One year!
One year ago today, Blake and Grant paced the lobby of their hotel in Hohhot, China, waiting for Tate to arrive.
Tate ran across that lobby when he saw Blake, yelling “BABA!!” while jumping into Blake’s arms and giving him a kiss.
About an hour later, when they answered my Skype call, Tate called me Mama while waving to me and blowing me kisses.
It is really hard to find words to explain the kind of deep love you feel for an older child you have yet to meet, touch, or hold.
It is a God ordained kind of love!
A love that never misses a beat, no matter how hard things get.
Thankfully, this precious boy was loved very well his first four years of life.
It has made all the difference in our journey with him the last year.
Tate has had a lot to face medically in his short life.
And unfortunately, he will be facing much more in the years to come.
God has protected our hearts SO much in regards to the fear we could have about Tate’s medical prognosis.
We simply see Tate as fearfully and wonderfully made!! By our Lord and Savior!! Who knows every hair on Tate’s head!!
It has been a tremendous life-changing privilege to follow the Lord’s call upon our hearts, and bring these two beautiful children home to our family.
We certainly do not feel worthy of the blessed gift that they both are!
Not only are they now brother and sister, but they are also each other’s best friend!
It has been three years ago this spring that we started walking this adoption journey, as we started the paperwork process at that time.
We have grieved the loss of everything we called “normal”, but we have gained SO much more than we ever could have imagined.
We love you Tate Owen, our teeny tiny cheerful young warrior!!!
We have loved you since the minute we printed your photo and started praying for you in the spring of 2014!!
We will love you always and forever!
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for trusting us with SO much.
Photos by big sister Kayla, Seasons of Joy Photography
