Happy Mother's Day!

This morning Steve made breakfast for the family and during our prayer time I was reminded of how this Mother's Day is extra special for me. Today I celebrate motherhood and the privilege of raising my 3 daughters along with the blessing of adding a son to our family soon.

The reality of having a son is finally sinking in after the flurries of activities that came last week with our referral. I'm starting to come down from the cloud. Now I know my son's story and I have a sweet face to remind me that this is real - yes - I really do have a son.

Last night, when I tucked our two youngest girls in, I thought about our son and for the first time, I thought about who might be tucking him in each night. I have heard amazing things about the care in his orphanage so I'm not concerned about his safety and I know he is getting a lot of love from the nannies. But right now he doesn't have the physical love of a parent.

Although I feel overly blessed this Mother's Day, receiving the gift of a son at such a time as this, makes my heart ache over another mother's loss of her child.

Steve and I have decided not to share his story at this time but I will say that our son does have a birth family who loves him. No doubt they are grieving over the loss of this precious family member. If I'm wondering who's tucking him in at night, they certainly are wondering as well. They are the only family he knows and that knows him. They know what comforts him when he is sad. They know how to put him down at night. They know how to communicate with him. Up until April 16th, the day he was relinquished to the orphanage, they took care of his every need.

Today, I do not know him like his birth family knows him. I admire their strength and their will to seek a better life for their son. Making the decision to give your child a better shot at life, without your child being part of your life, is a love almost too incomprehensible.

We hope to meet his birth family when we travel to Ethiopia. I don't know what they will think of their son's new family but until we meet them, I pray that they will feel an overwhelming peace about their son's future. May God give them the reassurance and comfort they need to as they grieve their loss.

I don't even know what more to say other than God, thank you for the privilege to be a mother to your children. Even though he doesn't have a parent to tuck him in at night, may he still feel the hug and the love of his Heavenly Father.