I remember what it was like as an adoptee when I was asked to complete a genealogy tree decades ago in grade school. Back then, of course, I knew very little about my biological family. Although my tree was lush with information about my adoptive family, I acutely remember the questions that I had, the loss that I felt, for not knowing my roots.

Of course, all these years later, that family tree has grown in size and detail. I’ve often joked that my family tree is really more like a forest. I’m thankful for it’s vastness. Yet, I’m saddened by the limbs of it that are broken off—the individuals and relationships that have grown apart or were severed by choice or cicumstance. I’m sure many of you can relate.

Although I can clearly see the forest through the trees—the composition of my large, intertwined adoptive and biological family, I’ve always thought about creating a family tree for my children to have that illustrates our lives.

What better time than Adoption Month for me to dig into this project. I thought some of you might be interested in completing a similar tree for your child or family.

Here are some of my favorite ideas that I found on Adoption.com:

 

As much as my family tree is more like a forest, and I love that forest template, I think I’m leaning towards the intertwined tree.

How about you? Which one would you pick for your family tree project? Or, what would you like to see as a template design?