1st Gotcha Day

We are so excited to be celebrating 1 year of having our sweet girl in our arms. We have been blessed with one amazing little girl, & most days I can't believe she's ours yet I feel like she's been with us forever. Sweet OE reminds me of so many things related to God's love for me, lessons in life, & being a mom. When I see the strength in her eyes, I am reminded that NO MATTER what we face, HE is with us & will strengthen us & allow us to soar like eagles, above our circumstances & to a place where we can rest in His arms! I think of all she has overcome & how everything (good, sad, unfair....EVERYTHING) has helped her become the girl she is today & the woman she will become. I know that God has huge plans for Miss OE. He has already changed my heart & effected the hearts of so many others. I can never say to her, "Life's not fair", because she has lived it! She knows that life, this world, & reality just plain stink sometimes, but she doesn't harbor resentment. She "puts on her big girl panties" (thanks, Cayla for that phrase) and moves on with life. She knows that God did not bring her through her circumstances to have her complain & use them as a crutch but to use them for His purpose. As she has been experiencing the arrival of her Ethiopian cousin to America, her little world has been rocked once again (that story is for another post, at another time). However, the thought process she has shared with me absolutely blows me away. She wants so badly to be with her cousin & "run to her & hug her", but she seems to understand that we are waiting on God's timing. She has shed plenty of tears this weekend, but she has come through them with an amazing peace (& I know that could only be accomplished through God's hand on her heart). She has more wisdom & faith than many grown adults. My prayer is that she will ALWAYS remember where she has come from & WHO carried her all along the way, how God always does work for the good of those who love Him. I am forever grateful to her Ethiopian family for giving her a fresh hope & future in our family. I pray that I can have the same strength & trust in God's provision & care for His children as they have shown. I thank God everyday for Him moving in their hearts & guiding them to Hannah's Hope, the place where we were united with our daughter forever. I am thankful for the amazing people at the orphanage who loved her, held her, & cared for her until we could become her family. We love you, Princess! Happy 1st Gotcha Day! One year down, forever to go!

"ForI know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper

you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

Jeremiah 29:11