My Happy Girl

I'm so glad to be writing this post. I know my last one was a quite a drag. Aubree had such a good day today...I think one of her best days yet. She was just so happy, so affectionate, so silly, and funny. And there was virtually no whining from her. She was just in a GREAT mood! :)

I can honestly say now that I can't imagine our lives without her, and not just because we had a good day. There was a time that I wondered if we would ever get here. Suddenly it's beginning to feel like she has always been with us. I want to be very careful with that feeling though. I can never let myself forget where she came from, what she's been through, and how important it is to honor her birth family and culture.

The greiving she struggled with last week really seems to have done her some good. It was extremely hard to watch, but such an important part of her adjustment. I'm still not sure what was going through her little mind at that time, but it seems like it allowed her to break down another one of the walls she has been hiding behind. We had a really good conversation today about one of her best friends who is still at the orphanage. I told her that he was finally meeting his new family today. She was so happy about that. Then we talked about how his mommy and daddy will have to return home for a while before they can go back to Ethiopia and bring him home to America. I asked her if she remembered when she had to wait a long time for us to come back for her, and she shared with me how she felt during that time. This is HUGE progress for her. She hasn't shared much with me about her time in Ethiopia up to this point. She usually just shrugs and changes the subject when I ask her about it. But today was different. She talked about it very calmly.

Another huge change I've noticed this week has to do with seeing her Ethiopian friends. This awesome, wonderful day came the day after a cookout with some friends from her orphanage. In the past, we have had a few really hard days after seeing friends from Ethiopia. She usually falls into a greiving cycle for a couple days, and we have come to expect it. She had so much fun at the cookout last night with some old friends and a bunch of new friends too. I really expected to have a hard day, but that just wasn't the case. She did, however, tell me over and over how much fun she had last night.

I saw a new confidence in her today. She is using her words more than ever before. Her language skills continue to skyrocket. She stands taller, smiles bigger, and laughs louder. I am so proud of Aubree and the amazing progress she continues to make. I am so blessed to be on this journey with her!