"Happy Daddy Dinner"

Christopher came to me early last week with this idea: "Mommy I really miss daddy, I think that we should plan a surprise party for daddy, like one to tell him how much we love him." So with that began an amazing journey into the heart of this little boy and his plans for a "Happy Daddy dinner." For those who really know Christopher you know that he never lets anything rest and he thinks through every aspect of his plans. So I wasn't surprised when he came to me with a whole agenda and a menu. I know he's not the average 7 year old boy. He was so concerned and put so much thought into making this special for daddy. He made a banner, we pulled out all of our leftover party decorations, found some silly hats at the dollar store, planned out games to play and made "masanga" (one of Christopher's specialties). We had such a great time showing daddy how much he is loved. Roger's favorite was the Easter egg hunt which had one thing that Christopher loved about daddy in each one. It was such an amazing opportunity to really see Christopher's heart. I have realized many things about him but mostly just the fact that he fits so perfectly in our family. I could not have imagined a more, perfect little boy for our family. I even think of the implications that his love has for Matthew, as he watches his big brother grow into the man that God has designed him to be.

The Journey of Matthew (soon to be Estrada)

This week has been such a whirl wind of emotions; good and bad. On Thursday and Friday of last week we were sitting in a court room listening to the attorneys closing arguments and waiting with a huge measure of anticipation for the judges decision. I can not put words to the feelings that completely and utterly overtook my body. I seriously felt like I was dreaming. Although, I knew that it wasn't a dream because Roger's hands were so wet from perspiration I just knew I had to be awake. And then on Tuesday to get the news that they had terminated parental rights. It was so unreal that we were that much closer to having the full freedom of loving Matthew in the fullness of being our son permanently. That is such a strange concept to put my thoughts around, the fact that I do love Matthew as though he was my own and I have felt that I have loved him reserving nothing from him. On the other hand now knowing that he will be ours forever there are different implications for that. The seemingly simple things like buying him an outfit one size bigger has been a struggle for me to do until now. I know this sounds funny but I went to Old Navy the day after and bought him a few 4t things.

Christopher knew on a small scale what this last week was about and he knew that on Tuesday we would find out were Matthew would live forever. He kept counting down the days to when we would find out. When we told him he said, "I knew that God was going to choose us to be his forever family."

Jumping on the band wagon

All this talk about something called "blogging" of course I had to check it out. So here I am ready to jump in and share in the world of blogging!!