We had been married for over 10 years and had been waiting about three years with our adoption agency before we got "THE CALL". As it turned out, it was a very emotional weekend.

Our best friend's little eighteen-month-old son died the same day our daughter was born. He was, by all physical appearances, a beautiful boy. But he had been born with multiple internal problems.

Our birthmother had chosen us some time earlier, but we didn't know it until we got the call. When our child was born with a cleft lip, the birthmother wondered if we would still want her.

When they told us about her problem, I had no idea what they were talking about. By their description, it really didn't sound too pretty. But they kept telling me, "She is a beautiful baby!"

Well, we were excited for a baby, and really wanted a girl, so we said there was no way we were going to turn her down because of a cleft lip.

During the whole trip to pick her up, I kept telling myself that she is going to look pretty bad, but it can be fixed. When I finally got to hold her and look into her face, I can honestly say that she was BEAUTIFUL! She had the biggest blue eyes and the most beautiful complexion you could imagine!

After talking with other mothers and hearing about various problems, I was so glad that our daughter was a big healthy girl and had little problems eating.

When it was time to take her in for her lip repair at three months old, we had grown so used to her "wide smile" that I almost didn't want to do it.

Because she is so fair complected her scar is quite noticeable, but she is still beautiful - especially when she smiles. She had a nose repair surgery at 20 months and will probably need lots and lots of dental work.

She is such a blessing to us. We are so thankful that her birthmother chose to give her life and not get an abortion. And we are so thankful that she chose us to be her adoptive parents. When I first learned of her cleft lip, I felt so alone. But I was (and am) so encouraged to find that there are a lot of people with this condition, and a lot of them are adopted. WIDE SMILES has been a source of encouragement and information to me. I am saving each copy because I know they will be encouraging to my daughter when she is older.

Thanks for being there.

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