Adoption is something that is very dear to my heart. I cannot even try to explain all the ways adoption has changed my life. My sister and I were natural births from our mother. After the two of us were born, my mother couldn’t have any more children. We tried, and prayed, and tried again for years but never were blessed with a baby. My father was adopted as a baby, so choosing adoption as a next step was an easy decision for my family. We were with an adoption agency for two years before my brothers birth mother came into our lives. I was 9 years old. I remember coming home and my grandma telling me that we were finally getting our little brother. I can’t explain to you the overwhelming love I felt for him the first time I saw his bald head and big blue eyes. I loved every single inch of him. People have asked if I love him differently because he is adopted. Of course I do. I love him more than anyone in the world. We waited for years for that amazing little boy to come into our lives. The only way I can explain it as a sibling of an adopted boy is that my family fought for him, which makes us appreciate and love him even more. I can’t thank my brothers birth mom enough for what she did for our family. I can’t imagine what it must be like to place your baby into someone else’s life and hope that your child is taken care of. But with out birth moms, so many families wouldn’t be complete. My brother is now 11 and my best friend. When people find out he is adopted, they are shocked. He is so much like my family and even looks like us. I know that he was meant to be with my family. We are very open with him about his adoption and he is grateful to his birth mother for having faith in us to raise him. I hope that through this story, there will be an expecting mother who understands the love that adoptive families have for their children, and maybe it will give her comfort knowing that her baby will be so loved, and taken care of.