Where has the Year Gone?

As I wake up this morning and begin to reflect on the events of this day last year, I just have to pinch myself? A year already? Was there a time when she was never really ours? How can it be that it's only been 365 days since our final trip (for now) to Guatemala began?
Yep, today is our precious little princesa's GOTCHA day! Gotcha Day, you ask? Well, it's basically the day she was in our arms forever and we didn't have to "give her back" (This, by far, ranked right there with waiting in PGN). So last September 21, 2006, John and I waited anxiously in the lobby of the Marriott for our little bundle of joy to come running into our arms forver. We had been in that situation four previous times that year. The first, being the most overwhelming. The second, hard but a little easier. The third, extremely difficult as I was there alone and giving her back was so much harder, and the fourth we were there to celebrate her birthday and when Sara put her down she cam walking to us. Sara being so proud of Ari's first steps. This last time. This fifth time, we thought for sure the bells would chime and angels would come down out of the Heavens. This was "our moment" . Is the video camera ready? Is it on? We were about to take our daughter into our arms forever. There were no bells, no angels, just the screams of a scared little 14 month old that didn't really remember who we were. John put his arms out to her and she just screamed "NO". Which by far, is her most favorite word to date. It was a lot harder day than I had expected. I was expecting only happy thoughts and a moment of pure bliss and extreme joy. I think right there in the middle of the Marriott lobby, I realized what Sara was about to go through. She had raised our daughter since birth. For the fourteen months, I didn't have her. She did. It was a very hard time with her boys there, her husband. We exchanged gifts and hugs and tears and then there we were in the lobby of the Marriott alone with our daughter, with NO ONE to take her away from us.

So, where has the time gone this past year? It's been filled with tears, attitude, joy, new words, new tastes, new adventures, new achievements. Ariana has come full circle this past year. The first month or two were hard. She missed her foster mama. The thought of all these boys freaked her out a little I think. The transition was not all fun and games but with time and prayer, she has become and is an amazing little girl, too. She is no longer that chubby little baby who would giggle and coo and let us see all her little fat rolls. She is a bubbly, on the go, two year old who enjoys being in the "terrible two's" She loves to carry purses and play with dolls. She loves to get in mommy's make-up and put it all over her face. If you say her name she looks at you and says "what?" . She likes to run and giggle and show off. She especially loves her Papi and is sure to make sure he sees her when he comes home from work. She loves her brothers and likes to antagonize them in her own way. She loves her little cousin Karolina and greets her with a hug each time she sees her. She no longer has the bowl haircut and her hair touches her shoulders. She still LOVES to eat but has become a little more picky. We have truly seen the growth of an amazing child these past twelve months. I don't even realize her eyes are brown and mine are blue. She has black her and I do not. I see completely past that. She is my daughter. God gave me (us) a gift. He knew when



she was in her mother's womb her intentions. He knew she was a part of our family. That's what amazes me abou the entire adoption process. For us, it was our biggest lesson about faith and God that we could ever learn. God provided. We believed. We had faith. God prevailed. She is home and in our arms forver and as we celebrate this first Gotcha Day we can't help but give thanks to God for all he's given. Not only for our Guatemalan princesa but for the friends we've made along the way (Donna, Renee, Niki) ,for the friends we've grown closer to down this path (you know who you are) and the life changing awareness it has given family and friends to accepting someone who doens't look like your or has different heritage than you. It is my prayer that Ariana with hold true to her Guatemalan heritage and be proud of where she was born and be proud to be an American as well. John and I have a true fondness for Guatemala and only hope and pray that we return someday. Thanks to all of you who have prayed over these past few years from when we started paperwork, to when we were stuck in PGN, to when we finally came home. Without all of you, this process would've been so much more difficult.



HAPPY GOTCHA DAY ARIANA!!!!