Honestly? The tail end of our adoption was difficult for me. At first, it was mostly due to losing the chance to adopt sweet "Mila." I still think of her and feel sad. It's hard to describe the feeling of "missing" someone you never got the chance to meet. But more than that, there were a lot of emotions wrapped up in the journey. More than I can even describe right here and now, but maybe one day. Suffice it to say that our daughter's adoption story is...unique. Incredibly, unimaginably rare for an international adoption, and I can't even talk about it, because it involves others, and it's not fully my story to tell.
Adoption is just plain difficult sometimes, y'all. Okay, all the time. Let us not forget that even the most beautiful adoption story is first born from a tragic loss. A child lost a family, and a family often is left grieving a child, as well.
But without further ado, here is our precious daughter! "Wren," as she was listed on Reece's Rainbow, is our sweet Daisy! Loved, Wanted and, at long last, DAUGHTER! She was legally our daughter at just five months old, and turned six months old just four days later. She is amazing, and we are completely in love!
Daisy has been home 2.5 weeks now, and it's still unreal to me. I spent eight months filling out dossier papers, working on grant applications, fundraising my tail off, making *insane* amounts of fudge, and dreaming of my child being home...and here I am, writing this while watching Parks & Rec, while my sweet daughter is asleep in her crib in my bedroom. I really can't get over it.
There will be more. I'm going to continue to post about our life as a family of nine, and how Daisy grows and her life at home in the US. We will very likely adopt again at some point, and I'll chronicle that here, as well as posts advocating for other orphans that touch my heart. My life is forever changed by adoption, and I don't just mean by my daughter. I looked into the faces of children who will die if families who don't come. I can't unsee them. This is who I am now, and I make no apologies. I'm an advocate for the fatherless. Truthfully, we all should be.
So until next time...
