Emalyn: Nine Weeks in our Arms

Gotcha day was nine weeks ago today!  It's hard to believe that we've only had Emalyn in our arms for nine short weeks.  She has made such amazing progress and has settled into our family so well.  We have grown to love her more everyday, we learn something new about her everyday, and we laugh at her everyday!  Hank and I look at each other at dinner every night and bet that she will be our comedian.  Even without talking, she can make us all laugh.  She is truly a delight and has such a big personality.  It's really a little bit scary how well she can express herself without using words...it makes me wonder if she will ever start talking.  (Although, she has added several new words to her vocabulary lately...Nona, Joe-pa, Myla <sort of>, up, down, out.)  She has blossomed into a wonderful big sister, too.  She loves Myla Grant so much and kisses her at least 50 times a day. 

I think about Emalyn's birth mom a lot, but this week I have thought about her in a new way.  Having had the unique experience of giving birth to Myla Grant just a short eight weeks after getting my arms around Emalyn, I cannot help but think about how her birth mom must have felt during and after giving birth to Emalyn.  I wonder if she knew she would have to let her go before she gave birth or if it was a decision that was made after the fact...perhaps because she was a girl or because of her special medical need.  I wonder how she felt with each labor pain, how she felt as she recovered from labor and her body regained strength.  I wonder if she hid out and made sure Emalyn was found, even as her body ached after delivery.  I am sure she thinks about her every single day.  I am sure that she wonders how she is and where she is.  I cannot imagine the pain of saying goodbye to one of my children, regardless of how or why.  I pray that God will provide a supernatural comfort for her that Emalyn is loved beyond measure and part of a loving family.  I know her pain will never go away and that she will always long for her baby girl, but I pray that she will find peace.