"She has your smile"

I posted a photo on Instagram Sunday afternoon of me and Alethia.

She had been a little bit upset about something so I "bribed" her with some cuddling on the couch;)
Because FOR HER, a little cuddling goes a L-O-N-G way.

After a few minutes we were both asleep.

I woke up before she did but I didn't dare move.  I wanted this moment to last as long as it could!
It brought back memories of when we first grafted her into our family in Uganda almost 3 years ago.  She was always the first one awake so almost every morning I would wake to her staring at her new mommy and daddy until we made sleepy eye contact giving her the ok to come crawl in the bed with us.  She would never just lay right next to us.  She would literally crawl on top of us, sinking in deep as she laid tummy to tummy.  Many times she would fall right back asleep, other times she would go into her habitual humming of the songs in the babies home.

These are sweet, sweet memories that I hope I NEVER forget.

Anyway, after posting that photo I had a friend who commented; "she has your smile".

I read that sentence.
And then I re-read that sentence.
Over and over again.
Glancing up at the picture of me and my daughter, carefully examining the curve of our mouths and the creases around our cheeks as we smiled.
Then back to the comment below.

I have done this more times than I can count now.

There is something about finding those little similarities that grows this mama's heart in a way that nothing else can.  Knowing that even in her birth mother's womb, God was thinking about her future.  Her forever family.  Giving her something that connects her to us.  Even in some of her physical features.

So in times when one, or both, of us is feeling a little disconnected we can always remember that there is a resemblance.  That we were meant to do life together.  I mean, we can both curl our tongue, even when nobody else in the family can.  And by golly she has MY smile!