Home one month. Really??

Yep, it's been exactly one month since we brought Aliya home. Honestly, it feels like she's been with us so much longer than that. I mean that in a good way! She so naturally fits into our family that her transition has been almost seamless.

This is not at all what I had expected. I had expected that with all the things that we'd been through in the last year, God was preparing us for something even harder. But I was sure wrong!

Blaine and I are so amazed at this girl. She is open with us about things she wants to share with us. She trusts us and knows that we are her family forever. How can a child who has suffered such loss and undergone so many transitions trust us so quickly? How can she love or even like anyone? How can she not be bitter and angry and fearful? How can she not just cling to us for fear of being left alone again? Where does she get such confidence? How can she laugh like she has never had a care in the world?

God has healed her heart.

Don't worry, I'm not naive to the fact that things will come up down the road. We've seen little things, but absolutely no big things yet. Praise God for the way He worked out for THIS girl to be our daughter. He does know best!

Her English continues to improve each day. Her latest thing she loves to say is, "Dad, do you HEAR ME??" You have to imagine it with her accent and the way she rolls her R's. She has lots to learn but it is fun to watch her pick things up. Her sense of humor is a strong part of her personality. She cracks us up many times a day. Mostly, on purpose;) Sometimes when she's not trying.

She told us that she prayed for a family who had other kids because she really wanted a brother and a sister. I told her, "Well, you got more than that!"

Then she told us that she prayed for a family who was crazy, like her. I told her, "Well, you got that, too!" She said, "I know!" You can take that however you want to but what she by that was she wanted a family who could joke around like her.

She was often told, "Silence!" in class or by the house mother in her orphanage because she does have a tendency to talk a lot and goof off.

Yep, she fits right in here.

We are so thankful to the Lord for Aliya. She is a blessing to our family and a gift from God.

Older child adoption...actually teenage adoption...don't shy away. We couldn't have made a better decision. Actually it was God's decision. We just said, "YES."

Love,
Laura