Johnny and Lily's One Year Gotcha Anniversary

Ok, for the record, I don't like the word "Gotcha" or "Gotcha Day." I remember reading it on someone's blog a few years ago and I thought, "Seriously, this is the word people use to celebrate the day they meet their child for the first time...GOTCHA??? For real?" I still don't like it. Who came up with that? It sounds like you're chasing a bug across the room and you finally smashed it with your shoe..."Gotcha, you little cockroach!" Actually, I despise it with everything in me...but I haven't even taken the time to be creative in this area (even though I've had an entire year) and come up with a new word. So, if you can't beat 'em...join 'em, right? I don't even like the other scenarios others use:

"Family Day"

"Forever Day"

"Forever Family Day"

Yeah, I don't like them. Oh well. I'll think of a better word later.

But let me tell you how we celebrated these two special days. It wasn't expensive. It was actually very cheap...but very special and sentimental.

We celebrated Johnny's day with dinner at Wendy's.

Yes, Wendy's.

Because it was that very same Wendy's restaurant that God spoke to my heart about adoption...almost two decades ago...with a very simple sign on the table that said something like, "Have you considered adoption?" I remember we were out on a Wednesday night after church with a huge group of people and I couldn't quit looking at that sign. It's like the whole room faded away and it was just me, God, and Dave Thomas in that room, ha, ha. Did you know Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's was adopted? 

So here we were, the exact same Wendy's, on a Wednesday night, with a huge room full of people from church...and my son and daughter from China were sitting in that room with me now. 

God looooves to bring everything full circle!

And then Lily's day was celebrated at McDonald's. The big things in our life don't happen at big, expensive places! Ok, why McD's? Because that is where my hubby said yes to adoption...both the first time and this time as well. 

He had thought about it all day (the first time) and then we decided to go to McD's with Josiah and Brianna and get a cone. While we were eating cones my husband said, "Josiah and Brianna, I thought we could get cones to celebrate today, because I think we should let Mommy start the adoption process." They were so excited! (And I was shocked...beyond shocked...actually, I was speechless...this "Type A" man who at one time thought about never having children was caving!! Ha, ha.)

And with the adoptions that we are currently in process with, we didn't plan it, but we were going to Mc Donald's anyway that night and that's when he said "yes" this time around as well.

I love that God is in the simple pleasures of life.