Let the festivities begin, little girl!
In the past week, you’ve managed to dazzle everyone for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, escape crying during your dedication at church, and take too cute for words pictures in front of our Christmas tree.
Oh, yeah, and your adoption might be finalized MONDAY. I’ve been trying to get the finalization done before your Nonni’s back surgery next week, but the lady who handles the adoptions for the courthouse has been out all week. Fortunately, I found a sympathetic ear (God bless you, Cindy Bradshaw, whoever you are), and they’re going to *try* to get us in for finalization this afternoon. Monday, December 7, just might be your adoption day, Samantha Joy! I’m so excited that I can’t stop using exclamation marks!!!
Ahem. Let me compose myself. No, wait, I can’t because God is so wonderfully amazing that I can’t stop shouting from the rooftops about what a blessing it was that the finalization was able to get worked out in time—GOD IS SO GOOD!
Speaking of God (how’s that for a transitional sentence?), we stood before our church family at Trinity Presbyterian on Sunday and vowed in front of the congregation to raise you in a Christian family that loves and serves the Lord. It was such a God thing that you were able to be dedicated on the date that our church had set aside to recognize the beauty of adoption. They had a beautiful slideshow featuring all of the adoptive families at church, and in the bulletin they featured the story I wrote of your name and how God worked in my heart during the adoption to lead me to you.
To say it was heartwarming is an understatement. So many people came to show their support (grandparents, great grandparents, aunts & uncles, and friends) and to pray with us as we dedicated you to the Lord. You were amazingly well behaved when we were in front of everybody, despite the fact that we’d managed to time it so that when we walked up you were due for both a bottle AND a nap. You were fine until Pastor Chuck asked to hold you during the prayer. Let’s just say you may have started the prayer in the pastor’s arms, but by the time he said “Amen” you were back with me.:
At any rate, we had a small party for you afterwards and Nonni and Poppa’s house. You got several wonderful books and toys, as well as your first Bibles from both of your grandmothers. Your father and I gave you the gold heart and cross necklace that I had received as a little girl. You wore it during the dedication, but I took it off right after because you were trying to eat it a little too much for my liking.
As we were looking quite lovely that day (did I mention that you were beautifully dressed in a cream and pink dress?), we took advantage of the opportunity to take some family pictures. What a beautiful family the three of us make!
The grandparents aren’t too shabby, either…
We also got some pretty good pictures of the babies when we went to Aunt Patricia and Uncle Jon’s house for Thanksgiving. You weren’t the only baby welcomed into the family this year: four others were born this past year, so we made sure to get all of the second cousins together for fun pictures (the turkey bibs were brought my Nonni):
While only time will tell, I’ll bet that the Thanksgiving cousins’ picture becomes a tradition in the Willis family. What fun you’ll have growing up with all of your cousins nearby!
We went right from Thanksgiving to Christmas last weekend when I forced your daddy to put up the Christmas tree Sunday night. I have been sooo excited to celebrate your first Christmas this year that I couldn’t resist dressing you up in one of your Christmas dresses and treating you to your own private photo shoot in front of the tree. It’s a really good thing you’ve become a pro at sitting up, because I don’t think the pictures would’ve been the same had you been laying down.
Roxy even managed to get in on the action. Ok, so she really tried to just lick your face the whole time we were taking the pictures, but I eventually managed to get her to lay down next to you. She’s a really good dog, Sammie. I didn’t realize until it was over that you were grabbing not just fistfuls of fur but fistfuls of skin—and the poor dog just sat there and looked at the camera:
Finally, I can’t resist adding this last picture:
I finished putting the ornaments on the tree last night, and put your “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament next to the ornament I had made last year to represent that we were a family in waiting. I’ll admit it, I get a little teary eyed when I look at this picture and think of all of the things that have changed in this past year.
Loving you today and always,
Your mommy
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