Holding Sofia!!!

Last night at the airport, I got the biggest treat! I got to watch little Sofia, a FORMER orphan from eastern Europe, arrive with her new Mommy and Daddy and meet her new brothers.  It's been a 6 month journey since Sofia was first placed in the hearts of Jennifer and Hector.   And after much anticipation, we welcome our first adopted baby with Down syndrome into our Ds family. 

Look at her smiling.  I think Sofia likes her Auntie Monica already.  I couldn't get over how solid and buttery soft this little princess is. She's about 22 pounds of pure cuteness.  After a 20 hour travel, Miss Sofia was all smiles, waving to all of us and letting each one of us "aunties" hold her.  My heart melted the moment I saw her and I'm so smitten by her precious smile already.



My photos are all a little out of focus as things were happening so fast that I couldn't quite capture everything quick enough. Lisa Lindsey at Genetically Enhanced took some great homecoming photos and video, too. Here is Mommy Jennifer with Sofia just moments after they got off the plane. Sofia really had her game-face on and if this is any indication of how she'll be with her new family, they are going to have a blast with her.

The new, complete Sanchez family of six!
I love how comfortable Sofia already seemed after having met her new brothers only minutes before. The most precious moment was seeing the boys kiss Sofia and especially Joaquin who, on several occasions, gave his new sister a precious kiss. If you don't know this family, check them out at Saving Sofia.

Mission Accomplished!

Random updates on my belly, John Michael, Saving Sofia... and Nic's arrow wound.

Last Saturday evening, Doug and I attended our kids' school auction - decked out like a 1950's diner.  So fun!  Great decor, music, food...  I did my best to dress up like a 50's gal.  It's hard to hide that belly, that's for sure  :-)  Me at 33 weeks...  boy is this baby weighing me down!

John Michael at 29 months old.  Loving life!

Fun, fun!  We love this little park...

and so do his buddies. 

That's Joaquin (Three's a Charm) trying to stand up solo and Joey (Our Bundle of Joy) on his tummy on the leopard blanket.  Sheridan (Genetically Enhanced) is front, right and John Michael is in the middle of his other local buddies.  Here, we're all waiting to give Joaquin's mom, Jennifer, a travel gift for baby Sofia (Saving Sofia), a beautiful little girl they're adopting from the Ukraine who also has Down syndrome.   With all the uncertainty of that nasty Icelandic volcanic ash, they were finally able to leave yesterday and are now literally headed to the Ukraine from Kiev. 

Our gift to Jennifer was an afghan, lovingly crocheted by CJ Field of the T21 Traveling Afghan Project.  Each color represent was chosen by Sofia's little friends and held a symbolic meaning.  You can go to Saving Sofia blog to see each meaning.  John Michael's color for Sofia was white for purity and grace and ties all the other colors together. 

Jennifer and her husband, Hector, are going to get to see and hold their baby girl tomorrow for the first time since falling in love with her back in December on the same day as Jennifer's beloved grandmother passed away.  The amazing speed in which they accomplished all their paperwork, home study, fundraising and now travels were literally guided by the hand of God.  There's no other way to explain how everything has fallen into place.  Even the ash made way for them to fly, when it seemed like all hope was lost and they'd have to wait until June for another opportunity.

There have been so many wonderful things happening lately, I just can't keep up! 

Finally, here's the not so great...  the gash Nicolas got yesterday (before 3 stitches) at his Renaissance Faire.  He was working the archery station and was accidentally shot with an arrow while retrieving other arrows from the field.  When he stood up, he was struck 1 centimeter from his eye by a blunt, metal-tipped arrow!  Poor boy!  He's still sore today, but has been quite a trooper, taking his battle wound like a man!