Next month, my granddaughter, Abbi, will turn 5 years old! It doesn't seem possible, but time waits for no one.
I was thinking back to the time we learned that our granddaughter would arrive in a months time. Our daughter had been on a waiting list to adopt a baby for three years & it seemed it would never happen. But God had just the right time, just the right baby and just the right circumstance all under His control. It was almost a month to the day after we learned that Christie had been chosen to adopt, that Abbi came into the world & changed all our lives forever.
But let me back up a little. As August rolled around in 2006, and our daughter Christie prepared to go back to teaching school, Brenda (Nana) and I had decided we were going to take a two week trip out to Colorado in Sept. to Rocky Mountain National Park. It has always been a dream of mine to be there during the elk rut and to hear the bugling of the bulls as they form their harams for the breeding season. I'm an avid photographer & I had all these plans of getting some awesome photos. I was raring to go! So, we had scheduled our departure date for the 21st of Sept.
The truck was serviced, the travel trailer had been checked out and we were gearing up to pack the trailer and prepare for our fall vacation. Excitement was running high.
Our daughter had started a brand new job at a different school, after spending eight years teaching at another school in our area. On her first day on the job, she received a phone call from the adoption agency asking if she could talk. Since the adoption agency called from time to time, Christie didn't think too much about the call. She replied, "I'm extremely busy, so if it's not REAL important, I'll have to ask that you call back later." The lady on the other end said, "Well, I think it's kind of important. You've been chosen to adopt a baby girl who is due to be born the latter part of September, and we want to connect you and the birthmom as soon as possible!" Christie went into high gear & told the lady to let her get to a secure phone & she would call her right back! So began the change that would take place in our lives.
That evening after keeping the news to herself ALL that LONG day, Christie shared the news with her mom & I. WOW! I can still feel the excitement of the moment we realized that Christie's dream and ours had come true!
Forgotten was the trip to Rocky Mountain National Park! We were about to embark on a MUCH more meaningful journey!I was going to trade the bugles of bull elk for the mews, whimpers & cries of a newborn granddaughter! I could hardly contain my excitement as my heart thundered at the news!
Abigail was born September 25, 2006 and I cannot begin to tell you what an absolutely delightful journey it has been since the moment she entered this world.
As is many times the case, I just wonder how the years have slipped away so quickly. Brenda & I have watched our beautiful daughter as she has taken on the role of parent with a seemingly practiced ease. And we have fulfilled the role of grandparents with great anticipation.
As Abbi's birthday approaches, I am so thankful for these five years of sheer joy that she has brought into our lives. The blessings she has brought are too many to even try to name. But it's with grateful hearts we look back on the five years since our lives were so radically changed by a phone call on an otherwise ordinary day!
Every day we express out love to this beautiful little girl with words, hugs & kisses. It is such a joy to receive hugs & kisses in return, and hear that beautiful little voice say, "I love you, Nana. I love you, Papa."
