birth... then shortly after that his wife died of cancer...

She said how at his wife's funeral he had one child in his arms and the other two hanging  on his coat, He told himself ; "This challenge will not defeat me"

She talked about how some of our experiences and trials with strengthen us and some will teach us.

At the end of her talk I couldn't get the words will not defeat me out of my mind.

I love the strength behind those words...

I know as I have struggled through the years I have though how can I not let this defeat me or consume me!

Some times we take out trials with grace and other times we hit them head on ready for the battle... for me I would like to think I have done that but I know I have had time when I cave and fallen into Satan's grasp and let sorrow despair and pain overpower the knowledge I have that our father in heaven loves us.

I am so grateful that Sister Beck came and spoke and I am so grateful I was able to be strengthened by her talk and testimony and I hope that as new trials and sorrows come into my life I can proudly say;

"This challenge will not defeat me"