Happy One Year Forever Family Day!!!!

This is me now....one year later!

A GOTCHA DAY TO ALWAYS REMEMBER.....

Dear Matthew.

One year ago on Feb. 2nd, 2009 I woke up in a hotel room on the other side of the world in Beijing, China. Your Daddy and I were so nervous, and we excitedly laid our coats out on the bed waiting to be picked up. This time though, there was an extra coat and a Mickey Mouse backpack filled with goodies for our SON, whom we were about to meet for the very first time. We had dreamt about you for many months, and spent a lot of time praying about our Gotcha moment with you!!!

When we arrived at the orphanage, there was mass chaos with signing papers and being fingerprinted with red ink...we had no idea when they would bring you too us, and our guide wasn't even in the room when they brought you in to us. All of a sudden I looked up and saw the most beautiful little boy coming into the room dressed in a big red coat with the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen.....it was YOU, Matthew! And, it was a moment that I will never forget as long as I live. I picked you up, and you put your cheek right up to mine. Little did I know, we would always share lots and lots of special moments cheek to cheek like that. Within the next few minutes, your Daddy got to hold you too and then we sat on the floor and checked out everything in your backpack. You were then running around the room chasing your Daddy giggling and laughing, and within the next few hours you and I were giggling on the bed at the hotel room! It was like we had been together forever.....and that was the beginning of the most amazing year of my life.
Becoming a Mommy was a dream come true for me, and God surely made a perfect match when he made you our son. What an amazing year it has been watching you grow and watching you learn so many new things! I love all of the "firsts" we have experienced together....life is so different experiencing it through your eyes!!!! Not only have you mastered things like running up and down the steps, eating with a fork and spoon, getting your shoes and socks on, putting puzzles together, riding a tricycle, and so much more - but you have surely mastered winning the hearts of everyone you come into contact with! You are not only an amazing son, but a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, a friend, a student, and an A+patient! Your year was not only filled with having your world turned upside down leaving China, playtime and meeting milestones - it's also been filled with doctor's appointments, surgeries, therapies, and lots and lots of tests!!!

You are such a trusting and amazing little boy....you have stolen your Daddy and I's hearts, and we are the luckiest people in the world to have you as our child. You have made us stronger, more trusting, faithful, and compassionate. We have learned sign language together, and have created a bond that we share that is 100% built on love. You taught us you certainly don't have to hear to feel love. You taught us that a giggle and a smile from you with those big brown eyes can make everything else in the world go away. You give the best, tightest hugs in the entire world and sitting there cheek to cheek with you in the BEST feeling in the entire world.

I love you Matthew Christopher, and I can't believe that you have been in our lives a year already! It's been the best year of my life, and your Daddy and I cannot wait to see what this next year brings!!! Happy Forever Family Day my dear child....

Love, Mommy