So, something wonderful happened this weekend…September 14th came and went…and we nearly forgot all about it!! As we were getting ready for bed last night, and I was making my plans for the week, I realized it was the 14th. THE FOURTEENTH of SEPTEMBER…I stepped into the bathroom and told Matt that we had forgotten all about it being the 14th. He even mentioned that it was the 14th earlier in the day when I was trying to figure out the date, but neither one of us paid any attention to what the 14th really was. We both just took a moment for that to sink in…and I think it speaks volumes about where we are at right now. I knew in the back of my mind that it was coming…but it wasn’t looming ahead of us, this big, black, cloud…like in years past. It just quietly came and went, its significance no longer consuming all our thoughts and emotions. How much of a blessing is that!?! I simply cannot say how happy that makes me. While we often reflect back on the experiences and changes these past three years have brought us…we don’t dwell on them, don’t fixate on them…but rather they float in and out more fluidly these days. To me, that is a huge blessing. And while I would never have chosen this particular path for our lives to take, I can look back and see so many wonderful things that have come into our lives only because of this one particular thing that happened to us. It truly just trickled here and there; spilling into many other people’s lives…touched them in various ways…and then trickled back to ours in the most unexpected and humbling ways. We are so fortunate to have witnessed so many shining examples of enduring love, unfathomable generosity, loyal friendship, and unconditional support. We have been so blessed by you! And how wonderful to have our lives intertwined in such unconventional ways. To me, it is only explained one way…it was meant to be. There is a purpose. There is a plan. And maybe our own personal hardship was a way for God to pull us all closer together…to help bear each others’ burdens in the most pure and simple ways that He intended for all of us. Either way – it feels good to be able to look back and really soak in all the blessings that are a direct result of what happened to Matt on that September afternoon three years ago.
If you had been a customer of the Longhorn Steakhouse on Highway 19 in Palm Harbor, FL last Sunday night, you may have seen two couples walking through the restaurant, oogling a sweet baby boy on the way to their table. You may have commented on how cute he was. You may have thought he looked a lot like the woman carrying him. You may have wondered about the man in the wheelchair. But you likely would not have assumed you’d be witnessing this baby’s biological parents sit down to dine with his adoptive parents. It’s a scene I’ve been playing over and over in my mind as I recount the wonderful experiences of our trip to Florida. The magnitude of that moment, that evening, will never be lost on me. It was incredible to be a part of – and I’m so very grateful we had it. We had met up with Ethan’s birthmother, L, earlier in the day. She hadn’t seen him since he was a few hours old and was anxiously waiting for us outside a local mall. As soon as we saw each other the tears welled up in o...
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