I am not
a numbers person. Math and I are not friends. The Lord, however, likes numbers.
Alot. The Bible is full of specific numbers- that upon studying, give us not
a vague description, but a clear picture and understanding of something.
So, with that in mind, I give to you the numbers illustrating the beginning of our life
as a family of four. Now, these numbers are obviously not exact, but you get the picture...
4 months
as a US citizen
127 days
home
45 nights
of uninterrupted sleep
80 loads
of itty-bitty clothes washed
975
diapers changed
33 days
home before she sat up on her own for the first time.
8 hair
products purchased- for a BABY
2 sleep
caps purchased
0 sleep
caps worn more than twice
7000 feet,
army crawled
75 feet
crawled, up on all fours
4 tiny,
but thoroughly enjoyed bowls of ice cream
10 boxes
of Kleenexes used to wipe her nose
3 boxes
of Kleenex, torn up for entertainment
6000
laughs
2567
games of peekaboo
395
renditions of “Jesus Loves Me”
2 days a
week -on average - we spent at home before Ellie
5.5 days
a week- on average- we spend at home, now that she's here
10 times
cleaning up vomit- no, not spit up- vomit.
102 socks
taken off
52 socks
lost
10 doctor
appointments
1 family
vacation
2,345,690,175
kisses received by Ellie
578
kisses given by Ellie, 176 of which were received by stuffed animals, and 28 of
which were given to herself in the mirror
256
tickle fests
12
outfits ruined by... well... poo. Lots. Of. Poo.
748 times
complete strangers have just stared, not saying anything...
379 times
complete strangers have stared and said how cute she is, or how they've always
wanted to adopt, or how they have been to Kenya, Tanzania, {insert other random
African country}, etc.
1 time
someone asked if I got to "pick her out?"
1 time I
sat in stunned silence, finally answering, "Ummmm, no.... No."
1 time an
unknown woman walked in to a nursery where we were sitting, picked Ellie up,
and gave me a startled, "Oh!"
when I informed her as politely as
possible that "Actually, she is mine."
1 time
Payton almost clocked a kid who argued that Ellie was not her sister. Big sister
claws appeared for the first time.
7456
pictures taken
2 times
calling me “Mama”
231 fits
thrown when she didn't get her way... Oops, make that 232 now.
127 times
I've thought, "I can't do this."
127 times
God has reminded me that His power is made perfect
in my weakness.
127 times
He's proven it.
4 times
she's emptied the dog bowl.
5 new
teeth
987 times
we've had to move her away from electrical outlets, cabinets, curtains, and
other various household hazards.
1 time
her daddy unknowingly put her clothes on backwards,
and left them that way
until I discovered an hour later.
I guess only one time is pretty good,
actually...
26 vials
of poo collected. Yes, poo, again.
1 crazy
expensive prescription from a compounding pharmacy-
no worries, we met our
deductible months ago :)
68 times
she has refused to eat the food offered.
1 first birthday party
683 toys
thrown
135 times
she's said, “uh-ohhhhhh”
385 times
she's squealed and frantically waved her arms in excitement when her big sister
has entered a room
85 times
she's fallen asleep in my arms
1
Tinkerbell Halloween costume
341 steps
she's taken holding our hands
16
seconds- the longest she's stood on her own
30
minutes- the longest she's "sat" for me to fix her hair... Nope, nothing
fancy, but I'm new to these curls.
15 times
I've had to chase her while fixing her hair
25 times
I've had to chase her while getting her dressed
335 times
she's stopped crying when I sang
6 happy
times in a swing
14 shots
(as in immunizations, not tiny glasses of alcohol)
634
bottles taken
15 Costco
size cans of formula
10
gallons of milk
3 bitings
of my shoulder
16 times
she's cried a bone-chilling, heartbreaking, haunting cry-
that only comes from a
child who's experienced
painful, gut-wrenching tragedy
17 times
she's cried to let us know she has awoken from a nap
or from a night's sleep
157 times
she's cried in the middle of the night
31 days
she sucked her fingers when she got home
12 days
she's sucked her fingers since that first month home
25 times
we've had billing issues with insurance,
because her legal name is Yetnayet, not
Ellie
3 gained
pounds
2 inches
grown
57 times
she's laughed at herself.
2047
raspberries blown
10 times
I've looked at Ellie, and thought, "Am I really your momma?"
10 times
The Lord has answered that question with a resounding "Yes."
36 times
I've felt like she will never know me and trust me as momma,
and yet…
31 times
she has cuddled into my chest
75 times
she has reached for me
56 times
she has cried when I left the room.
62 times
she's about jumped out of someone's arms for me
45 times
she has gripped my arm firmly when others came near
37 times
she's crawled to me when she was hurt or upset
137,004
minutes of pure joy
113 times
I’m pretty sure I’ve already failed as her mommy
113 times
I KNOW His grace has covered my failures
235 times
since she's been home I have mourned for her birth mother-
each time she misses
a new milestone in Ellie's life
3,479,192
times I have been awestruck- with both gladness for me
and sorrow for a woman
in Ethiopia, that the Lord, in his mercy,
is allowing me to be called "Mama"
by this child.
1 child
adopted,
4 lives
forever changed for the better.
1 huge
"Thank you, Jesus."
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