First Days!

Evelyn's first night with us was spent in a hotel. Although I was sort of anticipating this not being fun at all, it didn't even matter that we had to wash bottles in the bathroom sink or that she had to sleep in a metal borrowed crib. All that mattered was that we were together!! It was a sleep-deprived but unforgettably special night!

Even still, we were SOOO incredibly blessed to not have to wait out the two weeks in Florida for approval to travel with Evelyn in a hotel room. My dear and incredibly gracious friend, Amy, and her family invited us into their beautiful new home. Amy and I went to college together and we were roommates for 2 out of the four years. We have remained very close friends despite the physical distance between us. They just built a new home and moved in on Christmas, so we were their first official guests (Again, God was showing us how He was weaving the story together from the very beginning)! We invaded with a baby that cried in the middle of the night (but...not too much, really!), and all our baby gear! In exchange, we allowed Amy lots of baby snuggles! (I did do her laundry, grocery shopping and meal preparation occasionally too...it was a pretty good arrangement, we thought!)

We tried to enjoy the beautiful Florida weather a bit while we were there, and we got out to walk "The Hills" one afternoon. The sunshine felt so good after the long winter!

And...mommy got her fair share of cuddling is as well. The bonding was fast and easy for all of us. Within a couple of days we fell head over heels in love with this sweet girl!

Look at this little angel sleeping! Notice the hand position. She loves to have her hands by her face while she sleeps, and we quickly learned that she HATES being swaddled with her hands down.

We are so thankful to God for this precious gift that He most definitely intended for our family. Even though we do not look alike, even though she did not grow in my belly, she has been growing in my heart for years and years, and she is undeniably my daughter!!