Six Months Home

It’s been six months since we got home from China with our sweet Selah. To be quite honest, Selah is amazing. She is smart, sweet, and we truly can’t imagine our lives without her.  Every single day, Selah surprises us. She’ll say something, and Dan and I will look at each other and say, “how does she know that?” We both agree that she is going to change the world. 
 
This doesn’t mean that we don’t still have hard days, because we do. Sleeping is still hard, and naps are especially tough. But she’s so worth it. She gets along with Levi and Ezra so well (of course there is always some fights, too), and she’s really excited to celebrate her first Christmas. We bought her a “my first Christmas home” ornament, and she was thrilled to put it on the tree. She keeps telling me, “Mommy, I want a doll for Chris-a-mas.” It’s so sweet. About a week ago, when we were decorating the Christmas tree together, Selah said, “Mommy, I happy.” And I can see that in her; she really is a happy girl, which is amazing considering all that she has been through in her life. She’s still growing like a weed; she knows all of her colors and can count to ten. She loves Hello Kitty, Peppa Pig, and Disney movies. She loves dressing up and running down to “show Daddy.” She gets excited to see our friends and extended family, and she knows she belongs.
 
Last year, we really felt that someone was missing when we were celebrating Christmas. This year, we are all together, and we are so thankful. We can’t wait to see Selah’s face this year for her first Christmas morning and throughout all of our family Christmas traditions. Last year, Selah didn’t have a family. This year, she’s a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, and a friend. She is cherished, but we know that we are the blessed ones, because WE have HER. It’s been a hard year, but God has given us many things to be thankful for.
 
And yes, she’ll be getting the doll she asked for (or two or three).