The B Family Diamond

A few people have asked whether our girls understand that we're adopting and what we've told them about the adoption. Yes, they know and here's how it's been explained to them (it's simplistic but they are young and it seems to be in line with their level of comprehension):

There is a baby being born in Ethiopia that God has chosen to be in our family. God is helping us find this baby and, after our girls turn 3 and 6, we will be traveling to Ethiopia to bring this baby home. The way our girls understand it, before we are born, we are in heaven with God. When we are ready to be born and grow up, God sends us from heaven into our mama's tummy. For some children, the "Tummy Mama" and "Grow Up Mama" are two different ladies, while for other children, it's the same lady. Our girls seem satisfied with these explanations and have not yet requested us to delve any deeper into such things as how exactly babies get put into tummies (or out of them) or what role the Daddy plays in this whole process (although they know that God waited to put them in their Mama's tummy until after their Mama and Daddy grew up and got married since He wanted to make sure they would have both a mommy and a daddy to help them grow up). They know where Ethiopia is on their globe as we have been making an effort to teach them about Africa for the last couple of years (particularly wildlife, Masai and Samburu culture and Swahili vocabulary words as a result of our love of Kenya). They're good travelers and we're planning to take them with us when we travel to pick up our new addition. They're excited about the trip. They know that our new addition will have brown eyes like their Mama and beautiful brown skin.

A few weeks ago, somewhat out of the blue, Miss M announced that it's a baby girl in Ethiopia named Diamond who will be joining our family. To put this in a little context, it may be useful for you to know that our girls like to adopt character names. On any given day, they want to be called Bambi and Faline, Rudolph and Clarisse, Simba and Nala or Balto and Jenna (always the two main characters from their favorite animated movie at the moment—with Mary Nanette taking on the lead and Amelia assuming the best supporting actress role). Daddy B is often referred to by our girls as “Mufasa” or “the Great Prince of the Forest”. Our pets get renamed every few weeks. When we asked Miss M where the name Diamond came from, she simply said “it's a nice shape and diamonds are beautiful and sparkly”. Every night, they pray for Diamond. They pray for God to help us find Diamond (we think they picture us going on safari and finding her swaddled up under an acacia tree) and that God will keep Diamond healthy and safe from hyenas as we look for her. They pray for Diamond’s “Tummy Mama”, that she will also be safe and healthy and know that Jesus loves her. They’ve designated the nursery as “Diamond’s Room” and all the baby toys as “Diamond’s Toys”. The small piece of seat between their carseats in the car has become "Diamond's spot". They will point out Ethiopia on their globe and say "that’s where our sister Diamond is". The concept of a baby girl named Diamond seems easier for them to relate to than the abstract idea of a baby. The name itself is a little trendier than any of the baby names on our list, but, after hearing it used so much, it’s kind of grown on us. So.... when writing about our Ethiopian child before we've been matched and during that period after we've been matched before we pass court (we aren't permitted to publish names or photos during that time), we will probably refer to our little one as "Diamond" (unless they decide to change her name in the meantime). Once our baby comes home, it will surely become one of the many little pet names we will use. Now you know who Diamond is. And we know for sure that Diamond is going to be one precious, treasured, priceless gem!