It isn’t often that we humans get to see our lives flash before our eyes.
Usually, these special glimpses into who we are come at a very, very high price. We see them before we say goodbye. Usually, these collections of moments are reserved for times we’re not around — funerals and memorials, in eulogies and prayers.

It is no small thing to catch these glimpses while we are awake. And Matt and I are so very awake to the truth that we are loved.

Humbled.
Our friends and family have poured out love. We have been blessed with incredible support, encouragement, enthusiasm and prayers. Every morning, we wake to a chorus of youcandoits. Every night, we fall asleep with a steady stream of tears pushing down our cheeks.
We are undone. So grateful. Out of words.

I haven’t been able to type even this without crumbling into a mess of tears and gratitude. In a way, at first, i felt bad for not being able to really be thankful without sobbing. But now, i see that maybe that’s the best place to be. What kind of world would I be bringing our son or daughter into if they regularly saw gratitude in their home?

We are adopting because this is where God has us. We are adopting because we cannot wait to be called Mom and Dad. We are adopting because there are millions of children who long for Home.

But now, we see that we can do all that because of our sweet, loving, encouraging, hilarious, tender friends and family.

Thank you, dear ones, for all of it. The kindness, the peace, the cheers, the donations, the prayers.

We could never repay you, prayer for prayer, cent for cent. But we promise to raise up a child who knows gratitude, who knows how to perpetuate that legacy. And this little baby will begin his or her life with us surrounded by thanks to God and thanks for you.