The Count Down Begins

In one week, Mom and I will be flying to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to bring Belen home. It is an overwhelming feeling. Eleven days from now, I will be holding my baby in my arms. There are no words for the feeling I get when I think about it. I have gone through this process for almost 2 1/2 years knowing I desperately wanted to become a mom, knowing that God knew my child all along...now it is real.

I remember when I first started teaching at the school I attended in kindergarten through my senior year and the feeling I got when my former 1st grade teacher addressed me as "Miss Lane". As silly as it sounds, I felt like I had arrived. There was such respect with that title and now to be called "Mom". For me, there is no greater title. May I live up to everything that encompasses that name. A name of love, comfort, forgiveness, discipline, consistency, protector, care-giver, and so much more. This summer has brought so many emotions I don't know that I have ever experienced before. Tonight being one of those "emotional" nights. I think about my mom and the loving home I was raised in with two wonderful Christian parents. My parents have been such a great encouragement to me throughout the past 2 1/2 years. My mom will be traveling thousands of miles with me, not because she loves flying (far from it), not because she wants to see the world, she is going because she knows even as a grown woman...I need my mom. When I asked her to go, there was no hesitation. It was just another way of showing me a mother's love for her child and grandchild.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your unconditional love for me and your granddaughter. Since I can't stop the tears, I might as well continue with the mush. I love you so much Kevin, Melissa, Chandler, Hunter, Kelly, Jerry, Victor, McCallister, Tatyana, Wayne Edward, Kristi, Easton, and Hudson. Thank you for your support and encouragement. I know you are just as excited to see your new baby cousin and niece. I love you.