Remembering When.....

It was about this time (Liberia is 5 hours ahead of us) one year ago we met A&E. What a year its been! Today is also Annie's birthday. We are laying low, three of us, (not the children with the immunity of horses which would be A&E!) have the stomach flu. Yuck. But Annie already appears a bit better and I had to sit up for a while.
It's hard to remember our lives before Abegail and Emmanuel. From the time we got our referral January 10th, 2007 until we met them one year ago, it seemed like forever. The year since has gone lighting fast. The kids were so small a year ago. So quiet when we first met them. Now our lives are filled with counselors, case managers, and social workers. But we have made tons of progress, actually the kids have made the progress we just stood by and watched. Someone who had adopted himself said to me, "the first year is always a blur. You don't really know what you've gotten yourself into, but its good you don't know or no one would ever do it." So true. But two weeks ago I finally breathed and thought, I think the first 50 weeks are the hardest. I do feel like its getting easier, E-man is making progress, he has some rough moments but I see progress in everything we can do that we couldn't do at one time. And now I have this relationship with this man half way around the world who I call once a month to say, your kids are fine, how are you and how are your other children? We barely know Alexander but have this huge connection with him. And last week Scott and I figured out A&E have given us the biggest gift anyone could ever get.

Quotes from Annie:
A: Mommy, what do you want to be when you grow up, a princess or a doctor?