My Baby Turns 5!

Five candles for 5 years of life. Her Birthday just happens to be her "Gotcha Day" as well. We would need 3 candles to celebrate that.

Princess? You bet!

She used to be Daddy's Girl, but now she's all mine! Her smiles are infectious.

Life really is like a vapor. It goes by so fast. Five years ago we weren't even thinking about adopting, yet our baby girl was being birthed out in the African bush.

Lack of food and resources led a young mother to make a very difficult decision. One day she made the long walk to an orphanage and handed over her only child. She knew that the moment she turned her back and walked away it would be goodbye forever. The most she could hope for would be a family who had enough food, treated her baby well and would give her a good education.

But she would never really know.

Sometimes I want her to know that I love her little girl beyond comprehension. She has never missed a meal and she is so stinking smart.

I cannot claim that she is all mine, though my heart cries out that she is. Reality is that she looks just like her birth mom. They share a dimple high on their left cheeks.

The years have healed the physical effects of birthing a child. I wonder if the emotional scars have mended. On the other side of the world, is a beautiful Liberian woman remembering this day? Does she ever regret her decision?

Or, has she moved on - everything a dim shadow of a time long ago?

All I know is, my life has been forever changed for the better by opening my heart up to my African babes! Through them, God in His graciousness has shown me how much He can love me - HIS adopted daughter!

Happy Birthday, my precious baby girl!