The Gift of Friendship

Monday, August 3rd 10:30 P.M.

We are finally home. We made our flights and all went well. We have rested this afternoon, but I still don't think we are completely caught up on our sleep. We arrived home to a beautifully decorated front porch complete with a huge pink and green banner that read "Welcome Home Isabel.".

Our family has experienced so many "firsts" this last twenty days. For so long we thought that by adopting we might feel that we missed out on all those baby firsts; first steps, first words. But we definitely don't feel that way now. Our "firsts" are just different. You will never know how much pleasure we experienced watching Isabel explore her new home. We know that shy little girl enjoyed exploring her room filled with clothes and gifts from family and friends. We can't help but think she is having Christmas in August.

The Chattanooga airport homecoming was a wonderful experience today. We were met by several of our friends. We had no idea how Isabel would react but I think she could completely understand the love and friendship that was expressed to both her and her parents. I can't tell you how happy we were to see familiar faces.

I will never be able to tell you how much our friends and family have meant to us during this trip. It has always been difficult for us being away from our family. However, for this trip, our friends had to play the leading role in helping us out. I know that our family would agree that saying thank you will never be enough to express our gratitude. We still haven't read all the posts. We now understand how all our prayers were answered; we were not alone in our prayers.

Tigger sends her love to all and for those of you know our "sweet kitty." You will be shocked to know that we think she and Isabel will get along just fine. She has not hissed one time. The Crews family and Dr. Lisa have completely spoiled our kitty.

We will continue to post to keep you updated on Isabel's progress. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers. The Pridgen family has a long way to go, but hopefully with each passing day Isabel will make progress.

We will close by saying a special thank you to Gary, Kim, John, and Kara Crews. They have helped us so much. They took care of "sweet kitty", filled our refrigerator with food, set up our blog, and were our connection to home. But we have to say that Kim did bring us both to tears this afternoon with a present that she left for us. Kim painted the sweetest canvas with her "kids" design. This poem is a the top of the canvas.

The Family Portrait

Once upon a time a Canvas was set.
Long before we ever met,
God placed it on the Easel. He waited.
A special Portrait would be Painted.

He set aside a Palette of Colors,
He knew just how to use them.
God waited till the Time was right,
then He began to choose them.


Placing His brush upon the Canvas
God painted an image Extraordinaire.
The details seemed faint at first,
but the Picture was truly there.

A Portrait of a Family;
a child, a mom, a dad.
This painting had something Extra,
God used everything He had.

His Palette was full of Colors,
He knew just what it would take.
Each Stroke was deliberately brushed in place.
A Special Portrait He would make.

He blended dark shadows with subtle hues of Gold.
Using the richest colors, a picture began to unfold.
One very special child, two fathers and two mothers.
The image began taking shape with such beautiful colors.

Splashes of Love outlined colors of Pain.
Shades of Joy and Sadness
were mixed throughout the Picture,
among Stripes of Sorrow and Gladness.

The Portrait was finally complete,
He gently framed it with His Heart
He hung it in the Halls of Faith . . .
A Priceless Work of Art.

She was worth the wait!

Hugs and kisses to all.
Will, Marla, and Isabel