Two Months!

Well it's been a little over two months since I met Miss Jacinda Hope Bizunesh face to face. In some respects it seems like yesterday and yet in others I don't even remember life without her!
I am a firm mom, I admit it. She has chores, is expected to complete her school work, be kind and in general act like she has some sense. Yes, we laugh our heads off a lot, but I still get to be the boss most days.
But today in celebration of our two months together...I want to stop and just be my child's admirer!
Jacinda is a beautiful little girl with a spunky spirit. She is vivacious, graceful, loving, smart and a delight. She appears timid and shy when someone first meets her, but once she gets comfortable...WATCH OUT! Her smile is captivating. She is sensitive to other people and easily adapts in peer groups.
But it's what I don't know about her that leaves me in total awe.
In preparing for her arrival, I mistakenly believed that Jacinda Bizunesh had been abandoned to the police and then taken to the care center all in a matter of days. However at my embassy appointment I learned that she had spent years not months in institutional care. After we got home and I got settled in, I re-read several e-mails to see if somehow I misinterpreted what was being said. I didn't and that's all I am going to say about that.
Jacinda has been opening up more about her time in Ethiopia.
As part of her school work, she has recently been learning about different emotions. Last week, we were just chatting in nice relaxed way when she started telling me how happy she was. And then she started talking about her life in Ethiopia. She told me she was happy there, sad sometimes, and scared. But when she added almost as an after though "Oh and hungry, very, very hungry," my heart nearly burst.
You see looking at Jacinda Bizunesh you see this little vibrant, fashion diva and that is true reflection of who she is. But there is more, much much more to her story. And as her mother it is my responsibility that I never lose sight of what she has been through in her young little life and to CELEBRATE all of the pieces that make her who she is.
And after two months together I can tell you, there is so very much to celebrate!