One year ago today, my prayers were answered. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I met the most beautiful, amazing, lovable, 5 month old baby girl - my daughter. I remember the day like it was yesterday - the excitement, the sights/sounds/smells, the rain, the love, the visceral emotions of the day and the moment I met my Little Miss. I have such wonderful memories of that day and of the moments/hours surrounding our union. I knew in that moment that I was truly blessed!I had big plans for today full of fun activities, tradition setting, and nostalgic moments, but things don't always work out as we plan. The challenges of this day began at 10:30pm yesterday when my girl was still fighting sleep. With a poor night's sleep for both of us and a crack of dawn "Mama, Mama, Maaamaaa!" wake up call, we didn't really stand a chance. Little Miss has very few days that are cranky, unhappy. Today (Murphy's Law) happened to be one of them. I tried to delay the fun activities until after a morning nap, but the nap just didn't happen. When all else fails, get that girl in the car (strapped and immobilized by carseat buckles) and eventually sheer exhaustion wins the battle. However, it was a little too little (25 minute nap - ugh!) a little too late - the plans had to be nixed. The driving nap did yield an unexpected pleasure though, we ended up at a great learning toy store. In the spirit of anniversary celebration, I spent too much but got some beautiful wooden puzzles, shape sorters, books, etc. for Little Miss - Happy Family Day to us! There were some tears today and maybe a tantrum or two and our plans were ultimately nixed by our combined fatigue and crankiness, but it was still our first family day anniversary. Through it all, my heart was and is very full - full of gratitude, full of love, full of joy. And we did manage to squeeze in a few fun moments, some reminiscing, and a few activities that will hopefully become family day traditions. I'm reminded today of how quickly time passes. I can almost imagine our family days in 5, 10, 20 years and am so looking forward to what each new day brings. In the meantime, I will continue to savor every moment - the good, the fun, and even the cranky. My love for you, Little Miss, is beyond words. You are a tremendous gift to our whole family. I love you so much!! Happy Anniversary Princess!
8-18-08
8-18-09
2 comments:
Sounds perfect to me,, because you are together! I too have learned that the less planning the better, enjoy the moments and forget the schedule! Happy GOTCHA DAY! Now I better find the time tonight to do a post myself!
Sorry I'm so slow, but Happy Gotcha Day! We, too, do better without too many plans. Why is that? An Ethiopian thing, maybe? Haha!!
I was thinking on what you said...5, 10, 20 years from now. Uh, yeah...I think that we are all going to have to live together to be able to handle these girls!! heehee!!!!
Post a Comment