What a difference a year can make.........

This time last year, we here in Oregon were waiting............Waiting for our little girl to arrive. Little did we know that Miss Addy would make her grand entrance almost 8 weeks early. When the phone rang on Sunday morning at 6 a.m. I knew a baby had arrived. We had decided not to go with Addy's adoption agency and were planning on calling them Monday morning to let them know we were going to go with a different situation. I was suppose to have called the week before but for some reason I had procrastinated and really struggled with the decision. Saturday night I asked Heavenly Father (half-kidding) to make the decision for me---little did I know he would do exactly that. There are times when I look at Addy and it brings tears to my eyes to realize how unbelievably grateful I am I had waited to make that call. I remember seeing her for the first time and being so completely in love and so completely terrified at the same time. She was so tiny and seemed so fragile--- although the first time I was able to hold her she mustered the strength to lift her tiny head and look me directly in the eye as if to say "I'm yours if you'll have me" and I was hooked. Scared yes, and begging the tiny thing to EAT EAT EAT, but in love. After two weeks of being away and several nervous break downs on my part we were able to bring her home to a family that has loved her unconditionally ever since. Some people wonder why we would want to "start over" after not having had a baby for 5 years. You start over to smell that new baby smell. You start over to feel that warm tiny body fall asleep on your chest. You start over to hear your baby coo, then babble, and eventually say her first words, like "hhhhi" and "hhhhot" and "da da". You start over to touch her chubby little fingers and toes. You start over to see a baby once so small turn into a thriving, happy, healthy girl.

We love you Miss Addy! Happy 1st birthday.

Daddy, Mommy, Alec, Olivia and Carson