Aubrey's Lifebook
Sample Pages below

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I used 8.5 X 11 postbound (it has two posts/screws for the binder) a sample description can be
found here:  http://www.joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=82023&PRODID=70665 
I did purchase mine at Joanne's Craft store for about $15

I like the 8.5 X 11  top loading pages because I just print out on photo paper most pages, then
glue or stick decorations on afterwards.  If I want to use decorative background paper
then it becomes more scrapbook style.  I like the mix because the Microsoft Word pages
allow me to easily write the story, feelings, events, etc.   I was also able to save all my work to a disc,
then any pages are destroyed or lost it can all be replaced easily.  The scrapbook style pages
allow for more color and photos.  If you can do calligraphy you could mix them nicely.  Doing the
Lifebook on my  computer is the only reason that this project is finished.  I think there are much
more beautiful Lifebooks out there, but time is an issue and I wanted to complete it while the feelings and
 experience were fresh.  Lifebooks can be very controversial about their contents, but I see
no reason why it has to be one set way.  We, the child's parents, are part of her story and so is the trip to
China to get her.  Our preparation for her and baby showers celebrating her are also all part of her
story in the Lifebook I created for her.   She can add to the pages herself later since the album
is expandable. 

From a website recommended by a friend:  http://projectlifebook.com/resources_china.php
They say (quotes from the website are in black font,  my comments are in red):

What is a Lifebook?
A Lifebook is a special book that adoptive parents write for their children to give
 them as much information as possible about their lives prior to adoption.
I not only included "prior" but all the way through the China Trip.
I felt this was part of her birth experience into her Forever Family.
I did not feel her Lifebook story was complete with a mostly unknown
beginning, so I included the happy ending .  

A Lifebook is meant to be shared over a lifetime to encourage open
and ongoing talks about how and why a child came to be adopted.
We are already looking at the Lifebook together.
There is no doubt in my mind that she will always have this book
and that it will definitely create an opportunity for her to ask many how and why questions.
I definitely feel more prepared to talk with her after creating her book.

A Lifebook gives a child the details about her birth date, birth place and
country background. It also talks about some of the challenges that birth parents
might have faced when making an adoption plan.
All of this information is included in her book. This is the part that I
feel will create a lot of how and why questions  in the future.  This is
probably the most important part of the book.  So try to obtain
as much information as you can,, which may not be much.

A Lifebook invites children to ask questions and express feelings about
adoption at every age, while equipping parents with the tools
to support their children along the way.
I tried to keep it colorful and simple.  I definitely
made it story telling style, and wrote it where it was
me telling her the story. 

Her name means Butterfly so her cover page reflect this.

Pictures Arrived and Referral Information

This is a picture of where she was found and her finding ad. "Two Kinds of Love" poem
She was found at the gate of her orphanage.  What  brave and caring Birthparent(s) to
 place her where she would be found and taken care of right away.

Then I have about 6 pages covering Gotcha Day

I have about 6 pages regarding her orphanage where she
spent 8 months of her life.

About her Birth Country and how proud she should be to have come from
such a magnificent Country.  This does not mean she will not also know also
know of it's poverty.  It's evident in some of her village pictures.

No one comes from the earth like grass, we come like trees
.....we all have roots.

I also included pages of:
 What we did while we waited: Nursery and baby showers
One page about us (mom and dad)
One page each on Summer Palace, Beijing Zoo, Great Wall
We also did a favorite photos in China page.
Also a "First Times" page.
Color Copies of: Adoption certificate, Chinese Birth Certificate,
 passport and visa

 

Her regular photo album is done in the same format, it just picks up with her 1st Birthday.
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