Grateful for Amy!

So as most of you know Justin and I have been praying that our blogger friend Amy would get the opportunity to see Blake while she was in Vlad. The icing on the cake would be her getting pictures of him to share with us. Well sure enough our prayers were answered. Amy emailed us at about 1:00 a.m. this morning and was able to share 4 pictures of our precious son. Here is what she shared about the visit….

First... breathe! I know you are super excited - and you should be! I got to see Blake today! WHAT A SWEETHEART he is! I totally know why you fell head over heels for him.

The director of the Baby Home was there today - so we asked her permission and first she said "sure I will give him the book" but my AWESOME translator said "she would like to take a picture of him for the mom" - and she said YES!!! So we went up to the visiting room and waited for a couple minutes. It was VERY busy at the orphanage today - lots of workers coming and going. A couple minutes later the Director herself brought Blake in! He was all smiles.

I didn't want to confuse him - so I had my translator say "she is a friend of your mama". And I showed him your book. INSTANTLY he knew himself, and ------ drum roll, first he saw a picture of Justin and said "papa!" and then he saw a picture of Heather and said "mama!". It's hard not to cry when I type this because he is really such a sweet boy!! I pointed to your house and he said "dom" and of Annie (that is our dog) and he said "sabaka" - and then we looked at the pictures of Brady and Madison and I explained "sistrah and braot". Such big smiles.

Justin and I are so thankful that Amy could be our messenger. She is such a sweet and caring person. It may not seem like that big of a deal to some of you – so what she just delivered the album and took some pictures you may think. Ohhh - on the contrary! When you visit the orphanage your anxiety level is heightened. You feel you are under a microscope. You don’t understand what is being said around you and you NEVER want to offend anyone or their rules, procedures, and routines. So the fact that Amy stepped even further outside her comfort zone to do this for us is admirable. In addition, we believe with all of our heart that in some way seeing the pictures in the album will help Blake have a bit of peace knowing that we will return.

It is a very joyous day for us, but I have to admit that there is a bittersweet bit to the whole situation. One is my heart just broke with how much bigger he looks. He is growing up and we are missing out on these precious days. Two, I can’t help but to wonder how much he understands the concept of mama and papa. After all they call all caregivers mama. I hope that by the look in his eyes I can let myself believe he understands that our relationship is going to be much different and special. Thirdly, the lil guy needs a haircut! I can’t wait until the first time we get to give him a bubble bath and shampoo his hair and let him feel completely pampered. I long for that moment each and every day. But for today, I am going to relish in the joy that Amy’s message and pictures bring. I wish I could share the pictures with you, but of course I can’t. I thought perhaps just a teaser photo would be ok.

In this picture you can see the signature blue tights they put on the children and the ever so recognizable brown couch that anyone who goes to this baby home will always remember. He has our album/book in his lap and is looking at the pictures of his bedroom. I hope he liked them! :o)