National Adoption Day!

Big KUDOS to my bloggy friend Kim who has done a wonderful job with her recent posts about adoption awareness.
I don't have anything real fancy to share to honor this day. At least these things may not seem huge to others, but to me - to US - they are.
They are two significant victories that have kind of crept up on me, and I can't even put a date on either of them. All of a sudden, however, I realized they are there. They really show just HOW far Nina has come in the 16 months she has been with us.
For a long time, when something did not go Nina's way, or she had to be disciplined, she would always shake her head when I told her that indeed I loved her.
She has completely stopped that.
For now, anyway.
She must be learning that our love does not depend on her actions, and that we love her regardless. Wow, this is so huge for her and for us! Praise God!
The other one is, that she has started to initiate heartfelt "I love you's". It's not just a bedtime ritual anymore, but will just come out of nowhere. Like I said, I don't know when I first realized that she was doing that - maybe two or three months ago, maybe less? It's one of those subtle things that did not stick out right away, I think because I knew she was happy and loved us for a lot longer than this.
Again, what a step.
I marvel at her making roots, and not just growing taller and more beautiful all the time, but growing deeper. She is holding that trust, that was so fragile and new, in the palm of her hand, and it's growing so beautifully! What a blessing beyond description, and what a miracle.
The miracle of adoption....
We love you, little girl!