ONE

Exactly ONE week until we get on a plane and take the trip of a lifetime.  12 short days until I see my girl's face for the first time in person.  Cannot wait to hold her and kiss her.  Such a long, torcherous wait is finally coming to an end.  What a relief to know that what I've hoped for is right around the corner.

Today is filled with tackeling some things on the seemingly never-ending to-do list.  Packing, organizing, and shopping for some last minute items (I've noticed that I've went shopping for "last minute" items a few times already....haha....wish I'd quit thinking of more things I "need").

I think of Kinley every hour.  I dream about her when I sleep.  I wonder what she is doing right now.  Has she been taken back to the orphange yet?  I'm sure she has, and I worry about her so much.  I know her little heart had to break when she had to separate from her foster family.  She must be so confused.  Wish I was there when they did that....could have been ONE less transition for her.  It gives me peace of mind to know that she has only ONE more of these transitions to endure.  ONE child meets ONE family....ONE day soon....very soon...

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The Starfish Story

[This is ONE of my favorite stories.  Please see the "advocating for the world's orphans" on the right side of this blog----you can make a difference to ONE of the 140 million orphans.....140 million minus ONE!]


While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.  As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish ONE by ONE and tossing each ONE gently back into the water.
He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The old man smiled, and said, "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."


Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"  The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that ONE."

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I'm only ONE. But still, I am ONE.
I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

-- Edward Everett Hale