WOOOO HOOOO Gloria is TWO

Gloria is two today!!!!!!!

I think of her second birthday and then think to last year on her first birthday.

Last year she laid alone in an orphanage.  That is it.

We were sent several baby pictures of Gloria from a friend, Tracey.  

In this picture, Gloria is seven months old and Tracey just finished feeding her a bottle. 

In June of  last year, we saw her picture for the first time. 

Catherine was at the orphanage adopting Francesca and Victoria and sent her picture to us.

Little did we know, Catherine was introducing us to our daughter!!!! 

Today, Gloria has a family that loves her and values her. 

This morning, she awoke to a mommy (daddy leaves for work really, really early) and eight brothers and sisters telling her happy birthday and giving her hugs and kisses.  We all hooted and hollered HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLORIA... about one hundred times. We celebrated her.  Aunt Sissy came with a good morning balloon celebration!

For some reason, my heart is heavy for her birth mother today. 

Gloria did not arrive to the orphanage until she was 40 days old. 

From what is known ... Gloria was full-term, good birth weight, decent apgar scores.  Nothing in her history indicates that she needed to be in the hospital for forty days.

During those first forty days, I wonder  where she was.  Was Gloria at home with her mother?  Did her mother nurse her?  Did she have her mother's love for forty days?  Did her mother take Gloria to her one month old baby check up and there was told that she had down syndrome? 

I wonder about Gloria's mother ...

~Does she remember today is the day she gave birth?
~Does she know Gloria is two?
~Does she wonder what Gloria is doing today?
~Does she know that she has a family that loves her?
~Does she wish Gloria were still with her?
~Does she regret refusing her?
~Does she miss her?
~Does she wonder if the doctors told her a lie?
~Does she know children with down syndrome are fearfully and wonderfully made?
~Does she know Jesus?
~Does she realize children are valuable?
~Does she read this blog?

There is a man who tracks down families of children adopted from Ukraine.  The locating of the families is fairly easy since we know their name, passport number and region where the children were born.  I have been considering hiring him to locate Gloria's birth family ... but what if they reject her again?