Things I love....

I love that my daughter is so girly!

I love that she moves her dress out of the way of the door when she is getting into her cozy coupe.

I love that she is tough. She will fake drama cry with the best of them, but when she is really hurt, she recovers really quickly. Tonight she ran hard into the edge of a table at Bosco's. She knocked herself onto the floor, cheerios flying, and literally cried so hard she almost threw up, but she was over it in about three minutes and onto something else. She has her first shiner though.

I love that she knows what she wants. Sometimes it's the bain of my existance, but I do know in the long run that she will be more able to resist peer pressure and stand up to the things she knows aren't right for her.

I love that everywhere we go, people stare at her and comment on how beautiful she is.

I love that I love her so much and am so contented and completed by having her in my life.

I love that when I started to put these jeans on her today (albeit fluffy/girly jeans) she cried and did not want to put them on! :)

I love that she runs sqeauling for her daddy whenever she sees him. If he's been gone two seconds or two days, she runs to him when she sees him.

I love that she is mine and that she has been here two months and it already feels like she's been here her entire life.

I can't believe that two months ago, her little tummy had not seen the light of day, and now she wears a bikini and boats and swims. Two months ago, she had never seen beyond the eight foot walls of her orphanage, now she has been to Moscow, Atlanta, and Nashville along with a million other things she has experienced outside those walls.

I look at her and all the ways her world has changed in the past two months, how adored she is by her brothers and her extended family, not to mention her doting mother and father, and I just can't help but marvel at the miracle God has performed for her and for us. It's truly amazing to think about.

I talked alot about that red thread thing the Chinese believe. Last night I read the belief of the red thread is that when we are born, there is an invisible red thread tied around each of our ankles, linking us to our "destiny" in life. The thread may be wound around many people, through several countries and over many decades, but our lives are spent following that red thread to the other end, the other "ankle" it's tied around. I believe that all four of my children were connected to Brian and I by the red thread and now we all have a red thread trailing behind us, hanging from our ankles, everywhere we go, because God allowed us to find each other.

Someone asked me yesterday if having a daughter was everything I thought it would be. My answer? "I am complete. I have no regrets in this life from here forward. I know that my children are home. I am content! I know that my heart will always be with orphans. I know it's my life calling to continue to be connected to them. But I know beyond a doubt that I am done adopting and that all my children are home! I am happy and fulfilled! I am complete."

Above all and every thing, with every cell of my being I know that God has spared me from myself. He brought my children into my life to save me from an empty and baren existence. He rescued me and redeemed me through the beautiful lives of these four little souls. He gave me a purpose on the earth and a promise for the future. He has lavished me with His mercy, love, and kindness through the gifts of these precious ones. I am thankful for two months with my precious daughter. And I am thankful for the abundant blessing that is my family.

Isaiah 30:18
"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compasion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"