Finalized....

S.'s adoption is finalized. Praise God. Closure to a very long arduous process. I am so happy. So happy. My sweet girls. I am sooo grateful. :)

6 Months Home...

It's been 6 months since a tiny 5 and 1/2 year old walked around the corner to meet me, her new mother, for the first time. I hugged her, and put her on my lap, and kissed her, and told her I loved her. We blew bubbles, and ate suckers, and laughed. It was magic...

8 year Gotcha Day....

OH, I love these girls. E.'s 8 year Gotcha day today. I can't believe it's 8 years, since I first held my baby girl. It was a magical moment. I am so greatful to be her Momma. And, I am so proud of this girl. She is magic.

What if ? ... or ... My long lost sister / friend...

What if, your sister, (or your best friend), was, for whatever reason, no longer able to take care of her child? Heaven forbid, but say she died, or no longer had the money, the will, the power, or whatever raising a child takes. Would you take your niece or nephew in? Would you love your niece like there was no difference between her and any other child in your house? Would you tell her how wonderful her first mother was (or is) ? How her first mother loved her more than anything in the world ? How her first mother wishes she could be here caring for her ? Would you tell her it's okay to love her first Mommy, and you ? And that you love her first Mommy too ? What if you had a sister you never knew about, across an ocean, and she could no longer care for her child ? And, say, she found you, and sought you out, because she wanted to leave her beloved with you ? Older child adoption is complicated, and it's simple. It's complicated because the child has a history that you do not know, and you are afraid you may never understand. It's simple, because somewhere there is a child that needs you, and a first mother who is praying for you to come along. So, yes, it's complicated. And yes, it's simple. It's simply love. (This sounded a lot better in my head. :) But as I was thinking about all of the emotions, and bumps, and ups, and downs, of older child adoption the other night, I was thinking, of this scenario. And, I was thinking, of course, of course, I would love my sister's child as my own. And, then I was thinking of Sonjena's first mom as my sister, and saying to the universe, and God, "of course, of course, I love her as my own," because she is my own. It's that simple. And, as I stated above it's also complicated. But any journey worth taking is.)

S.'s first 4th of July...

Happy 4th Everyone!!! :) S. will be home for 5 months on July 7th. Things are going well. :) The more English she has, the better things go. ;)

When I grow up....

E. said, "What will I look when I grow up?" Mom said, "I think you are going to look like your first mom." E. said, "Can I see the picture of her again?" Mom said, "Of course, honey." E. said, "She's beautiful." Mom said, "yes, she is." S. said, "do you have a picture of my first mom?" Mom said, "no honey, I don't. Sorry. Do you remember what she looked like?" S. said, "yes." Mom said, "Maybe you could draw a picture sometime. Do you look like your first mom?" S. said, "yes." Mom said, "then look in the mirror honey." We all laugh. S. said, "Emily let me see your mom again." E. said, "okay, look," and she held up a picture of me. We all laugh again. E. said, "can we go to Guatemala one day, and look for my first mom." Mom said, "sure, what will you say to her?" E. said, "Hola." ;) Precious moments with my girls. Thank you to the two beautiful women, who gave me my two beautiful daughters. I will love you forever, and hold you in my heart, and see you in their faces.

Baptism, and dogs say....

S. was baptised today. What a great day. It was so nice.

I am so blessed to be the mother of these two beautiful amazing girls. We went for a ride up to a friends cottage this weekend. It was fun. On the way back, we saw cows, and horses. We were asking my nephew, who is 2, what does a cow say? What does a horse say? Etc. We said, "what does a dog say?" S. said, "puff, puff, puff." LOL. Okay, something to work on over the summer, animal noises. S. learns more and more everyday. Her vocabulary, and understanding is amazing. Everyday it's something new.