forever has begun.

Forever. She's here forever. It felt like that day would never come. But, it did. She's been home almost a week now...it's hard to imagine how our lives were before she was in it. She fits. We fit. She was our missing puzzle piece.
You know how I've mentioned over & over about her smile & that laugh of hers...well, we are hearing that & seeing it on a daily basis...she's an extremely happy little girl. She & Kate are two peas in a pod. The boys are already so protective of her & even willing to dress up in girl clothes if it makes her smile...she laughs uncontrollably:) I wish you could see the wonder in her eyes every time she takes a warm shower or soaks in the tub...she splashes the warm water up on her face & smiles like I've never seen before. The way her nose squishes up is almost identical to the way Kate's does. If I'm not in the same room as her, I will hear..."Mommyyyyyy, come on!!" With each day that passes, we are seeing more & more of her sweet personality. She is so easy going, loves to dress up in really girly clothes & loves matching with her sister & chasing her brothers!! We are certainly blessed.

Our guess is that she is right around Kate's age...probably 7-8! She's almost the same height as her & wears the same size in clothes:) Basically, they think they are twins!!

Each morning when she wakes, she greets us with a hug & points to the backyard....she loves to jump on the trampoline! So, if you've seen 5 pajama wearing kids & their pajama wearing parents at 9 am...that's us!! We are all enjoying seeing her experience each 1st!! It brings us such joy & I'm in constant amazement that we are Ariyat's family. God sure has been faithful and good. And, He always is and always will be. Even in the midst of adoption delays, wondering how we would financially afford the 2 trips, making the decision for me to stay back on this last trip...He was there. He never left us. He walked with us. So, we continue to walk in the way of The Lord.