Sunday, March 27, 2011

I’ve been thinking for awhile about sending a final update for Tia’s website. There have been so many special moments over the past few months. Tia continues to thrive, grow and become uniquely woven into our family. She’s woven in as only God could orchestrate. We feel so honored to be her family and we have been blessed by her in so many ways!

MILESTONES – On January 18, 2011 we celebrated Forever Family Day. It’s hard to believe that Tia’s been with us for one year! So many changes in one year and we celebrate how far we have all come from last year at this time. She has learned to ride a tricycle. She wants to do EVERYTHING herself. She is very independent. She is also making huge progress with her speech. She has grown almost 5 inches and seven pounds.

SISTERS- Kassidy and Tia have become very tight over this last year. So tight in fact that they now enjoy an occasional… shall we say… argument. Yes, things feel very normal around our household with the siblings. They love having each other and sometimes need their own space. They both enjoyed spending time in the snow. Tia was hesitant to sled down the hill all alone. Guess who was there to help her out? Kassidy her big sister was happy to ride with her on the sled. Tia squealed with delight every time and that squeal is music to our ears.

REFLECTIONS- Our adjustment over this last year has gone very well. When Tia first came home she was weak in muscle tone, walking but unsteady, drinking at bottle for 90% of her nutrition, scared when we left her, unable to communicate w/words and unsure if she could trust us. Looking back we can see all of this now. We met her where she was and showered her with our love. I think God gave us a shield to all of the challenges and He gave us the ability to focus on the positives. It didn’t take long for things to start changing and our bonds have grown stronger and stronger. There have been some hard days sprinkled among the good days. But that is to be expected. A new child in the family doesn’t come with an instruction manual. God created each of us different and that is to be celebrated!

Thank you to all of our family and friends for supporting us along this journey. Also, many thanks to Jennifer and Joe for providing this website service. It’s been a great way to document our Travels to Tia. It is tough to find the words to conclude this site because the future holds so many more adventures. We thank God everyday for both of our daughters. We have a comment around here that comes up often “Tia was worth the wait!” It is so true that the wait is difficult but the rewards are great!

Blessings to you all!