Precious First Moments

What a week it has been! We are still in awe that this is really happening! We have been dreaming of being at this point in our adoption for four years now…so going through these final steps of the process feels completely amazing. Your response to everything over the last week has been so touching and we are humbled by the love and prayers you continue to show us.

As you may have heard, we became PARENTS once again on Tuesday to sweet Tigest Sophia Hope Blaszak!!! I received a video call at 2:33am, saw a beaming new Daddy on my screen, and heard the words “Congratulations Mommy!!”  I am SO grateful for our friend Sammy who allowed us to use his phone and minutes so we could then video chat together as a family once they returned to the care center and share in these first precious moments as a family together (even though we weren’t on the same continent). There was also another adoptive family present for this moment and they helped take photos and hold the phone I was on so this could all happen.

This video captured the moment when I first got to tell her I was her Mommy, then Tom told her what we had chosen to name her (we told her later that she could choose what name she wanted to be called and she said she loved them all so she didn't care, but then later she asked us to call her Sophia) and gave her the locket with her new name on it and our picture inside (we gave these to all our daughters on this special day) and finally it shows the moment when Tom read a special letter I had written to her and Sammy translated it..her reaction (especially at the end of the letter) is just beautiful. 

Getting to tell Sophia that I was now her Mommy was such a precious moment that I will always cherish. Seeing her smile and blow me kisses through the phone was so special to me since I couldn’t be there. Watching her with her daddy, snuggling him, giggling with him, and enjoying their time together has been such a joy to my soul.

First picture of the three of us (thats me on the phone!)

The next step was having the court decree signed by MOWA on Thursday. We asked for prayers once again because these are only signed on Thursdays so if this had not happened this week it would have pushed everything back at least one week and Tom would have had to fly home, leaving our daughter once again. The last family with our agency had to wait over 2 weeks for this document to be signed so we were expecting more delays, but hoping and praying for the best.

 He and Sammy began making phone calls to find out what was going on around 2:30pm. When they couldn’t get through to anyone they made their way to the adoption agency office (which is across from the care center) to speak to someone there but it was empty. They went back to the care center and played with the children some more and Sophia even cuddled up to her daddy and fell asleep on him. He said that he began to feel a pit in his stomach as the clock continued to tick on and they still had heard nothing. The thought of leaving her once again was so painful.

This is our adoption agency's Care Center where she was living 

Our little gymnast 

Strong Sammy doing push-ups with Sophia on his back!

Washing her hair

A natural beauty!

The new hairstyle!

Having a school lesson

Around 4:15 he and Sammy walked back to the agency office and spoke to a woman there who ended up needing information off of the old birth certificate and asked Tom for that info. Good thing he showed up when he did! She called the MOWA office and gave them the information, but there was no guarantee it would be signed. They left the office unsure of what would happen and headed back to play with the children at the care center a little longer. At 5:00 they left to head back to the guest house and happened to see the lady they had spoken to earlier in the office on the way to the car. She made a phone call to see if she could get any news and was able to confirm that the document had been signed! WHAT an amazing answer to prayer! When Tom called to tell me I had another “moment” of screaming and jumping around…this time it was the mailman who saw..and my children, who are getting used to this kind of behavior haha!

Friday, July 1 was a day of goodbyes to everyone at the care center. She hugged all the ladies who have cared for her over the last several months and all of the children who had become her little family while she waited. Tom said there were tears but mostly excitement. At one point in the day Sammy was cold and Sophia looked at him and said, “Sammy! Why are you cold? You should be warm and happy and celebrating with me because TODAY IS MY DAY!!!” Aside from some major car sickness on the way home to the guest house, Sophia and her daddy had a great day together.

This little girl was like a sister to Sophia, it was a very tearful and sad goodbye. We hope to reconnect them here in the states once they are both home.

Daddy and Sammy getting their girl!!

         

As the day came to an end, he finally got to tuck her in at night, for the first of many nights to come. Tom later told me that he heard a soft wimpering and crying a few minutes later and when he went to console her and ask her what was wrong she said, “Mommy.” Not being certain what that meant or how he could help, he got a staff member there to speak to her. She ended up telling him that saying goodnight to me on the video call had made her miss me and she was crying…for ME. Her Mommy. She’s calling out and crying for her Mommy (me!!). It broke my heart, yet at the same time, reminded me that God placed that yearning to become her mommy in my heart all those years ago because it was true, it was his plan, I was then and am now her mommy, forever. It is already in her heart and it is in mine as well even though she is not home yet. Even though it has been 2 years since I’ve held her. Just like a newborn baby knows and yearns for their mommy, the touch, the scent, the warmth, the comfort only a mother can bring, Sophia knows and longs for her mommy too. Soon my sweet daughter, very soon I will hold you again and never let go.

**Many of you are asking when they will be coming home and that is still up in the air. They have to get her passport, medical, and visa appointment, which may take a week or more depending on the availability of scheduling appointments etc. but I will be sure to keep you posted as things unfold**