One Year Ago

It's hard to believe that last year at this time Justin and I were in Ethiopia meeting our daughter for the first time. We first saw her, held her, and kissed her sweet face on December 17, 2010.  From the pictures we had seen and the stories we heard, we were truly expecting to meet a shy and scared little girl that day. I was prepared to wait patiently for her to warm up to us, but instead I was met with a hug and a kiss from the happiest child I had ever seen. 

 This is the first picture taken of me with my girl. Her laughter was so breathtaking.

 I was filled with joy and I had no doubt the Lord chose this little one for our family. She reminded me so much of our Jaxon. I knew from the start they would be double trouble. :)

I will never forget the amazing day we had with her.

 It only took about 3 seconds for her to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

 Her smiles have been bringing us joy ever since that day.

 One year ago tomorrow a judge declared that she was our daughter forever. What a year it has been. In some ways I can't believe it has already been a year, and at the same time it seems like she has been in our family forever.

 A bonus on our trip was getting to know this sweet family and their new son, Eli.

This picture was taken as we were telling her goodbye before we left to come back to America. The pictures show that I was holding myself together, but inside I felt like I would explode. Oh, that was so hard! I am so thankful for this year with our daughter.