Living in the Light: New Life

Friday, April 16, 2010

New Life

When we arrived in Zaporozhye this past Monday, it looked like late winter. In less than a week's time, the trees have started sprouting leaves.

There are cherry blossom trees all over this town, and they are in full bloom right now. They are gorgeous and have become our symbol of this new life--for Alina and for us.

There is a new blossom on our family tree...

Alina Caroline
Adopted into our Family
April 16, 2010
Zaporozhye, Ukraine

Our Little Cherry Blossom

20 comments:

Kristin FergusonFriday, April 16, 2010
I LOVE the symbolism and I think your new cherry blossom is the perfect addition to your family tree! She's not going to know what hit her when she gets loved on by your crew! :)

Congratulations again!

Kristin
P.S. Went shopping today for our trip! FUN FUN!
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JodiFriday, April 16, 2010
Too beautiful for words....
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heatherbrownFriday, April 16, 2010
Congratulations, she is an adorable, lucky little girl, and you are lucky parents and siblings as well!
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BiancaFriday, April 16, 2010
Oh my goodness, does her outfit have cherry blossoms on it as well? Congratulations on your new daughter. She is absolutely gorgeous!
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AimeeFriday, April 16, 2010
CONGRATULATIONS !!!! please give me your secret.... things have gone so well for you hope I have the same luck. Will you have to wait the 10 days?
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Juli RyanFriday, April 16, 2010
Beautiful Cherry Blossom! Congratulations!
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tekealFriday, April 16, 2010
i've just gotten caught up with your precious journey... and i'm very moved. all the best for everything to continue smoothly and with the grace that already surrounds your family. tekeal
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TamiFriday, April 16, 2010
Congratulations on your new little cherry blossom! She will certainly blossom in the love of your family!

Hugs!
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MarjFriday, April 16, 2010
I can't stop smiling! Congratulations mama and papa! BIG BIG HUGS! We can only imagine how much more your little Alina will blossom with the love of her entire family! I'm sure the kids are counting the minutes until you come home... I know we are!
Marj
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CheriFriday, April 16, 2010
I am in love with your new cherry blossom! ;)
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The Sanchez FamilyFriday, April 16, 2010
So beautiful! I LOVE her name and love the symbolism too!!!
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RachelFriday, April 16, 2010
beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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MaryFriday, April 16, 2010
Congratulations!
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MonicaSaturday, April 17, 2010
Precious little girl. Congratulations on your newest family member!
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LisaSaturday, April 17, 2010
YAY! It's official!!!!
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MilenaSaturday, April 17, 2010
Congratulations! So beautiful!

Once home, you could plant a cherry tree to be her very own, to remind you of this precious spring day!
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Nan and DanSaturday, April 17, 2010
Congrats!!!!! so happy for you all!
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Michele SantangeloSaturday, April 17, 2010
Welcome Alina Caroline Peele!!! Can't wait to watch you blossom as you grow up! We are all so happy for you! Congratulations on your baby girl! Our love and prayers for each of you as you become a family, Michele
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LisaSunday, April 18, 2010
Yes, her shirt has cherry blossoms on it! We have nicknames/symbols for each of our girls. I told Chris on the way to the orphanage that morning that Alina should be our cherry blossom...he agreed completely...and when we arrived, she was wearing this shirt :)...
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Melissa MTuesday, April 20, 2010
Congrats!!!
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Welcome

For those of you already following us, Bridget's Light and Loving Alina have merged :). For anyone who is new to our story, Welcome!

Bridget and Alina are the youngest of our six children. Bridget (born July, 2006) is our biological daughter. Alina (born March, 2007, and adopted into our family April, 2010) is the daughter of our hearts. Both girls have Down syndrome.

Feel free to browse this blog at your leisure, to comment or to email us. We're are happy to answer questions or provide more detail to others who are interested in learning more about life with Down syndrome, or about our International Adoption experience.

Living in the Light

I've replayed the day Bridget was born a million times...and I hate saying (and remembering) that the day was filled with sadness and uncertainty. It makes me mad--though I'm not sure at exactly who or what--that we wasted that day being somber when we should have been celebrating. I feel sad for the kids, for Chris and for me, and for our extended family and friends who were worried--heart heavy--for us. If we knew then what we know now, we would have been celebrating. The little girl that arrived in our lives that Sunday in July was the best thing that ever happened to us.

She is everything that is good about Life.

I've re-written the moments in my mind to go something like this:

We were just beginning.
A beautiful life awaited us--
and it was far more beautiful
than we'd imagined.
It is the day we got her;
the day that everything came together.
It is the day we began living in the light...

Take Your Coat Off & Stay Awhile...

If you visit our house, you are welcome to kick your shoes off by the front door, or leave them on--whichever is most comfortable for you. The same applies when you visit here.

You should feel free to stop by often or sporadically. Leave comments whenever you'd like, but don't feel obligated (I'll always answer questions or entertain topics for new posts. Just email me or leave a comment if there's something you'd like me to address or know. And I'll keep writing even if everyone out there is silent...but if everyone out there leaves feedback, I'll have much more to write about!)

If you knock on my door and I'm in my pj's, I may or may not answer (I always assume it's the Fed Ex guy, anyway). But that is part of the beauty of blogland...you can pop in here, without warning, at any time day or night. You can slip quietly away, or take up residence. Since there's no chance of waking a sleeping baby--or encountering unflushed toilets--you can also go anywhere you please on this blog at your leisure.

This is all to say that however you got here, and whatever shape you came in, I'm glad you stopped by. Feel free to stay awhile and look around...

Living in the Light

Friday, April 16, 2010

New Life

20 comments:

Welcome

questions or comments?