Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Wait

Anyone who has gone through the adoption process knows how grueling the wait can be. First you wait for fingerprint clearance, than you wait for a referral, than you wait for a court date (or two or three), than you wait for your embassy date, and finally your travel date. The one thing that helps with all of this waiting is getting pictures of your little one. We were fortunate during our wait. A number of families traveled to Ethiopia, during this time, and supplied us with many photos of Hope.

As our "Gotcha Day" anniversary approaches, I find myself looking at Hope's orphanage photos again and again. She looks so sad in these photos, and so different from the happy, bubbly little girl I know. As I look at them, I realize that she was waiting as well...waiting to be safe and warm, waiting to have a full belly, and waiting to be loved and held. Looking back, her wait was much harder than ours.

1 comment:

Luv4thePaws said...

Beautiful post, beautiful girl! Beautiful family!! I'm so happy for you as your Hope anniversary approaches!! Around Valentines, right? She was an adorable baby, and she is growing into a joyful, gorgeous little girl. So blessed! :) When I see happy-endings like yours, the self-doubt, the questions, the "what-ifs" seem to melt away.