There are no words....

I've been hesitating about posting since we've been home. We did have an amazing trip to pick up our daughter, it's just been hard to find the words for all the emotions I've been feeling. You see, we were able to hug, talk to, and take pictures with Sophia's birth mother. In a moment of time, a woman we had never met became our family. It was the part of the trip I know I was the most nervous about. I could tell right off that she was nervous too. I don't want to go into details about what we asked her or post her photo. We believe that those things should be shared by our daughter when she wants to share them and is old enough to decide to. I can tell you that her favorite color is red, that she has Sophia's eyes, that she is beautiful, that she LOVES her daughter deeply, and that she is more courageous than anyone I have ever met. I hope that meeting us gave her peace about where her daughter was going and who would raise her. I hope she knows how much we love her and that we will continually pray for her. I hope she knows that we will tell Sophia about her and the selfless love she has for her daughter.

At the end of our meeting, she gave us bundled grass. This, in Ethiopian culture, symbolizes handing over a great responsibility to another. What an understatement...what a gift...

Family of Seven in the House!

Just wanted to make a quick post and let everyone know we are home with our sweet girl! She is transitioning beautifully (and so are we). So very thankful for all the prayers! We had an amazing trip and will post more about it later. For now, here are some photos of our sweetie!