Two blankets........

The moment that we had been waiting for and dreaming of came two years ago today. For the very first time we held our youngest son and daughter. Moments that I will cherish forever and a day that will never be forgotten.

I will never forget pulling up to the office of our adoption agency and walking into the office area where they told us to be seated. I grabbed David's arm and squeezed tighter than I had ever squeezed (even harder than during the births of our first four children) as we waited for the orphanage staff to bring Tizita and Geremew to us. We had seen hundreds of photos of them to the point that I felt that I knew them yet I really knew nothing about who they really were.

As they walked into the room I literally held my breath and fought back the tears. I didn't want to scare them by crying yet the joy in my heart was overflowing. All of the days of praying, seeking wisdom, making phone calls, filling out paperwork, and the heart break of thinking that they may never be ours melted away in that moment. Here we were holding these gifts that God had made to be ours.

I first held Tizita in my arms while David quickly scooped up Geremew. Just as I had when I was handed our four biological babies I wanted to take in each inch of my precious daughter. I wanted to see every small detail on her face and so I quickly put my hands on her cheeks and gazed into her eyes. She had a tear in her eye and as I wiped it I thought that this would be the first of many tears that I would get to wipe from her eyes- I am sure that the excitement and fear of that moment was overwhelming to her. To see her mom and dad in person for the very first time must have been unreal for her.

Tizita and Geremew grabbed our arms and continued to rub them over and over. It was as if they were just making sure that we were real and that they were not dreaming. They would then touch our faces and laugh in delight. They held tight to us both and from the first moments that we were together you could see the joy in their little faces.

We had very little communication that first day together because Nicco our translator was checking over their paperwork as we played and interacted with the twins. The twins didn't speak or understand any English and of course we knew very little of their language. Little did we know that Nicco was collecting information that would change the course of our adoption process as we played, took pictures and loved on our kids that very first day.

We brought bears for Tizita and Geremew that we as a family had made at Build-A-Bear. The six of us had recorded our voices inside the bears and so it brought such joy to them as they pushed the button and would hear Megan, Kaylee, Lindsay and Jacob speak to them. They would laugh out loud and push the button over and over. Pure joy for me as a mom to watch two very scared, shy orphans know that they were loved and that we were there only for them.

Along with the bears we brought both Tia and Garrett a special blanket for them to sleep with each night. We knew that this time together was so special but it was only a few days and we would have to return home without them. We decided to take a blanket for each of them to sleep with while we were apart. I literally prayed over these blankets- I prayed that God would use these simple blankets to remind Tia and Garrett each night that we loved them and that we would return soon to bring them home with us forever. They both had these blankets with them each night the months that we were apart. Tonight as I tucked them both in (and every night) guess which blanket was covering them first? These small simple blankets that continue to remind them that they are loved and cared for! Each night as I pull those blankets up to tuck them in I praise God for all that He has done- A reminder now to me how much He loves me!