somehow, someway, five years have passed since this boy became ours. tomorrow marks AJ's fifth Gotcha Day! in the picture below, our first ever of AJ on the day of his adoption referral, he was just a tiny boy on my computer screen. one whose eyes told a story of deep loss in his short three years of life. my joy in the moment of laying eyes on him, finally seeing the face of our son after such a long wait....well, i'll never ever ever forget the magnitude of that moment. the literal miracle that lead us to him in the first place was so vivid still and though the process had been slow and so very uncertain, there he was looking back at me. the realization of a dream and a prayer and God's plan unfolding there before our eyes....
Alemayehu Jeffrey, on the court day when he took on his daddy's name as his middle name, and the first time Jeff declared him to be "AJ"...
finally, in December of 2010 on our way back to Ethiopia for the second time to bring home our son. needless to say, after the snowstorm of all time and almost missing our flights out of Toronto, we were happy to lay our heads down on our luggage once finally at Heathrow in London....didn't matter that there were no options to stretch out or that we were exhausted mentally and physically, we were picking up AJ and beyond relieved to be nearing the end of a really long journey...
AJ, guarded and unsure of his new daddy....
but not for long....the silly, sweet and spunky side emerged within the day and we got to see his eyes dance and his dimples on full display. smitten we were....
AJ and I below~ i was completely overjoyed. no other way to say it. surreal, surreal...isn't my face almost glowing? :) it's that beautiful Ethiopian morning sun, but still...
happy 5th Gotcha Day AJ!!!
i love being your mom, and am so totally thankful God gave us you!
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