Sunday, March 2, 2008

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face


A year ago today I truly became a different person. This is the day that I met my daughter for the 1st time. The little face that I saw in pictures was actually placed in my arms for an all too brief 4 days. It feels like years ago on one hand but like just yesterday on the other hand. Curly, Logan and I travelled down to Guatemala City on March 1st and Devon came to us with her Foster Mom on March 2nd. I remember being so filled with wonder that I could barely sleep the night before. I was such a nervous wreck at breakfast that I could barely eat and I knocked over a huge table umbrella as I tried to exit. How were people casually eating eggs and tamales knowing that their baby could possibly be in the same building at that very moment??

Then she came and we held her. I swear that I never wanted to let go. We got to see how much her Foster Mom loved her and and how well she was cared for. We got a glimpse into the personality of the little ham that would one day fill our house with giggles galore. Being with her those days were magical.

Leaving was so hard on all of us. Logan sat between us on the plane. Before take off he started crying. I asked him why he was sad and he responded "I miss my baby sister". He made the connection too.

It would be many months until we went back to hold her for good. Although leaving was hard, I wouldn't trade that time with my angel for anything. I had the memories and pictures to help me hang on to the time when we would be together forever.

Here is a montage that I made last year with pictures from our trip:

7 comments:

JoAnn said...

Tara, I can't believe it was already a year ago. Devon was such a little peanut and continues to be a true beauty. I am so happy for your family and love this trip down memory lane~ it really brings back all of the thoughts and feelings from the process~ I Love it so much that we were in process the same time as you because you are truly an inspiration. It was such a joyful time during a stressful process to share in your first visit with your beautiful princess. I am so thankful for you and so happy for your family. Many many many blessings to you always!

Ruthanne said...

How can it be a year already??? I remember thinking about you guys the whole time you were flying down to Guatemala and checking my email like crazy for a glimpse of that precious little girl. You and Curly glowed in the pictures with Devon. What an amazing time and trip.
How DO people eat eggs and tamales when their baby could be in the same building???
How can Curly watch that video and not want to do it all over again? ;)

Carla said...

Tara, that was beautiful. And Devon is so precious and such a beautiful baby. No matter how many times I hear that song, it still makes me cry. Happy anniversary!

Our Family of 5 said...

OH My goodness! How precious she was and of course still is. She totally looks the same. She is just beautiful and the video brought tears to my eyes. Congrats on your 1 year anniversary!

Natalie said...

Tara,

What a beautiful slideshow! Devon is precious as always and it was so sweet to see your family together for the first time :-)

Susan said...

Tara,
What a treasure of a video montage. I didn't realize we stayed at the same hotel but those beautiful couches gave it away :)

She was a beautiful baby and just gets prettier every day. Love the pictures of Logan and Devon in the Big Bro & Lil Sis t-shirts.

Susan

Baby John's Crib said...

Wow, thanks for all the wonderful memories of the Clarion, I'm getting sentimental all over again! We even had our favorite waiter both on visit and pick-up trip.

Congratulations on it being a year since you visited. Time will fly, and you'll be posting about pick-up.

Go Barack!