Vera's Third Adoption Anniversary

Yes indeed, our favorite tomboy has now been a Spicer for three whole years! Yippee!! Three years ago John and I walked into an orphanage in the Russian Far East and fell so deeply in love with the sparkling little sprite who was sporting the biggest smile for miles. One of our favorite memories of those first days with Vera was the way she had of looking down with a shy smile, then looking up at us out of the corner of her eyes. She quickly learned that we thought she was incredibly special, but she wasn't ready to let loose yet.

These days she has no problem letting loose, as my faithful blog readers can attest. She has a style all her own, an infectious laugh, a stubborn streak a mile wide, and the sweetest hugs and kisses a mommy could ever want. Her favorite thing in the world is to go, anywhere is fine, as long as we go.

This year's anniversary has really made me think about what Vera understands about adoption. As best we can tell, she doesn't think of life without us. When I show her pictures from the orphanage she still gets excited, but it doesn't seem to affect her understanding of her place in the family.

Vera loves to come up to me and John and say "My mommy" and "My daddy" very emphatically. When we were in the process of adopting her, I worried that she would never understand the meaning of family, having spent the first 5.5 years of her life in an orphanage. Now I'm worried she'll never understand that she didn't always belong to us! I suppose there are worse problems in the world, however, and trust that God will help her to understand what she needs to know.

No matter what, I am thrilled beyond words to have been chosen to be "Vera's Mommy!" She certainly lives in the most tender part of my heart.