One Year!

One year ago today...at 10:37 a.m....we receive the best gift ever!! At times it seems like it was just yesterday and then other times it seems so long ago. Murphy has been sick this week. She has a cold and has been home from daycare two days. The doctor didn't want it to get any worse. So I stayed with her yesterday and my mom today. Rob's dad came over mid afternoon and took over for my mom so she could head home. I'm sure she got lots of attention today!

We bought her a gift to celebrate her Gotcha Day. It is a pull toy, a turtle that was hand made in Colombia. I think she'll really like it. I also have a feeling that Riley will freak out and bark at it. We're also going to get ice cream tonight, although Rob is probably the only one who cares for ice cream right now. Murphy is sick and I'm not an ice cream lover. Maybe supper...we'll see.

A few weeks ago I was really homesick for Colombia. I don't know if it was the thought that what has transpired over the past year or the life we had there, or the fact that we got to spend all of our time with her. I just really missed it. Maybe not the spinach and cheese I got all the time or throwing my toilet paper in the garbage. But the overall picture. I miss going to the market. I miss Luz Mery saying every morning "Hola Maria Jose" while Murphy and I sat in the dining room alone because everyone else could sleep past 6:00. Megan, Juel, Maria, Benji: we miss you. (Rob and Carmen, too, but you left too soon for us to really get to know you!) Murphy is the same age that Carmen was at this time last year. I often wonder how you were able to be away from her for so long. I remember the day we got sentencia and you said "I just miss Carmen so much". I didn't know what it felt like then. But now, I can't imagine it.

I know I have lots to catch up on. My life has finally calmed down since the end of August. Everything that I've done has gone well, and I really feel a sense of accomplishment. But I'm also tired and ready for some lazy days. I'm not sure when those will happen! One piece of exciting news, the dragon was slewn. I think that's how you spell it. Now if only his sidekicks would get the ax, we'd be even happier!

Rob and Murphy are taking a nap. If you don't know Rob, you might be surprised to find that he's very sentimental. One year for our anniversary, he sent me flowers at work. I was working in Sioux City at the time. We went out to Applebees for dinner. He kept telling me "I'm sorry they didn't have irises". I had no idea why he was sorry so I finally had to ask. He said "Isn't that what was in your wedding bouquet?". I said "that was very thoughtful, but no, they were lilies". So anyway, he is wearing the same outfit he did a year ago. Not me. I wear jeans to work. Not skirts. So when they wake up, we'll take a family picture, eat our ice cream and whatever else we decide to eat, and I'll try to post the picture tonight. And then I'll get caught up soon.

Murphy, we LOVE YOU. You are a blessing to all of us. Our lives are wonderful because we have you. We thank God for your birthparents. We hope they know that you are loved and cared for. We thank Him for the wonderful care you received at Los Pisingos and at your foster mother's home. We thank him for year number one and look forward to all the rest.