Miracle of Skype

Today was the most precious experience. Our family sat around the computer and watched our sweet Hadassah drink a bottle in her crib, all the way in Ethiopia. And we got it all on video.

She seemed kind of confused by the noise of us all oohing and aahing, but she wasn't at all scared. She kicked her sweet little legs and looked at us with her huge, brown eyes.

Jay was out of the room for a second, but when he came in and Hadassah heard his voice, she smiled. Maybe she's going to be a daddy's girl. :)

We asked our agency director, Sue, how old she thought Hadassah is. According to the medical reports, she is about 7 1/2 months old. But from watching her and talking with Sue, she looks to be 2-3 months old. Her head is still wobbly, she can barely hold her bottle, and she's not even close to sitting up. So we've got a sweet, itty bitty baby waiting for us.

She is not in the orphanage right now, but in what is called the "transition house". This is where the orphans usually go when the adoptive parents come to the first court date, and they stay there until the adoptive parents come back to get them. Hadassah has a fungus on her head (which is very common in Ethiopian babies), so the nurses wanted her there until she got better. We're so happy about this because she is getting better attention there, and this is why we were able to see her today!

She shares a room with two other babies. One baby was standing in the crib. The other baby is the beautiful daughter of a mutual friend. So our Hadassah has a buddy for life, even when she gets back to Texas with us.

God never ceases to amaze me, even when I worry. By the way, a friend wrote this verse on her blog the other day and it has gotten me through these past few weeks: Exodus 14:14- "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Adoption is a crazy experience, with lots of emotions flying around. And moving, trying to sell a house in the Florida market, living in a 2-bedroom town house with 3 kids, getting used to a new city, trying to come up with money to pay adoption fees, losing a referral, wondering when we'll have answers...good grief! I'm so thankful I serve a God who tells me, "I've got this."

We were able to call her by her name. We all told her that we love her. And when we told her "goodbye", she shook her head "no" over and over again as if she knew we were leaving her. We assured her that we would be there soon.

Oh, I love that sweet baby. It's hard to believe that the child God put on my heart more than 20 years ago, stared at me from a computer today. If I could jump on a plane right now and spend some time with her, I would. Soon, soon soon.

Please be praying for her and for us.