We are so blessed.
I have a wonderful husband who loves me and treats me like a queen, five beautiful kids, and a successful job (I am a real estate agent). I also have an awesome network of friends who are more than happy to rally around me when things get tough.
My name is Connie Louise Gateman. I live in Valpraiso, Indiana, with my family. Life can't be more satisfying than it is right now. It's about to get even better: after months of waiting, of not knowing, our newest child, Zion Michela, will be joining us. She arrives sometime next week.
We applied to adopt Zion when we saw her picture in an adoption magazine.
Zion isn't the first one we adopted. Oh, no. We adopted Tanner Michael from Korea two years ago. We adopted Elysia Natalie from Russia last year. They are now seven and six, two of the greatest kids around. That is in addition to our own three: Kendall Madissen (11), Judson Daniel (9), and the baby, Seth Christopher, who is four. So our household is often very busy, not to mention, extremely noisy at times.
Zion is from Africa, from the country of Rwanda. After months of red tape, we've appeared to clear the last hurdles. All we are waiting on now is her arrival. We plan on going to the airport to pick her up as a family; we want to be there when she comes.
No doubt there will be tears and fears. That is to be expected for any child who is thrust into a situation that he (or she) isn't familiar with. All we can do is offer our supprt and love and help them through the terrifying few weeks/months. It usually isn't long before the dust settles and the child is assimilated into the family. It happened with Tanner and with Elysia. Now we will face this same thing again with Zion when she joins us.
We have gotten Zion's room ready. We have gotten her new clothes and toys. We want her to have the things that she probably didn't have growing up in an orphanage back in her native Africa. Zion is an orphan: she lost her mother to AIDS and her father to civil violence; she was just a baby when it happened.
Zion is a beautiful little girl, with dark ebony eyes, dark, dark skin the color of deep chocolate, a crown of thick black hair done up in a mass of pigtails sticking up all over her head, and a strong, supple body. When we first saw her picture over a year ago, we fell in love with her.
She's about to become our sixth child, our third daughter.
Zion is five years old. In the fall, she will probably start kindergarten.
It seems hard to believe that the waiting period is nearly over. Where did the time go away so fast?? We are planning on giving our newest daughter the life she deserves: a life full of joy, happiness, and lots of love that only we, as her family, can give her.
So what if her skin is darker than ours? That should not matter. All that matters is that Zion Michela will be our daughter! We will do all we can to ensure a happy life full of promise and potential for her!
*to be continued.*
