I Am Blessed

As everyone knows, today is Mother's Day.  A day we celebrate mom's.     I remember not too many years ago that Mother's Day was a reminder for what I didn't have yet. I am so grateful that God has blessed our lives with the 4 precious kids we now have!  Some days it felt like my dream would never come true, but then God blessed us - quickly!  And now here I am, the tired and very busy mama of 4 beautiful children!  2 boys and 2 girls. 2 born out of my body and 2 born by their first mama's.

Oh to my firstborn son.  The one we waited so long for, and it felt like agony at the time.  The one who I saw for the first time in photos just days before Mother's Day 5 years ago.  The one who I traveled halfway around the world to hold in my arms.  The one who gave me a unique and heartfelt love for a whole different country and culture.  The one who now, is old enough to start asking questions that I don't have the answers for. Oh, how I wish I had answers.  The one with who I have spent every day of the last 3 years wishing and longing that we would get word that our search for his mother has been succesful. I don't think I will ever be able to give up.  Because she is a part of him.  The wait was long, but God knew what he was doing.  He gave us an incredible firstborn.  One who loves all his younger siblings with such gentle leadership.  We have been blessed!

Then there is our second born!   The one who I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw 2 lines on a test for the very first time.  The one who kept me feeling quite ill on those flights to Ethiopia to get his big brother. The one who surprised me yet again as he decided to come earlier than we were expecting. The one who fought very hard for those very first breaths in this world.  The one who I didn't get to hold for 24 hours and who was hooked up to all the wires.  The one who scared me the most!  The one who is stubborn, yet sweet and reminds me so much of his father!  We have been blessed!

And then our 3rd born.  Our first sweet princess.  The one who really surprised me.  The one who scared me half to death while pregnant. The one who kept me on bed rest.  The one who made me cry when her daddy announced she was a girl.  The one who has been a princess since the day of her birth.  The one who was so easy and slept through the night at 5 weeks old.  The one who was the happiest baby ever born.   The one who is a princess through and through, but a tough princess that you don't want to mess with!  We have been blessed!

And finally, our youngest little bundle. The one who made me a mother again since last Mother's Day! The one we were told was a girl, then a boy, then a girl again. The one who rounded out our family perfectly. The one who was placed directly from her birth mama's arms into mine.  The one that I watched as her first mama whispered sweet I love you's in her ears and gave her a lifetime of kisses before saying goodbye for the last time.  The one who has kept me on my toes the most. The one who I celebrate each and every milestone because I know they are hard fought!  She is feisty and determined! We have been blessed!

  I am so thankful that God saw fit to give me these 4 little blessings.  They exhaust me and push my buttons, but my heart is so full and I am so blessed to be mama to each and every one of them!  Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there. And for all of you who today is painful for one, whatever that reason might be - you are loved and not forgotten.