One year… A Million Memories.

One year ago today I received one of the most beautiful gifts I could have ever asked for… my Amalie.  As I’m sitting down to pen this blog I noticed that the last time I took time out to do so was February and she had only been home for two months.  How time has flown by and this past year has been somewhat of a blur.  As I think about her Gotcha Day, that cold night in Jinan at 10:00 p.m. in a dark hotel lobby, my heart skips a beat.  I remember with such clarity the moment she was placed in my arms.  I remember how she felt, how she smelled.  I remember feeling her tears fall on my arms as my shaking hands signed the papers that would make her ours.  After a year of having her home with us and all this time to settle in to our life together, there are so many moments that bring a new revelation of how I was her mother all along.  Just the other day, I was cleaning out a closet that I dad haphazardly thew a bunch of stuff into just before taking off for China last year… yes, it’s taken me a year to clean it out.  Anyway, among everything in the closet was some leftover flooring from the kitchen remodel we did just before we left for China.  Upon smelling the new flooring I immediately felt nauseated… you know, like smelling something that reminds you of being sick and during, in my case, your first six months of pregnancy.  The feeling passed and I didn’t think much of it… until I caught another whif of it and the nauseated feeling overtook me again.  It was at that moment that I realized that I was carrying a baby the last time I smelled that aroma… I was carrying her in my heart.  I know I’ve used that phrase before and it might seem somewhat cliche but it is so true.  My brain triggered the “you were pregnant” thought as soon as I smelled the flooring.  I’m so thankful for quirky little moments like this and pray that will always stop me in my tracks and thank God for the amazing gift that He has given me.  Speaking of my sweet gift, I feel an update is in order… She is somewhat spunky, a tad bossy, a bit stubborn, very independent, extremely lovable, quick to forgive, and very ticklish with the sweetest little giggle.  Her and Lincoln have become best buds.  Their favorite activities include “reading” to each other, and playing “tackle” (their version of football).    All in all, she is loving life and we are loving her.  Everyday around 2:30 when we start getting shoes on for school pick-up she says, “We go get the kids?”  She loves all of her brothers and sisters so much and they love her just the same.  However, nobody fights about who is going to sit by her anymore.  She is officially, “just” their little sister… just another one of the crew:)  Brittany and Stephen’s is one of her favorite places to be… I have a sneaky feeling she gets away with more at the Johnson house than she does at home.  She loves walking over to Grammie and Paw Paw’s and if she and Lincoln go missing that is usually the first place I look.  I have seen her grow and change so much in this past year and am so thankful for all of the times we have to look forward to in the years to come.  I thank God for giving her a forever family… and so thankful that we were chosen to be it.