On May 19th they called and told us we were clear to travel. Our Embassy date is June 1st. Sam and his mom will be leaving this wednesday May 26th to bring home my baby boy. It is probably going to feel like they are gone for an eternity! But two weeks from today I will hold my baby boy in my arms again! Our whole family will be together. I can't wait. PRAISE THE LORD!
Tonight I sat in the kitchen eating my dinner while Sam took Violet outside. Sam bought me a swing for mothers day and they were swinging on it, enjoying the beautiful spring evening. Sam caught me peering through the window and so he motioned to Violet who quickly spotted me and began to wave and smile with her mouth open wide. Violet never stops moving and tonight was no exception. She would lay down, then sit up, then stand up, then back to laying, while daddy pushed them back and forth with his feet. Violet kept looking back at me and she and Sam would both smile and wave, and sometimes clap their hands. It was another one of those "Oh my gosh my heart is going to explode with love" moments. Such a stark contrast from where my heart was at last year.
Last year I dreaded mothers day for months. It was such an overwhelming reminder that my baby was not home yet. That Saturday night I laid in bed awake and as the clock changed to 12:00 I cried. I didn't go to church that Sunday, I didn't spend the day with my family. Just Sam and I hung out and pretended that it was another normal day.
This year is entirely different. As I write this my baby girl is sleeping soundly in the next room. And although my baby boy is not yet home, I have met him, held him and he legally bears our last name. He's a Cantrell, I am his mommy and he will be home soon.
I lack the words to express my overwhelming gratitude and Praise for our LORD. I could never do anything to deserve this blessing. Being Violet's mommy has brought me more joy than I ever thought possible. I love her in a way that I have never experienced before. And it makes me wonder what it will be like to be in the presence of our heavenly father. God loves me more than I love Violet. This new experience of love makes me wonder at the depths of love and joy we will experience in heaven when our adoption is fully complete and we are in our forever home. I know it will be unlike anything we could fathom in this life.
Being a mommy is everything I ever thought it would be and more. I love Violet and Tytus. And I am so proud to be their mommy this mother's day.
I can't believe I am so bad at updating my blog now! We officially passed court for Tytus on Tuesday April 13th. We received his birth certificate this Friday (April 30th) and they will hopefully turn in our paperwork to the Embassy on Wednesday! That means we will travel whenever the Embassy does an investigation on our case and gives us our Embassy date. So hopefully within the next 8 weeks, I will get to hold my baby boy again! I cannot wait to see him. When I said goodbye to him in Ethiopia, I didn't expect it to be this long before seeing him again.
Things with Violet are going awesome! We had our first post placement meeting with the social worker on Friday. She said Violet was one of the most well adjusted children she has seen. She said you wouldn't even know she hasn't always been ours. I already knew she was doing really well, but to hear the social worker say it was really nice.
Well, now I remember why I am so bad at updating my blog, Violet woke up, so I need to go. I will try to write again soon.
