Celebrating

Today is bittersweet. It's Mei Mei's birthday. You know, that one we shouldn't know about? Yeah, it's today. She's 1. Technically, it was last night (China time). I thought about her as I got ready for bed last night. I wonder if they're celebrating her over there.

I know she's in a foster home (HUGE blessing) with a few other children. That means she has a family-type setting rather than an orphanage setting. In so many orphanages over there, the beds are lined up side by side in large rooms, babies left in their cribs for hours on end--out of necessity, due to only a few workers being on hand at a time. Her being in a foster home means her attachment to us should be easier when the time comes. So that's a blessing!

It's hard not being able to celebrate with her, but we most definitely will be celebrating her here. Our kids are already head over heels in love with her. They've asked multiple times why we can't just fly over today and get her. :)  I'm so thankful that they are excited. It would be so easy in a family of 4 children to not be thrilled about adding another. We talked to our children at length before beginning this process...making sure they were all on board. From the beginning they were ecstatic! They weren't worried about sharing rooms or toys or time...they just wanted to know how soon we could get her. My kids are amazing. And I love how genuinely they love others.

Today is not only a day to celebrate Mei Mei, however. It's also a day to remember that this is the last birthday she will spend without her forever family. The day of her birth and her first birthday are a small price to pay to celebrate all of the others with her. I look forward to those birthdays, those milestones, and all the everyday days in between with her. In the meantime, we'll celebrate her here, on the other side of the globe.

Here's to turning 1, sweet girl. Mama's coming.