Today, our daughter becomes ours forever. We’ve said goodbye to twelve children. We’ve held tiny hands for a season, knowing they were not ours to keep. We’ve loved deeply, even when it meant letting go — because that’s what foster care is. We believe in reunification. We support families. We’ve stood in the middle — the in-between. But sometimes, reunification doesn’t happen. And when it doesn’t, we become the ones who stay. She came into our lives when nothing was certain. But what’s always been certain… is how fiercely we love her. She is brave, joyful, strong, and so deeply loved. There’s heartbreak woven into this day — because adoption always carries both love and loss. But today… we celebrate. The unexpected way love writes its own story. And the gift of becoming her forever. I didn’t give her life, but life gave me her. And being chosen to be her mama is the greatest gift of my life.
I didn’t lose my pink. It wasn’t faded or taken from me. Instead, every child I have loved has carried a piece of it with them—woven into their laughter, their tiny hands, their endless wonder. My pink lives in the bedtime stories whispered in the dark, in the scraped knees I’ve kissed, in the arms that reach for me when the world feels too big. Motherhood doesn’t erase us; it expands us. My pink isn’t gone—it’s just scattered in the hearts of the little souls I’ve had the honor of loving.
Day 4 of Disney dinners and tonight we’re feeling all the feels—because it’s Inside Out night! From Joy smiley fries to Disgust Broccoli we cooked up something for almost every emotion. Loving this magical little tradition before we head to Disney!@Disney Parks @Disney #disneydinnerandamovie #themhoffersdodisney