What goes around.........., thank you's, and miscellaneous ramblings

Well, we have certainly been lax in putting up new posts!

We have been getting settled and trying to get back into the swing of things: school for our boys, a birthday party for Coee (the weekend before her official birthday of New Years Eve), work, and all the other everyday tasks and duties we have.

I am going to let Michelle post pictures and our "goings on" since our last post. She will do that in the next day or so, with pictures!

This post is about something a little different.

As many of you know and some may not, I (Terrell) was also adopted. I have always known this and used to tell my Mom to tell me the story of "me"! I have also always been very grateful to the people who gave me the gift of my life:

1. My birth Mom and Dad, for having the compassion for a little baby to give him to a family who could raise him better than they were able.

2. My "real" parents who have given me all the love, support, compassion, and "life" that anyone could give their child.

3. My sister, who for a long time I didn't know how she could love me as much as she said she has, but through watching my boys with Coee, I now understand.

There was never a "getting to know you" phase for Trey and Dillon with Coee. As soon as they handed her to us, she was completely and forever, their sister. They wake each day wanting to take care of her and love on her.

I have never been so proud of my boys as how they treat Coee.

4. My wife, who puts up with all my crap and loves me anyway. I could never pick a better partner/friend/lover to go through this life with. She loves me when she doesn't like me much and loves me when I do things that make her shake her head wondering what she did to deserve this/me!

5. All the people in our extended family, including our Church and our friends, some close, some far away. We felt your support the whole time we were in China and you have made our return home a blessing for our family.

Two weeks ago, ok, maybe three.........Todd Brady, the pastor at FBC (First Baptist Church) in Paducah, talked about how an adopted child is like each of us to God. The baby does nothing to deserve the love that is placed upon it and just has to accept that love from the parents. I thought alot about that in the days since then and believe that is probably the best way to describe how an adoption works. But like God, the birth parents and adopted parents share a love for an innocent that is beyond my ability to put into words. They share equally in making and shaping the life of the child. If my birth parents hadn't had the compassion they did, I would not have had the incredible family I have now. And I just hope that I am able to give Coee the love and example of how to live her life with goodness that my parents and sister have given me.

As I write this, it sounds like I am making out this journey we are on to be special.......and while it is to us, it is also one that is shared by many people past and present. We are among so many: in our family, at our Church, our friends, our parent's friends, and the people that we traveled to China with to get children of their own, that have made this same journey and share this same love for their child, that we aren't special, just blessed.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us thru this journey to Coee. We have felt your hands lifting us through this when we were tired and been up for 36 hours.......... when Trey and Dillon had been together for 15 day straight, and couldn't think of a single thing else to do but aggravate each other(!)..............and when we had to deal with immigration and naturalization after 18 hours of flights and airports.................................

And when we received this precious little baby who was given to us by a mother of great courage and faith, hoping and trusting that her little child would be taken care of and loved and in a better place than she could give. As I was.

Thank you all, especially you, Mom, Dad, Tonya, Michelle, Trey and Dillon.