Overwhelmed. Blessed. Happy.

Whew. So glad to be home! And my sweet husband met me at the airport, and this was the view I saw...I was so, so happy to see them. I mean, like, couldn't hardly contain my emotions, happy! I think people watching may have had one of those Hallmark commercials moments watching me meet my girls! I was absolutley OVERWHELMED! I missed them so much, and seeing them be so happy to see me too, was just so sweet. Even little Gabbi Girl would look at me, start grinning, then smile so big that she would shake!! She did this repeatedly and my heart swelled!!

Know what else made my heart swell? Todd had painted my girls' hands and made handprints on a piece of cardstock. He also handpainted "Happy Mother's Day 2009". I mean, my man is NOT crafty, and he KNEW I would love that gift. It was definitely from the heart! Thank you, Daddy!

We went straight to meet mom and Staci and her family at Outback... right from the airport! Here is our special JinJin with Ellie Bellie. Jin sure does love her grandyoungun's! Here are a couple of my favorite moms! My mom's card to me said, "Thanks for giving me grandchildren." I was about to squawl, but just tried to keep it together! Mom and I sat through many a sermon over the past 10 years or so where the preacher gave all these accolades to all the mothers in the congregation. It was always a hard Sunday for me... year after year! How utterly overwhelming to now be blessed with my two sweet babies! I am so proud to be both my girls' mama, AND my mom's daughter! She raised us to be strong, independent women. She supported everything we have ever been involved in, and made us feel like we were successful in our endeavors, no matter what!

This evening, Ellie dropped something, and instead of being frustrated and fussing, she went, "bonk" and did a little giggle. I realized that my kid was learning to laugh at herself and her mishaps, and that "little things" are just that... little things! That was just one of those moments of epiphany when I realized, too, how my kid is learning so much about life and how she will conduct herself in bigger situations later by the way I respond to things now! She is learning ATTITUDE!

I further realized that I learned about my attitude from my mom. Much of my success in life can be attributed to her. THanks, Mom. Love you.

Another mom we need to recognize is Todd's! We don't get to see nearly as much of her as we would like. I know we will be seeing her in about three weeks and we look so forward to it. Happy Mother's Day, DeeDee! We love you, (and want you to move closer to us!)And one more... this is Nana. She has been married to my dad for, ummmm, I don't know... 10 years or so?! I didnt' mention it when it happened. (can you believe I left anything in my life out of this blog?!) But, Rita's only child, Dave, passed away suddenly in December just before his 32nd birthday. This, therefore, is her first Mothers' Day without him. I know this has been a very difficult day for her.

Well, Nana, we love you , and I want you to know how much I appreciate your willingness to help us with our girls and just for being a great Nana to them and wife to my dad.

As for my experience as a mom... There are two very special women out there who gave me this opportunity. And even as I type, I am teary-eyed! I woke up this morning thinking about my girls' birthmoms! I hope they are not sad today. I hope they know how thankful I am. HOW BLESSED!

I hope that Ellie's birth grandmother is still reading the blog. If you are, know that I am forever grateful for your support to both your daughter and to me in the whole adoption process. I LOVE this little girl. I hope this shows in my blog posts, and that you are able to see how happy she is too!
And Magan, this little Gabbi Girl is the light of my life. She has made our lives complete. Thank you for thinking of me as a mother for this precious girl! What an incredible gift. One I could never repay!

I wrote little songs for both of my girls as infants, (maybe someday I will sing them to all of you), that let them know that they are adopted and how deeply we love them. Gabbi, particularly, loves for me to sing her song to her! She looks at me so intently when I sing to her. (and bless her heart... I cannot sing!) The "chorus" is "Yes, we love Gabbi. You make our family whole."

So, to sum up today, I was overwhelmed. Blessed. Happy.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Glad to finally be in your club! Melanie