Over the last few days Jen and I have begun the slow and steady process of bonding with a little girl who up until a few weeks ago had never met us.  The process is slow not to mention emotional, but it is happening.   

Everyday we learn something new about her and she learns something new about us.  For instance, I discovered her favorite food is my favorite food (hash browns).  She discovered that I will always give in to playing airplane or tossing her on the couch...if she presists in tossing herself dangerously on the couch. I also discovered how Baby A likes to dance and how Jen, yes Jen, likes to dance with her.  I have a video to prove it.  

Discover after discovery, day after day, we learned about her as she learned about us. And as her knowledge of us grew our hearts for her did too.  And it was in these moments, visit after visit, hour after hour that slowly we noticed something new.  This precious blonde hair child with perhaps the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen—began to trust us—she began to trust me.

Towards our initial meetup, she allowed me to play with her just a bit, but if I got too close well...then she just screamed.  By about the third visit, if I poked her tummy with my finger she giggled and I was allowed me to pick her up only in so long as we were playing “3, 2, 1 lift off.”  A day later, she allowed me to pick her up for about 35 seconds.  Which for me was accomplishment when you consider how quickly she was warming up to Jen....not that anyone was keeping score or anything.  But then, just yesterday when we took her on our first outing by ourselves I peered down into her stroller, and in a feeble attempt to touch her hand to warm it, she held my hand.  Dare I say she clutched my hand!

This beautiful little child, that may become my child tomorrow, held my hand tight and in doing so I joyfully warmed her hands with mine.  Swells of joy this week, accompanied with increasing hope.

Friends, thank you so much for your prayer and support in all this.  Tomorrow anytime after 11:00am (Eastern time) we are being called in for the hearing and due to the complexities of this case, anything can happen.  As we trust the Lord hour by hour tomorrow, we ask that you pray that Lord would in his kindness would grant us this gift.