little friends

Fifteen months ago {give or take a little}, five friends sat on a living room floor and prayed. Fervently. Lovingly. Boldly. We prayed for a little girl, unborn yet born in the heart of one of us. And loved by each of us. God worked strongly, and soon Betsy and Chad began the adoption process and journey to their daughter.

Sometime in the middle {of the beginning} of their paperwork, Betsy had a dream about me. That I was pregnant {was it 18 weeks in the dream, Betsy?}, and that I was just getting around to telling people about it. Several weeks after the dream, I whispered to Betsy at church just after Christmas, "I'm not 18 weeks, but I am 6 weeks!" Betsy's reaction was so sweet. Such excitement, which is a little hard to come by when you're announcing your fourth pregnancy.

At some point we talked about and wondered, would her baby girl and our baby be close in age? We knew they would be relatively close, but the wait list Betsy and Chad were on was for a 0-12 month old baby girl, so it could be close or just close-ish {yes, I just made up a word}. And not knowing Milla's gender until she was born, I knew I wanted another girl, wanted Ella to have a sister, but I also wanted Betsy's sweet girl to have a little girlfriend close in age - just like Ella has Lily and Emma Dean. So, I loved when Betsy showed up just hours after Milla's birth to see her and hold her, thinking about our girls together... not knowing when exactly, but knowing it would happen.

So last week, Milla and I were out of town with my mom {at a conference for CEUs for my degree - yes, I keep up with all that}. When I was heading out of town I was on the phone with Betsy, who was #1 on the wait list. We both hoped she'd have her referral before I made it back to town. I was so thrilled when I got a text from Anita {one of the five of us} that read, "Betsy's got a girl!!!!" Oh, boy, did I wish I could give her a big hug right then. And as I held and nursed Milla, I checked my phone again and there she was. I had a face to go with the name of the little one born in my friend's heart so long ago. So sweet, so pretty, sweet chunky cheeks, bright eyes. And I loved her. Already.

She is only 16 days younger than Milla. Sixteen days! And, once again, God's timing amazes me.

Friday afternoon, as I watched Milla lay on the bed, kicking her little feet, cooing sweetly, I thought about her little friend. Was she also laying, kicking, cooing at that same time, half a world away? And I prayed, thanking God and thinking about times in the future... two sweet little girls toddling around together, side-by-side in nursery class at church, holding hands, giggling.

And I can't wait.