Believe it or not, but one year today we met our little Miss Hope. It is incredible to think that she has gone from the shy little child who could barely babble to a caring and compassionate 2 and a half year old who is full of her own opinions. It is remarkably hard to think that just 12 months ago mom and I were both working, we owned our own home in a different county and the thing we wanted most was to share our love with a little person. Now fast forward 12 months and Mom has retired, Dad has his own business, we have sold our house and moved back to our home town, and we are parents.
It is hard to put myself back in my old office sitting at the back of my wraparound desk trying to scribble down notes as fast as I could while I was on a conference call with Mom and the caseworker. I don’t know how I managed to work for the rest of the day until we met Hope at 6pm on that night. We knew Hope was a good fit for our family, but little did we realize how much our family would grow. Ladybug, Peanut, and their parents have become an extension of our immediate family and our families have been fully integrated. It is just second nature to talk to them on a regular basis and meet up at least once a month with them. It is just one of those things that has been an unexpected benefit to adopting Hope. They have been able to help us invaluably as we have been through the adoption process.
While this is a day of great joy, we know it was an incredibly hard decision for T&D to make to let us come in as perfect strangers and take one of their children. They had no idea about us or the relationship that we would develop. We are thankful for their faith in letting us create the amazing transition that transpired to create our family.
We have had a whirlwind of activity since we moved back to Fort Wayne. We will be posting pictures and more stories soon. Thanks to everyone!
One year ago our hearts were breaking. We were heartbroken and scared. We love Hope, and coming to our decision was the most difficult experience in our lives.
ReplyDeleteOne year later our hearts have healed. The healing was a process, and that process was eased by you two just being you, and the plain fact that you're great parents and love her SO much. We couldn't have dreamed of a more wonderful Mommy & Daddy for her. We thank God for bringing us all together :) And the most beautiful of all is how the little girl who once seemed 'lost' with us, is now SO happy with her forever family, growing into the wonderful little lady that she is. God bless her! You'll always have our hearts, Hope :)
Love your post; beautiful and from the heart!