March 28, 2006

March 28, 2006. Bogota, Colombia.

Inside Tia Rosa's apartment in the city, Becky and I anxiously sit on the couch while we wait for Tia Rosa to return with our 4-1/2 month old daughter who we learned about only 7 weeks earlier. A couple minutes later, Tia Rosa walks into the room, and our world is changed forever. We are the proud parents of a little girl with the biggest, brownest eyes, the biggest cheeks, and the longest eye lashes you've ever seen. And that smile. From minute one, that girl has loved to smile. But for all you boys out there, I own guns. Lots of them. :)

I'll never forget that day. I think the first thing we both thought was, "what is that thing that she has on? It looks like a cast!" That "thing" was her brace for her hips, and although it was a little while before she was able to move around without it, it never dampened her spirit or kept her from smiling or laughing, or making others around her do the same.

7 weeks later we returned home to Grand Rapids, and that little girl is now growing up fast! I keep telling her that she has to stop growing, but she always says, "but Daddy, I have to keep growing up. I want to be a mommy some day too!" And that is our daughter- sweet, funny, to-the-point, and always in control (or at least trying to be in control).

So yesterday on one of our missions, we made a stop at Pasteleria Jaques, a French pastry place that we were introduced to by our friends Andrea and Gloria when we were here for Ally's adoption. We were in search of a treat for Ally to celebrate the meaning of today, as we do every year. I let Ally pick which item she would like, and we took it back to the hotel and put it in our frig for an after-dinner celebration tonight:

As you can see, the South American sun melted it a bit before we returned to the hotel. But it still tasted just as good!

Ally has been a great addition to our family- she is a great Big Sis:

She makes us laugh:

And she loves to entertain (although she may get a little perturbed if Mom "laughs" at her):

She's known as Ally, The Lady, Crazy Lady, Bugaboo, Crazy, Lover, and Alexandra Daniela (and we all know what's happening if she gets called that name!). She is an incredible daughter (in my opinion, due to all the time that Beck is able to spend with her) who is not only able to bring smiles to peoples' faces, but is also incredibly adaptable. You can't imagine how well she is doing down here so far as Will's Big Sister. Every morning she wakes up (often at 5:30 or 6, when she's used to getting up at 7 or 7:30), looks over at Will who has woken us all up, and gives him the biggest smile. Her love for him is growing, and she just loves having someone else in our family. We always thought she would be a great sister, but not to this extent. The one thing she perhaps misses the most from home is her daily errand runs with Beck. She'll jokingly ask, "Momma, when are we going to run errands? And where are we going- Target? Meijer?" And then she'll give her patented "Janice" laugh (see the old TV show 'Friends' for a clue on that one) and we'll all laugh about it. Ask her, and she'll tell you that she wants to be an Artist and a Doctor when she grows up. Odd combination? Yep. But if there's someone that can do it (and will, just to prove she can!), it's Ally. And we're going to encourage her to do both if that's what she wants to do.

It's so cool to me to think that on this Palm Sunday, when we think about what our Savior has done for us, that we can also thank Him for what he's given us. A little girl with nothing but love (OK, and the occassional attitude, but don't all 4 year olds go through that?) that has brought so much into our family, and we are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter. I often joke that God gave us her because there's no way that Beck and I could produce a child like her, but it's the truth. Once again, He shows us that He does know what He's doing, and today we thank Him for placing her in our arms 4 years ago. We love you Lady!

Momma, Daddy, and Will