A Wonderful Saturday!

Our traditional after meet photo!

A shout out to Sarah from Matthew!

Forever connected!

Oh, Analiese missed Matthew!

We love you, Matthew!

Even though we woke up to yet ANOTHER day of rain (number 5, I think!)we had expectations for a great day! We started out very early as Grace had to be at her meet by 7:45. The good thing was that it was at our gym and we didn't have too far to drive.

Grace was excited about the competition, and had been since last week's meet. She told me the other night, as I tucked her into bed, that she wished she could compete EVERY DAY! I asked why she liked to compete so much, if it was because she always did so well, or if she just liked the feeling of being out there performing. Grace said that she just liked doing gymnastics and the feel of the competition.

I took the time to then talk to her about not becoming over confident, that she, so far, has done very well but it may not always be that way and to always remember to have fun! Grace said that it was OK if she didn't win but she would always do her best. Well, I wasn't so sure that Grace would have such enthusiasm if she wasn't winning each event but I hugged her and told her that we were so glad she had found something she loved.

Well, today was a test for Grace. Even though she did her best, and scored very well, she did not place in vault! This was the first time Grace did not get called up to the podium to accept a medal. She scored a 9.00 on her vault but it was not good enough to get in the top 7! How did Grace respond? She said she was surprised but she did her best and now she knows she has to work harder! That was it....

As for the other events? 1st on bars, beam, floor and all around! Grace had an awesome beam routine. She held her handstand so long that many people in the audience were gasping and later came up to her to tell say how awesome her routine was!

I think the best part, for Grace, was that her "big sister", (a level 10 gymnast) was at the meet and was the one to give her the trophy for #1 all around! She hugged Gracie so tightly and Gracie just beamed! It was so sweet. I watched her big sister go up to the young lady who had the trophy for Grace and ask her if she could please be the one to give it to Grace. I have to say, Gracie's big sister has been so supportive of her.

After the meet, we went home to rest and get ready for next exciting event. We were meeting Matthew and his Mom and Dad for dinner! We were so looking forward to seeing him. Unfortunately, Sarah had other plans and was not able to be with us. Matthew, of course, commented on missing Sarah. I assured him that the next time we got together, Sarah would be there. He was happy about that!

I just cannot put into words the emotion I felt seeing Matthew for the first time in 3 months. It was so bittersweet. He is doing so well and I know it is because of the environment he is now in. While living with us, circumstances were such that he just was not afforded the opportunity to reach this level.

Matthew seemed to be a bit uncomfortable in how he was supposed to act around us. I can only imagine how confusing it must have been for him. I mean, we were his parents for 18 months. Now, he has new parents but, here we were and he just wasn't sure what to do. I took Matthew aside and told him how happy I was that he was doing well. I told him that we missed and loved him but, again, we were so happy he that he was happy and loved his parents! I also told him that we would continue to see and talk to him. I told him that we would call him and we wanted him to call us whenever he wanted to. He seemed to relax and understand that everything was good.

Analiese just loved seeing Matthew, whereas Grace seemed alittle more reserved. Later Grace and I discussed that even though we missed Matthew, we knew that he was doing so well because he was not with us. It is hard for Grace to understand but she is so trusting that we only want what is best for our kids that she accepts Matthew no longer lives with us.

For me, this visit was so emotional. Not a teary kind of emotional but something much deeper. I watched Matthew with his new parents, and realized that he fit, really fit. And after talking with Matthew's Dad, and learning of the challenges they have faced and seemingly conquered, being an only child has been the salvation for Matthew.

My faith in God was strengthened today. But so was my understanding that when we are called to do something it doesn't always turn out the way we envision it should. When Dave and I realized that WE were meant to bring Matthew home, we never thought, not for one second, that he was anything but our son. But, almost 2 years later, we realize that we were were never meant to be Matthew's forever family.

The journey with Matthew has been long and hard. There have been tears, stress and anger. But today, in the midst of all of the rain, a HUGE ray of sunshine burst in my heart. It was so clear that Matthew is where he is meant to be and we made the right choice for him.

We celebrated SO many successes today....