A Love Story, Part One

A few months ago, we introduced you to the Bowers family who were adopting from Rwanda. Because of your generosity, Caroline's Promise was able to give them a grant to help with the cost. We wanted to give you an update on their journey, now that sweet Sonia is home. And we just had to show you pictures of this precious, precious little girl! "Adorable" doesn't even come close to describing her.

Here are the Bowers:

The Bowers family has generously allowed us to share with you their love story, uniting Sonia to her forever family and we want you to savor these snapshots of their journey. This is Part One, told by mom Emily:

"Here we are, all home, all together. There must not be a better feeling in all the world. It has been an amazing journey and the best part is, it is really just beginning. The adjustment and transition has been as smooth as we could have asked for. Though it was hard to be gone for so long, it was a great way for us to all be together, uninterrupted for two full weeks. There has been so much laughter since we have been home; it is as if Sonia knows this is all hers. All the comfort, all the security, all the sense of belonging to a family: it is all hers. To see her wake up with a smile and a giggle instead of a stoic, frightened stare is an amazing thing. The longing, the ache, that has been ever-present in my heart for the last two years is at rest. We are a family - all six of us - we are together and that is enough.

A conversation I had with my youngest is a great example of what has happened in all of our hearts. A few weeks ago Jonathan, our eight-year-old, came up to me and said, "How come Sonia is so much cuter now than before?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She just looked so sad and kind of mad in her picture," he replied.

I looked across the room, and there she was, dancing to her own happy little song she was singing to herself. I said quietly to him, "Love makes you beautiful."

"Seriously?" he said, "Can it really?"

"Absolutely. Love changes everything.""

And so it does. See for yourself with pictures of Sonia before she met the Bowers, and after she became a part of their family.

Check back in for Part Two of the Bowers' love story! You won't want to miss it!