Dia de Gracias

    Today was no ordinary Thanksgiving Day for our family. As you can see, we celebrated Alison's first full day with our family and we have ever so much to be thankful for.  We met Alison for the first time yesterday and she chose to come back to our apartment to spend the night. The girls have been inseparable since and we are so enjoying getting to know this sweet, beautiful, and funny girl who is already calling me "Mo-om" with two syllables, just like Jenna does.
   The only thing that would have made today more perfect is if Jamie could have been with us. Instead, she celebrated with my family in Oklahoma and got to have two dinners :) I figured out how to call her over Skype tonight so we had a long conversation and she got to try out her Spanish conversational skills with her new sister. Alison is already picking up English words and we think that she is very intelligent. She knows her way around an iPad and is using a translation app to communicate with us when we just don't get it. She just types in the Spanish words and it translates to English! Pretty amazing!
    Alison was with a wonderful foster family who I know are grieving terribly for her right now. As much as we are enjoying Alison, I know they are missing her so much. I can't help but think of them today and am so incredibly thankful for how much they have loved Alison and cared for her--all while preparing her for her forever family. I am amazed at how God is weaving our lives together and I know that they will be a part of our family forever.
    We meet with the social workers tomorrow who will observe Alison with us and see how she is doing. If all goes well, they will write a favorable report and we will proceed with the next steps of the adoption.
Alison seems to be happy and when she spoke with her foster mom tonight she told her that she is "muy, muy, muy feliz...a very good sign.
    A very happy Thanksgiving indeed!