Birthday and Metcha day!

Two years ago today at about this time, Dale and I were sitting in a room at an orphanage in Razgrad, Bulgaria waiting to meet our sweet little girl. Our journey to that point had been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster, as most adoptions are. I can’t speak for Dale, but I know I had every emotion possible running through my body at this time and was so very nervous to meet her. But I did not need to worry. I have no doubt that God had prepared her for us and she was so ready to meet her mommy and daddy. She came in and the caregiver told her mama and she came right to me and took my outstretched hands and patted them and smiled so sweet My regret is that they would not allow us to video the first meeting. Oh how I wish I could have had that moment preserved on video. It is etched in my mind forever though…Happy Metcha Day Kayti Elizabeth. Daddy and I love you soo, soo much and did from the first minute we saw you. I found the poem below shortly after trip one and changed a few words, but it describes how I felt that day perfectly! We also celebrated your 6th birthday and second birthday at home on October 5 and had a great weekend of parties this past week. She got so many nice gifts from everyone! She totally knew this weekend was all about her birthday! To those of you who were at her family party reading this, thank you for everything and about the drama towards the end, and we love you all! As always, I thought of her birth mother today and thanked her for the greatest blessing we could have ever received! I am sure that a lot of you are wondering where we are in our 2nd adoption process to bring our little boy home. We received USCIS approval on September 16, 2013 and are US agency is putting our dossier together to send soon. Praying it makes it by the last October meeting so we can travel this year on trip one. As for Kayti, most of you see how well she is doing and that she is thriving on her families love! She continues to amaze us every day and continues to make us laugh constantly, and just touches every place in our hearts. We are making progress in all areas. She can now dress herself completely, put her dishes in the sink when done with a meal, put her clothes in the hamper before her bath, bring us her cup when asking for a drink, and she now feeds our one chihuahua every night. She is now starting to recognize people and associate names with them. She recognizes letters and numbers. (NOT to read them, just know that they are either letters or numbers. She will say the alphabet when she sees letters, and start counting numbers when she sees numbers (ie numbers on a clock, watch, my keyless entry on my car, etc). She is starting to recognize her name a little bit now as well. Potty training continues to be a work in progress. I was extremely proud of her on Sunday as it was her birthday party with family, and as excited as she was she said she needed to go potty twice and kept a dry pull-up all day. Other days we get distracted and forget. She also pottys at school most of the time now as well! We will continue to work on it until we get it 100%. She is still going to her pre-school two days a week and loves it. They have been great with her and she loves her teachers! We had a great summer and enjoyed beautiful weather for our fairs and enjoyed our own camper this year so much. This weekend we are having our annual weiner roast and hayride and are looking so forward to that! Thank you all for your continued love and support! Love you all:) Lori, Dale, and Kayti!! How can I understand what I am about to see? The years of waiting arel now just a memory. Your eyes, your skin, your hair, the beauty of your face. I can’t believe that this day we finally embrace. Instantly the pain I felt so deep has now gone. Instantly I now have a child to call my own. Instantly you are my dream come true. Instantly, miraculaously blessed with you. I can hardly believe how beautiful you are. Practically perfection, the most precious one by far. A gift that was tucked away until this day. That we could meet, and I know your okay. Instantly and seemingly in a great big whirl, I have now met my sweet, beautiful little girl. Instantly and suddenly you are my dream come true. Instantly, so instantly I am blessed with you. How do I even begin to thank my Father above? Fow allowing me to know the depth of a mother’s love. Tears I’ve cried before this day don’t matter anymore. I have a joy in my heart I have never felt before. Instantly, a perfect gift bestowed upon me. I will love you until enternity. Instantly to you, I have lost my heart. Instantly I loved you so from the start. I will try my very best to love and care for you. Because that is just what mommies do! Instantly, suddenly you became my world. I love you to the moon and back my sweet baby girl.