My Wish

 I'm going to be bold and say it out loud. You all know I'm thinking it anyway. My wish is that Dasha  might be my daughter and Nastia's sister someday. There. I said it.  Can't take it back.

I don't know why I'm so scared to put that in writing. I don't know why it makes me nervous to say it out loud. I'm guessing I'm just so burned from the 5 year saga of trying to bring Anya home that I am:

A. A bit scared to hope these days, and...
B. A bit scared that people will think I'm nuts for letting myself fall in love with another child just after we 'lost' Anya.

But, you know what? It's the truth that I have fallen in love with this sweet soul and I dream of being her forever Mom,  so why should I try to hide it? God knows my heart. He knows that, despite this desire, I will do anything I can to make sure she finds a family. I'm pretty sure now that this is one of the reasons she ended up with us. He knows I'll fight for her. Just like I'm fighting for Anya.


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On another note, here are some photos of our day today. Dasha got her first haircut ... and she loved every minute of being pampered:

Above, Dasha is telling the stylist how she wants her hair....

She wanted it even shorter, but we said no!

Here is the final 'product'...long enough to still get into pigtails!

 We also took her to The Willows finally, too. She loved it. If you're not from around here -- The Willows is a small amusement park/arcade that dates to the 1860s in Salem. I spent my childhood there, as did my Dad and my Grandfather. It has an antique carousel and lots of cool antique arcade games, and it's right on the beach.

The carousel I've ridden at least a hundred times since I could walk...

Just LOVED seeing Nastia and Dasha enjoying the same carousel horses.... forty years after me. Wish we could relive today over and over again.