Countdown

The countdown has begun......not only until Christmas Day but until my brother Hank & his wife, Tricia come home from Vietnam with their beautiful daughter Sophie! I don't know who's more excited right now; Mason or me.

Every night after dinner and before bedtime, Mason and I have gotten into a routine of going into the office and logging onto "Sophie's Story" to see what new videos they've posted (aka "pictures that talk" in Mason's terms) and to read all about their adventures in Hanoi while they've been over there. Seeing Sophie at the Zoo, eating Spaghetti and reading books with Aunt Tricia growling at her.....They've all made us smile and fall in love with her more and more!

I think Mason & Jack both finally understood that Sophie was not just a picture in a picture frame, but an actual little, walking, talking person when they saw her with Hank and Tricia for the first time. THAT brought it into more of a concrete concept for them. Both of them, since day one, have understood that Sophie is very, very far away from where we are and that Uncle Hank and Aunt Tricia were waiting patiently and had to get on an airplane and travel a long time to get to where Sophie is. They know that a very nice man and lady were taking care of her until Hank and Tricia could go get her and that now they are her Mommy & Poppa and that they are bringing her home to live with them forever. And that she is THEIR new cousin.

Becoming an aunt the very first time when my sister had her daughter Sarah, was an amazing experience and exciting for me as it was a big "first" in our family. But this time, I think I have been MORE excited for my brother to become a Father because I now know what it feels like to be a parent. That it's the most amazing feeling and experience that you can ever go through. To love something so much that it hurts is just a feeling that is too powerful for words.

I know that Hank understands it now too, because I've read it in his posts and heard it in his voice. I have known for a long time that Hank and Tricia will be two of the most wonderful, loving and caring parents because they have taken a very adverse situation and turned it around into a positive one. They have opened their hearts to a little girl from half way around the world who needed someone to love her. Someone to call her THEIR daughter.

I'm just so happy that our children will be able to grow up together and play together! I can't wait for them to get home!!!!! Hurry home guys! Safe travels and I'll be waiting for you at the finish line!!!!

XOXOX