Thoughts from the Belly

Josh and Noah got to talking about adoption last night at bedtime.

Josh: Do you remember whose belly you grew in?
Noah: Tanna (Tania)
Josh: Do you know what that's called when you grow in someone else's belly and come home with Mommy and Daddy? That's called adoption.
Noah: I no go back Tanna's bewwy.
Josh: No you won't go back to Tania's belly. You're my son. You will be with us forever.
Noah: I cry in Tanna's bewwy.
Josh: Why did you cry?
Noah: Because I miss you, Daddy!

Ohhhhh. Steal. My. Heart. As an adoptive parent, those are sweet and tender words to take in.

And it reminds me vividly of how we prayed protection over Noah's mind and heart and development while he was exposed to the stress, chaos, and upset in Tania's life when she was pregnant with him. To know and love the boy as we do and to recognize and appreciate the perfectly healthy bonding we have with him makes me sing praises to God for hearing our prayers for him way back then. Because if he was stressed in utero, according to Noah, it wasn't because his little body and mind were weakened under the burden that Tania bore - it was because he was missing us already.