June 14

As the calendar has flipped closer and closer to June 14, I have found myself thinking more and more about Ellie's birthday. Not THIS June 14 but Ellie's day of birth 2 years ago. On June 4 I posted some photos of the hospital where she was born. Last Sunday evening I got a peek of the building's interior thanks to Mrs. Bush's visit and the accompanying staff photographer who documented the First Lady holding a newborn there (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/). Other than those images and a small polaroid we have of an infant Ellie in a baby swing, the events and circumstances surrounding that day are largely unknown.

On June 14, 2005 Nathan and I were completely unaware of events unfolding across the Atlantic that would change the rest of our lives (not to mention, hers!). The date on my Outlook calendar is blank. It was probably a normal, quiet Flag Day here in Wilmore. We wouldn't begin the process of adoption for another 5 months, but the Lord had already been preparing our hearts. While we haven't shared much of our adoption journey on this blog, I thought I might use this opportunity today to post a a few pictures that I dug out of an album in a closet that show a few events and people that God placed in my life that I have looked back on as influencing our decision to adopt, and from Albania:

My sophomore year Christmas break was spent with my family in Albania. For a couple of days my sister, Bug, and friends Pam & Becca and I stayed at a group home for teens in Tirana called the Vocational School. At age 16 they were supposed to move out as they were no longer supported by the State. Whenever I remembered that visit I would often wonder what became of those girls. A few years ago my mom bumped into Dhurata (bottom photo, left) on the street and at the time she was nanny-ing for some missionaries. She beat the statistics!

Fast-forward 2 years to 1996, I'm back in Albania for a 2nd visit. (Above) Me at Bethany's group home near Tirana for toddlers and infants. At the time I had no idea that I would apply to adopt through Bethany and pray that others would hold babies like our daughter!