Nine Years

Nine years ago today, the Lord blessed our family with two sons! The God who knows every hair on our head, and every thought before we think it, had a plan for two precious little boys thousands of miles away. Before we even saw their first pictures, or knew their names, our hearts were already inexplicably interwoven with theirs. Then, when we first saw these initial pictures of a sweet dimpled grin and rosy soft cheeks, we knew we would never be the same.

Several months later, and thousands of prayers later, we held these precious treasures in our arms for the first time. The enormous weight of first time parenting combined with all the uncertainties of attachment and language barriers brought us to our knees even more than before. 

Today we were able to celebrate this special anniversary with our boys by taking them out to eat dinner at a local Ethiopian restaurant. It is their favorite place to eat. The owners are beyond kind, and although it has been two years since we have visited that particular restaurant, the owners remembered us and all came over to welcome us back and treat the boys like celebrities! :) They love that the boys still adore the foods of their cultural heritage.

Luke and Ben even got to enjoy some traditional Ethiopian coffee! I don't know if they loved the coffee....or just the idea that they were allowed to drink such strong coffee so late in the evening!

Still, now nine years later, we are still learning what it means to parent and nurture these gifts, Luke and Ben. We are far from perfect. We rely on God's grace and model of how He loves us as his children, adopted into His family. Thank you Lord for the gift of our sons Luke Mirtus and Benjamin Mihereteb nine years ago today!