Meeting Rachael.. and other important people

This past weekend, I met Rachael for the first time. Leading up to the visit, Brian and I were talking about it and it just hit me... I would be meeting my daughter/ future daughter. I already think of her as mine.

Friday, when I got to Brian's house, he had the garage door open for me, so I pulled in... He and Rachael were waiting for me on the steps and I took her right out of his arms to hug her and hold her and kiss her sweet cheeks. She hugged me back. She wasn't even shy!! It was an amazing moment of finally getting to hold her in my arms. Eventually, I gave Brian a hug. :)

Brian took me inside and gave me a tour of the house while we stopped to play with Rachael and be entertained by her. She's adorable. We had worship with Rachael and she and I picked out her church dress and hairbow. Then we went over to Rocky and Betty Jo's (his brother and sister-in-law and neighbors) to hang out. They had some of Rocky and Brian's friends over so I got to meet lots of people. I was really excited to finally get to meet Betty Jo in person. We had skyped a little and texted some so I felt like we were already friends. We played Catch Phrase, which is a favorite of mine.

I put Rachael to bed over there and kissed her goodnight. She and K and Z said their prayers and Betty Jo and I listened. For the first time ever, Rachael prayed about me. She thanked Jesus for ME! :) I actually teared up. To me, that was the mark that I had made it into her inner circle. I told a friend a couple of weeks ago that when Rachael included me in her bedtime prayers I would know that I had arrived. Well, y'all... I have arrived. K and Z also thanked Jesus for me. Z said, "Thank you Jesus for Amburger... amburger... amburger... noooo..." :) it was ADORABLE. He's my buddy.

Sabbath morning, I got to church just a couple of minutes before Brian, so I went in the direction that I assumed his mom's classroom would be and found Mary and gave her a hug. I was really happy to see his family in person. Then Brian and Rachael and Rocky and Betty Jo and the kids got to church. Rachael was wearing her cute little dress that she and I had picked out and I fixed her hair and put her hairbow in. She was so pretty!

I went to Sabbath School with Brian and then picked Rachael up from her class when it was over. I took her potty and then took her into church and gave her the Sabbath bag I had made for her. It had puzzles, coloring books and crayons, and stickers in it. I also have been working on making some felt dress up doll people for her to play with. Rachael sat in my lap for most of church and colored. She wanted me to take her down for the children's story, so I did. The kids were sent back to their seats before praying and Rachael went back to her seat and was called back... which embarrassed her. But instead of staying back with Brian, she came back up front and climbed into my lap and buried her face in my neck. She's my baby!

After church we had potluck. I sat beside Rachael and took care of her. Then we all went to the nursing home to sing to the residents. Brian and I were squatting down and Rachael wrapped her arms around both of our necks and squeezed the three of us together and said, "I love you both." We went back home and put Rachael down for a nap and Brian and I ended up taking a nap too. Rachael didn't sleep long, but stayed in her room talking to herself and singing songs for a while... After a while, we let Rachael get out of bed and we all played together.

Brian started packing for China and I helped him... and snuck a few things into his bag. In the meantime, Rachael played in his room and on the bed and played with me while we worked. She also wrote her name on a card for Daddy that told him how much we miss him.

Later, we headed over to Rocky and Betty Jo's. On the way over, Brian was holding my hand, so Rachael asked why he was holding my hand.

Brian: Because she's my girlfriend.
Rachael: She's not your girlfriend.
Rachael: [talks about batman's girlfriend]
Brian: Well, if she's not my girlfriend then what is she?
Rachael: She is just a normal people. And you are a normal people. We are all just normal peoples.

We think that Rachael's only point of reference for a girlfriend/ boyfriend is batman. Therefore, a girlfriend is a pretend character, not a relationship. More later on what Rachael says I am to her daddy...

I talked to Betty Jo for a long time on Saturday night. I think we're going to be good friends. It'll be so nice to have a friend who lives right next door. I love that I didn't just get Brian and Rachael, but a whole family AND an instafriend. :)

Brian and I left Rachael with Betty Jo and went home and spend some time together then I headed back to my friend's house really late while he got a little sleep before getting on a plane to China. :( It's terrible when my Love is on the other side of the world and my Little is 5 hours away. I miss my "normal peoples"!

I'll post later about Sunday... girls day out with Rachael.