On Saturday...

Last Saturday, we had our family birthday party for Eva and gave her her "Happy Birthday Presents." Granny gave her a "Happy Birthday watch." It is a Thomas the Train watch. Eva wore it to church and showed it to all her favorite people. Her aunt Kathy gave her some things for her room and David and I gave her a little Power Rider, 4 wheeler. It operates by a 6 volt battery and to make it go, Eva pushes a little button on the handle bar. At first she was a little scared of it, but it didn't take her long to begin thinking that was the best thing going. She asks constantly "Hotrod. Outside. Pushing button." Over and over and over. When she rides on it, she grins from ear to ear, sways back and forth and immitates the humming noise. She hasn't quite figured out how to turn it around, so she gets off of it and pushes it around the other direction. This morning, she did figure out how to turn the handlebar but never turned it back, so she just kept going in big circles. The cats arch their backs when they see her coming, the dog gives her an exasperated look (she has run over the dog's tail twice now) and the roosters flare their neck feathers at her. I don't think that it helps that it's a red 4 wheeler.

Saturday was also the 1 year anniversary of the first time I saw Eva's face,
http://hurlburtkizer.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html. One year ago, on April 28, we received referral. I remember downloading her picture and getting excited as each new line of image appeared... the top of her head, her forehead, her eyes... I remember thinking, "How did we get so lucky that our daughter is so beautiful?!" Since then, her face has become very familiar to me. I know the look that means I'm happy, or I'm going to challenge you, or I'm sad, or I am scarred. I can glance at her now and read her emotions. I know the shape of her eyes, all the different ways she smiles and how she wrinkles her brow when she's concentrating. After referral, I thought constantly about going to get her and about having her in my life... now I feel like something is missing when she's not following me or holding on to me or sitting by me. Now she is in my life, not just my thoughts.When I go back and look at her referral picture, http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5811/2863/1600/Eva%201.jpg , I see something very different than I saw a year ago. I see an expression that I haven't seen in a long time in her eyes. I see hurt and insecurity and
frustration all mixed together into one look. Eva's life, David's life and my life have now been blended into one family, and all of us have been healed and blessed through that blending.