Our first little girl

So you may be thinking, isn't Anniston your first little girl? Well, there's another little one that you must know about...the first little girl that captured our hearts. Before we got engaged, when we talked about having kids, we always said we would have 0 kids or 2 kids. The day after we got engaged, Jake says "I want 4- I want to have two, and adopt two from Africa"...yes, he waits until the day after I agree to marry him to tell me this. I, needless to say, was not on the same page. I couldn't imagine loving a child that wasn't my own with the same love that I had for my own little ones. So we did what we usually do when Jake throws out big dreams that I'm not ready to embrace, we stopped talking about it and waited to see what the Lord would do in one of our hearts. So fast forward three years...Jake and I board a plane with 9 other friends to Mozambique, Africa for two weeks. What happened? I fell in love with her....

Meet Quiteria. This little girl, two years old at the time, completely stole my heart. She is indescribably beautiful. When we went to Mozambique, we knew we would be staying in a baby house, a place where Pieter and Rika Boersma and their 3 boys took in orphaned children as their own. They became a family. I hadn't had much experience with babies, but I had a few expectations- I didn't think I would become attached...I thought if I did become attached, it would be to a little boy...I thought if I got attached to a little boy, it would be the sweetest of the bunch...so what happens? I fall head over heels in love with Quiteria- a beautiful little girl that's as sassy as they come. So much attitude. I had not expected this. I loved everything about her. Her shirt in this picture says "Can't do it Won't do it"...yep. This girl was independent, stubborn, sassy....and I loved it. I remember coming home and a month going by, and one night I was sitting in the parking lot after watching a movie sobbing. When Jake asked why I was crying, I confessed that I just missed Quiteria so very much and I didn't understand why she couldn't come live with us. In my mind, she belonged with us. She was one of us now. So do I still wonder if I could love an adopted child in the same way I loved my own? Nope. Quiteria proved me wrong. Oh how I love her.

Quiteria the year we met her:

Quiteria growing up:

Quiteria really grown up:

Quiteria, we love you more than you will ever know. You have forever changed us. We pray that you will grow up knowing how beautiful, valued, and extravagantly loved you are.

With abundant love, your family in Oklahoma, Jake, Kristin, and Anniston