I'm an Ogre.

Today has been an emotional day.  Our friends that are also adopting their daughter from Ukraine, left today.  We were blessed to be included in a group to pray over them before they left.  I had been mentally preparing to focus on them.  This was their day and their moment.  I am so thankful that God did allow me to feel that way.  It was so wonderful to pray for them and for the specific requests they had presented to the group.  However, once 4:00 p.m. came (the time their flight took off) my stomach was flipping.  Not that I was any less excited and happy for them, but I am ready to meet K, hold her, see her, kiss her and ultimately, be her mom.

I am very blessed that God has provided me with a husband that has such a compassionate heart.  He spent the afternoon popping in every now and then to say "It's 1 o'clock, they are driving to the airport!"  "It's 3:30, they are probably getting ready to board the plane."  "It's 4:45 p.m., they are in the air right now!!"  He was so giddy living vicariously through our friends.  So he says, "You need shoes for Ukraine, lets go get them now!"  I think he just wanted to be actively doing something towards the adoption since we are at a do nothin' stage.  So we did go shoe shopping and had a great time just being together.

On the way home I made the comment that we do not really have very many close friends.  J and I do everything together.  Really, we do everything together, grocery shopping.....house cleaning ...... gardening.....everything.  I am so blessed to have a husband that is truly my best friend, but once in a blue moon, I realize that we don't really have any close friends.  So J, in his best comforting attempt, says that I intimidate people.  He says people need to take the time to peal back the layers to find the real you.  Wait....what????!!!!  "So I'm an OGRE???"  (You had to have watched Shrek to get the humor :-)


I know he is right, about the layers thing.....not the ogre thing.  Adopting K is different from how our other children joined our family.  L, I gave birth to, and F, we brought her home from the hospital.  Meeting our daughter at the age of 16, is a different experience for us.  My prayer is that I am just a pile of mush when I meet K.  That my nervousness does not stop me from being comforting and nurturing to her immediately.  J is the more tender one of  us 2.  I pray that I am just as tender and that our family is able to start bonding right away.   That there is not any awkwardness, that she is reassured that she is our daughter with that first hug.  I pray she says "YES!" to the adoption.