Two Years Ago...

On September 14, 2006 we got a call from the adoption agency we were working with. They called to tell us about a little 21 month-old girl and asked us if we were interested in adopting her. We had started the paperwork one year earlier, so we were thrilled to finally get the call. Donna told me about her and then said she would send us a picture. I told her that of course we would love a picture, but I didn't need one to know she was ours. I called Mike and he agreed. As I sat waiting for the email with the picture it was like waiting for the line to appear on the pee stick. When the email came the song playing on my itunes just happened to be "Isn't She Lovely." It was even better than an ultrasound--we could see her face. This is that first picture.

Jessica now.

It was two years ago this week that Mike and I traveled to Liberia to bring her home. In many ways it feels like she has been with us forever. She is a bright little sunshine in our home. She is so funny and sweet and smart and loving. I can't imagine our family without her.

Adopting a toddler has come with it's own set of challenges. Communication difficulty, cultural differences, understanding her personality, bonding and attachment. I wasn't prepared for how much I would grieve missing her first two and a half years of life. I think about what she might have experienced, what might have happened to her. I feel reassurance that she had a birth family that loved her and did their best to care for her.

A friend asked me about our trip to Liberia. The only word I could come up with was "complicated." International adoption is complicated. Liberia with all of the political and social issues is complicated. Traveling there is complicated. Getting anything done there is complicated. Finding new underwear to purchase there is complicated. Trying to get out of the country is complicated. The only thing that wasn't complicated was picking Jessica up in my arms and taking care of her and loving her.

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Two years has flown by. She has made so much progress. She has taught us so much. Two years ago this beautiful little blessing entered our lives and we are so so lucky.