Loralee Lewis

With our little Georgianna home from The Congo now, the most common question I am asked these days is, “How is it going?” 

Well, pull up a chair - I will tell you.

Do you remember the feeling you had when your child looked into your eyes and said  “Mommy”  for the first time?

Or watching your child experience their first snow?

 The first time you bathed your child?  How you were so worried that you’d do something wrong?

The day your “big girl” learned to ride a bike?

When you daughter received her first real baby doll, do you remember how she clung to it?

I know you do.  As mothers, those memories are not written on our hearts – they are etched into our souls.

Now imagine all those joyful moments happening in the same week.

That’s what happening in my house!

 Our little Georgianna is having each of these experiences crammed into mere days right before my eyes.  And without wanting to sound too pompous or cheesy, I have to admit to all of you that it is just incredibly special to watch as a mother.   It’s as if this little princess from Heaven has magically appeared into our family and has seamlessly knit herself forever into our hearts.  Vienna and Georgianna are already best friends.  They love to wear matching clothes and the argument of who will wear the plastic play high heels doesn’t seem like it will end any time soon.  Big Brother and Little Brother haven’t skipped a beat.  They all love their new sister and she loves them.   I had no blooming idea that it would be this way.   God knew.  I didn’t…but I probably should have.  When each of my children have entered into my home for the first time, a quite peace has lingered for months.    It’s this odd phenomena that can only be explained as a feeling that our family is more whole than it was before.   I am not saying it’s perfect, we’ve had to implement a few corner times and I’m getting less sleep,  but it’s perfect…if you know what I mean.  I would equate it to a new mother who is so thrilled to have her newborn that she really doesn’t notice the sleep deprivation.  She jumps out of bed at the mere wimper of her child.  It’s perfect. The baby is perfect.  Yes, there are minor adjustments, but nothing one can justify complaining about!

I’ll be honest, I worried.  I didn’t see myself  adopting a child who was four years old.  I love babies.  Vienna and Boston were both adopted at birth.   We adopted Ethan at 12 months, but I had found him in Uganda as a preemie and was with him through much of the process.  Everyone told me this and that about adopting a child who was older.  I worried.  But when I looked at the little photo I was given of Georgianna, my heart spoke to me.   Mr. Lewis and I have a feeling when a child is meant to be ours and we try to follow it.  When I looked at her photo, my heart quited and was at peace.  It hasn’t been the easiest past year for my family,  deciding to adopt now wasn’t necessarily optimal, but when you know when something is right – you do it.  When you know your daughter is waiting for you, you go get her.  When you are pregnant unexpectedly, you still have your baby.  You forget about the timing, the money, the family planning, what all your relatives are saying – and you go get her.  And we did.  Oh, how happy I am that we did!

I believe the singular thing people innocently forget to tell others about adoption is how incredibly wonderful it is.  When I mention that my children are adopted to people, a common response is, “That must have been hard.”  And I want to shake them and say, “Yeah, but so is pregnancy and we all end up with the same thing – a beautiful child!”  Adoption is  just as miraculous as child birth, just as difficult, just as easy, and just as life-changing.   I share this thought from experience.  As you know, I have four children  and they all happen to be adopted.  One adoption was incredibly difficult, three were so easy I am bit embarrassed.   We have had failed adoptions that were not fun.  Two of my children we adopted internationally, two domestically.   There are difficult adoptions and easy adoptions.  Just as there are easy pregnancies and difficult pregnancies.  But the end result is the same, a beautiful child who is %100 yours.

So how I am doing?  Wonderful.  A little less sleep than usual, but wonderful.

Blog more soon,

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