She has no idea....

Last night I was thinking about Therese.  She really has no idea how her life is going to change, that she is going to have the most important thing--a family.  She doesn't know that her photo is on our frig, tucked above our fireplace, in our wallets.  I have stared and stared at her picture, trying to get to know that little face.  We have fallen in love with her, and all her future brothers and sister talk about her all the time.  They even have arguments about who will get to play with her.  She doesn't know that we have picked her, and that she has a family who is eager to come and get her.  She was abandoned as a baby and has lived in the orphanage all her life.  As far as we know, she has only left the orphanage twice since she was brought there as a 3 month old.  Both of those were trips to the hospital, once to repair her spina bifida, and once to have her medical exam so her file could be prepared to make her available for adoption.  It must have been very scary to be 6 months old and left alone in a hospital after surgery, with no family to stay by her bed.  She has never had a birthday party.  She has never had a mommy to dress her in pretty clothes and kiss her owies, or a daddy to toss her up in the air, and no sisters and brothers to play with and fight with.  Before Christmas, she will turn 4, and if all goes as planned that will be her last birthday as an orphan.  We already have a little pink backpack to take to China for her, and I let the kids pick out small toys to put in it.  It makes it seem more real to have some stuff ready for her.  It is strange that she is so much a part of our lives, but she is going through her normal orphanage routine on the other side of the world, not knowing we are already her family in our hearts.  We just can't wait to make it official!