One Year Ago Today....

A year ago today I received the referral for Henry. I had waited months for an adoption appointment from Ukraine, and in the meantime Vietnam had opened backup to the US. As soon as I changed directions everything just fell into place.

I had been told a week earlier that a referral was eminent, and I remember waiting nervously and with great excitement for a message fromt he agency. Finally it arrived on 7 February. This is the first photo I saw of my son.
I can't count the times I looked at the photo and others, wondering what he was doing, what life would be like when he was part of my family. I looked at his somber expression and dirty fingernails and fretted about him.

And now he is with me and my life is so completely different. Henry brings great joy and great responsibility to my life. The blurry photo below is one I took this morning. He did not wake up on his own, I had to go in and turn the light on and rouse him out of sleep. He had a quick bath and then I dressed him for the day. He was laughing as I put his shoes on and I snapped this photo.