Gratitude

Three years ago today, my husband and I were sleeping in a hotel. We had just taken a plane from Beijing to Nanning in southern China. After waiting eleven months for me to turn the magic age of thirty to adopt in China, we waited almost three more years for our daughter. So, it didn't really feel real to me. The next day, we would board a bus to go meet our daughter.

When my doctor met my husband, we were just dating. She didn't say hello or anything of that sort. She just shook his hand and said, "Let me be clear. She is not going to have your babies." It was a memorable introduction and the beginning of a long road to be parents.

Today, I am thankful for my husband who agreed to go down this amazing road with me. If he had doubts about it, he never let on. When others had doubts, he didn't back down. He just waited with me and always believed that it would happen eventually.

I am also thankful for the amazing parents who made my darling daughter. I will likely never have the chance to meet them or tell them how much I appreciate the sacrifice that they made for their daughter. I believe the choice to give her another life was not so much of a choice. So, I hope that wherever they might be, they know in their hearts just how amazing she turned out and the opportunities in front of her. I hope they also know that she is loved and adored.

I don't think that you can travel down the road of adoption and not believe in a higher power. There are a lot of rumors about what happens in the match room in China when children are put together with their adoptive parents. It was divine intervention that made that match happen in a way that I could never have designed or imagined.

I am really happy to be in America today. I am grateful for the opportunity to watch Blake with my daughter and dance with my husband. I can't help but think how amazing she is sitting at the table in her pajamas that read, "I love my mom and dad" wearing a pink glitter headband. Today, she is working on cards to send to soldiers overseas, her latest craft project. Three years ago today, I was trying to sleep. I had no idea how much my life was about to change. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Blessings,

Cindy