Happy 1st and 4th!

By | 10:15 AM 5 comments
This time last year...

Our friends and family were anxiously awaiting our arrival at the airport.




































Jeremiah and I were practically running to be reunited with our family again.





































And we walked out of the airport as a family of five for the first time.

























We were tired, overwhelmed, and a little bit freaked out over what we had just done.

And we had no idea who this little boy was...haunted by a traumatic past, so tiny and frail, afraid and cautious, and full of quirky faces.

























He didn't look like my kid.
Didn't act like mine.
Didn't smell the same.
and he didn't even seem to like us very much.

I wasn't sure I could love him like mine. Like he deserved to be loved.

Turns out I couldn't.

BUT GOD COULD.

And a year later I can absolutely and honestly say he equipped me and filled me up to overflowing with HIS love for Eli.

I couldn't even imagine my life without his sweet spunky presence in it. Wouldn't want to imagine a life without him.

And how he has grown this year.
Not just the 4 inches taller and the 7lbs heavier.
He is stronger physically and emotionally.
He is affectionate.
And he is secure in his position within our family.

Ezra and him have gone from the best friends that weren't into the best of brothers.

























To go from what I felt this day last year to what I know today...
is NOTHING short of a miracle and a true testament to the grace and faithfulness of my God.

Happy 1st year as part of our family Eli Cade...
you are the bravest boy I know and have brought so much to our family!

I love you.
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5 comments:

Kelly Via said...

How awesome to see the changes in a year! So wonderful how he has just fit right right in your family (and our WHOLE family); God is so awesome like that. And you guys are great parents for him too!! Can't wait for him to have some cousins of color in the Via family for him to play with ;)

happy one year, that last photo is amazing.

Can't believe it's been a year!!! Oh, and that last picture is the best ever! LOVE it!

Dana said...

Ouch! That got me right in the jugular....sniff. How sweet.

Congrats on one year home! I am getting ready to type up our one year post placement reports and thought of you and wanted to check in. We are having a busy summer, but we are hoping that there will be sometime we can get together with you guys!

Tanya
onecrowdedhouse@gmail.com