Gratitude to my Heavenly Father for giving us an amazing son that was born half way around the world and bringing us on this amazing journey in which He gets all the glory! Some may think that Elijah is the one that is so blessed to be given a new chance at life, and that may be true. But, I can already tell you that we are the ones blessed to have them in our life and family.
Gratitude to Elijah's birth parents for giving him life, for giving him up so that he may live and bloosom into all the Lord has designed him to be.
Gratitude to my husband who heard God's call for our lives and was willing to give whatever it took to be obedient to that call. Gratitude to my parents for giving up SO much in coming to watch our children. Gratitude to our children who have also given up so much in having their parents gone for so long. I love you all! I'm so VERY grateful.
And finally, gratitude to family and friends who have prayed, prayed, and prayed some more for Elijah, us and this process. Also, gratitude to all that gave in so many different ways so that we able to come over and bring Elijah home. Thank you!
(And I should add - gratitude to all of you that are reading and have left comments or emailed. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, especially this week.)
THANK YOU!!!
The Lord has given us a very unique and awesome gift and privilege to meet Elijah's birth parents. I know it happens w/ some RR adoptions, but not very often. I pray it will be a gift to him as well when he gets old enough to understand. The meeting went well today. I waited for them in the lobby of the orphanage. She brought some items for him - clothes, hat, scarf, tights (yes, in Europe the boys wear tights too), and 3 things that I am the most excited about...hand-knitted socks, vest and a cross necklace! His mother knit the socks and vest herself! What a gift! I don't know about your house, but at our house we take hand-crafted gifts very seriously. :-) I'm so excited!!! And the cross necklace will be something that I will always treasure, and he will too someday.
So, some of the things I think he will wear for "Gotcha Day" - the day he leaves the orphanage forever! (Sarah, don't worry, he will still wear the beautiful hat and scarf you made for him. :-))
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| Gifts from Elijah's Mother |
The rest of our short visit went well. Thankfully, it wasn't quite as emotional as last time. I kept thanking them for all the gifts, and they said, "No, thank YOU." They went up to visit Elijah, possibly for the last time. I can't imagine. Please pray for them. They asked if they could bring me back to the apt, but I declined. (I love the marshuka (bus)! :-)) Actually, I really didn't want to be there when they came back down. Selfish? Maybe. They just need their time to be alone after that. But, I had the extreme privilege of meeting Elijah's maternal grandfather too! What fun! After his parents went upstairs to visit him, I showed Grandpa our photo album. He doesn't speak a word of English, so I was thankful for the Russian translations I put on the labels of the photos. I really think he enjoyed it. He gave me a big smile AND a hug before I left. How sweet! :-)
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| I taught Elijah how to give Papa a big kiss! :-) Ready to plant one here! |
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| A big smooch for Daddy! :-) |
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| Elijah and his bear got lots of rides back and forth today |
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| Decorations in the grouppa room |
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| Look what Shea did! The first thing the nanny told me today was that Shea glued all of the pieces of the "garland" (small candies) himself! Hmmm, that tells me his fine motor skills are not lacking at all. :-) Have I mentioned that he wants his own MAMA really bad??? As soon as I peek into the room, he yells "Mama!". Oh, Shea's mama, where are you???? |
4 comments:
What amazing experiences you are having! It is such a blessing to have been able to meet Elijah's birth family. And I can understand the emotions you are having to some degree. Everything is so new, adoption is an emotional roller coaster (although a good one), and the lives of all the other precious children are also dear to heart. I am glad to see that while you are staying through the wait, that you are able to bond more with Elijah. I can only imagine what your days hold, and I am praying that all continues to go well for you (and those who follow - thanks for praying for that for us as well!)
Hi Jill,
Just found out about your journey and spent the WHOLE morning reading your blog from the beginning:) What a wonderful Christmas gift for your family, your family is in my prayers!
Joyce Olson
I am in tears here reading about Elijah's birth parents and their gifts and love for him. Our daughter was abandoned when she was 2 weeks old and didn't have a single visitor in the two years she spent at the baby house. It breaks my heart that they missed out on such a wonderful gift- a relationship with their beautiful daughter. It is wonderful that you were able to meet this couple and see the love they have for him.
you are SO amazingly lucky to have been able to meet his first parents :) hugs!!
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