Missing Ethiopia...

I just developed a bunch of our ET pictures. Man... it makes me miss Ethiopia. As I look at the pictures I see so many things I didn't really see when I was there. (I was a little preoccupied.) I want to go back so badly. Nicki and I talk about going there sometime next year, I hope that becomes a reality. I fell in love with the country and the people. It was definitely a divine direction that we chose this country to start our family. When I was there it felt like home. You know that feeling of just knowing that something is right. Like when you knew you were supposed to marry your spouse, or the first time you laid eyes on your child, or when you found a job that would become a career... you just knew it was right. The day we stepped foot in Savannah we knew its where we were meant to be. The day I stepped foot in Ethiopia, I knew it would forever have my heart. 

Ethiopia is such a beautiful country. The people are so warm. But it is also so heartbreaking. It puts your life into perspective. How fortunate we are to live in the US, to be born into a life of privilege. I think about that everyday. I didn't do anything to deserve this. It was just given to me. What am I going to do with this gift?

Many people think that we have done so much by adopting, that it is how we use our gift.  Many people say to Tek, "you are so lucky." And while yes it is undeniable that Tek's life will be drastically different living here in the States, he is not lucky. Not anymore than any of us or any of your children. God chose this life for him in the same way he chose it for us. He just had a different way of bringing him here. If anyone is lucky or blessed, its Andy and I. We have this amazing child that has changed our life in an indescribable way. This is how God wanted to build our family, in the same way many of you have built your families biologically. Tek was grown in my heart the same way I had grown in my mothers womb. It looks and feels very different, but it is the same in so many ways. Ask any adoptive mother. 

If I could make people understand anything about adoption it is that adoption is not how you save the world. Its how you build a family.  Every time someone says to Tek "you are so lucky," I cringe just a bit. I never want him to feel as though he is indebted to us, that we "saved" him. We did not. We just waited for God to bring him to us. 

Tonight I feel like the luckiest woman in the world (even with my stuffy nose! :) and I am fortunate that I have an amazing husband to share this with. God has been so good to this undeserving woman. 

God-- I hope that I make you proud of what I do with these gifts.