THIS TIME LAST YEAR.......

CRYING MY EYES OUT THE FIRST NIGHT AT THE HOTEL-SO SAD!

SHE MUST HAVE CRIED FOR HOURS-THREW UP THREE TIMES, SHE WAS TERRIFIED OF US-
IT WAS HEARTBREAKING-BUT OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR HAS MADE!

LOVE THESE WOMEN!

SARA - NEXT TO ADAM- WAS SEBLE'S SPECIAL MOTHER-LOVED HER!

As we enjoy the crisp fall air here in Oregon, I can't help but be brought back to thinking of this time last year.  Things I see, memories I have all seem to transport me to a year ago.  We were about ready to bring our baby girl home and although we missed her terribly, we also were busy getting ready to return to Ethiopia and for once and for all, bring her home.
She was in an orphanage and we were here and as the Christmas season was in full swing, there was a piece of my heart that was clear around the world who was waiting for her forever family to come and get her.  Don't get me wrong, the care she received in Hannah's Hope was phenomenal- next to none in Ethiopia.  We couldn't have asked for better women to be caring for our daughter who was thousands of miles away from us-they were top notch!  They loved her to pieces, and bonded with her so much, which was blatantly obvious the first few days we had her as we helplessly watched her mourn not having them around, and the change in her life that was happening without her consent.  But she was without her family and we were without her and if I close my eyes, I can remember the anticipation, the longing to get her to us.
As I think back to last year, I can't help but feel the emotions all again.  I can't help it, but a part of me is sad....sad that we can't go back there again this year to her wonderful country with the kind and lovely people.  Sad that we can't hug those special mothers again, see Wass the driver and our hired driver Solomon and his family.  Taste the food, smell the smells, I miss it all.
I often wonder does her little mind remember-does she mourn for any of it-the language that we don't speak, the tastes, the food.....she is a baby, but how long do babies actually remember-we will never know.  All we can do is remember the past and go forward -go forward to the life that God has planned and watch as we see what those plans hold as our lives unfold.

GOT THESE PAJAMAS FOR HER BEFORE WE LEFT TO BRING HER HOME-
FIGURED SHE WOULD GROW INTO THEM AND SURE ENOUGH...SHE HAS!

I LOVE MY BIG BROTHER!

WE BOUGHT THESE PAJAMAS BEFORE WE EVEN HAD OUR REFERRAL-
BUT WHAT A PERFECT PAIR FOR HER!!

So as we look to this season, I am excited for her first Christmas home-I am so glad that she is part of our family, so glad that she changed our lives and turned them upside down for the better.  The things that go through my head nearly every single day are both miraculous and amazing when I think of all the lessons and all the miracles that this little girl has brought into our lives.....What would we be if we didn't have her, if we didn't listen to the call to adopt?  How would our lives be different-I can't even imagine!  What lessons and experiences would we have missed out on-OH SO many! I think of the people that we wouldn't have met, the friends that we wouldn't have made-so sad to think of all we would have missed out on.  As I think of these things-I am washed over in what can only be described as grace-God's grace.  I thank him daily for the gifts that can't be bought or wrapped, the ones that are in my heart and mind and the ones that I see each and every day as I look over the children he has blessed us with.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS-