5 Already!?!?!?

Aliya will be 5 tomorrow. I can’t believe it, 5. When did my baby girl get so big? She had her 5 year check up on Monday. She is 42 ½” and weighed in at 42 pounds. (Up from last year’s stats of 36” and 40 pounds) Her birthday always tugs at my heart a little, but this year it’s more than ever, and I’m not sure why. I always think about her birthmom and the amazing gift she gave Aliya, the gift of life. When there were other options out there, easier options in some opinions, she chose to carry her daughter for 9 months knowing she wouldn’t keep her. I can’t imagine going to the hospital knowing I wouldn’t leave with my baby. But she did. Our brave birthmom entered the hospital with Aliya’s original chosen parents, gave birth, held her daughter and changed her mind. She decided to parent at the last minute. Two people left the hospital deviated and empty handed. That could have been us. Instead we were 1 ½ hours down the highway waiting and praying for a child we didn’t even know existed. The only newborn picture we have of our daughter is the image in our minds that we remember seeing on the hospital website when we first were contacted by our agency about Aliya. Looking back, I wish we would have ordered her hospital pictures. I close my eyes and remember seeing that tiny little pumpkin in her hospital gown. There were three pictures on the website of her and if I clicked the button fast enough they scrolled by like a flip book and her arms danced in delight. She was a beautiful baby with a headful of dark thick hair. I remember staring at the computer screen the days that followed after we were told our birthmom changed her mind and decided to continue parenting. I remember not crying, but praying. Praying that she was safe and knowing God had an amazing plan for her life. At 5 weeks our little Aliya finally came home. It is a day I will never forget. The little girl on the hospital website was home, she was mine. So sitting here on the eve of her birthday I want to hold her and not let go. I want to call her birthmom and thank her, thank her for choosing life and for choosing us. Trusting us with the most precious gift I have ever been given. My Aliya, who’s name fits her perfectly. “God’s gift”.