How lucky are we?!

After wanting to be parents for so long, Paul and I are sometimes in awe that we actually have a daughter now. How is is that we suddenly have a wonderful little girl who makes us smile and laugh and who teaches us to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life? A sweet little girl who melts our hearts with her smile?

Time and time again people tell us how lucky Claire is that we adopted her. Aside from our belief that it's the other way around, we worry about what Claire may think of that statement when she's old enough to comprehend it. If she's so lucky, does that mean she should be grateful to us? That she should count her lucky stars that a couple from Edmonton "rescued" her and took her to the great land of Canada?

The truth is, had Claire been given a choice, perhaps she wouldn't have chosen to be adopted by a caucasian family living on the other side of the world. Perhaps she wouldn't have chosen to leave her amazing homeland, her language and rich culture, and familiar faces, sounds, sights and smells to live in a family where only a handful of friends and family members are not caucasian. Yes, I believe we can offer her many wonderful things that perhaps she wouldn't have been able to experience otherwise and yes, we'll give her a lifetime of love, support and guidance, but in no way should Claire ever feel grateful to us. Rather, I hope she appreciates us as we appreciate her and that she is thankful for all the blessings in her life, however she interprets them.

Here are a few photos capturing every day moments that remind us how lucky Paul and I are to have Claire as our daughter.