Happy Birthday, Therese!

This fact astounds me, one year ago I hadn't yet met my daughter.

Two and a half years ago, I got an email from a friend, Rona, who had information about a little girl in need of an urgent adoption. The description said something about a girl about nine years old with a heart defect that could not be fixed in her country. That is about all we knew.

That same day, I emailed the information to Casey, so "he could pray for her". Hee hee. I think he knew by that I meant pray about adopting her. But he didn't receive the email before he left work.

That same day, Casey was listening to John Piper talk about how God is pleased when we take risks with our faith. Casey walked through the door, almost visibly shaken, saying he felt we needed to take a risk with our faith now, and he was ready to adopt again.

I wasted no time showing Casey the email. He said "that's her, yes, let's adopt her".

But she is nine years old, is that too old? How serious is this heart defect? What country is she from again? Are we qualified to adopt from there? How much will it cost? How will Evelea feel about being replaced as the oldest? What if she dies before we can adopt her, or after we adopt her?

We decided to keep pursuing until God shut the door. He didn't.

About 18 months later, we brought home our daughter. She had lifesaving heart surgery three months later.

Today, Therese is the song in our home. Her laugh is the loudest. Her dance moves are unrivaled. Her smile the most infectious. She is hard working and modest. She is bold with her faith.

She is healed, cherished, rescued, adored and ours.

Happy 11th Birthday, Therese!