Loving Her

I am in love.

There is no doubt about it. Each and every day I discover something new about Noelle and I fall more deeply in love with my daughter.

At first, the love for her was a dream. We had 3 small photos and a brief description of her personality as a 10 month old. We dreamed of what the future might hold.

Then, our love for her was a choice. When you are handed a fearful, crying stranger, you do your best to fathom the mystery of adoption and sudden parenthood.

And now, our love for her is as natural as breathing. We are all still getting to know each other. There are still the normal bumps along the way. But each fresh day reveals new layers of the sweet, funny, smart, compassionate, friendly, helpful, loving child that is our daughter.

Sometimes, when I am holding her in my arms, I just can't stop stroking her hair or kissing her amazingly soft cheeks. I whisper words of love into her ear, not knowing if she understands yet just how much she means to us. I want to drink her in. I want to squeeze her tight and never let her go.

Wow. This mama-love thing is kinda scary. Takes your breath away!

(Just for the record, Eric also has lots of squishy feelings about Noelle, too. But I'll let him post his own mushy thoughts. And by the way, Eric is soooo wrapped around Noelle's little finger, that he now walks (or bounces) more like Tigger.)