momma haley

My sweet girls from Dermott sent me a whole bunch of love letters at the same time and I just can't stop smiling. Ever since their hearts became connected to mine they held out their arms chanting "mommy!" over and over. That moment replays in my mind as I am four hours away from them. It's love, I do believe, that I have for these girls. They are my own little treasures that give me so much joy. My spring break wasn't just a "mission trip" it was making a connection with that community on such a personal level. To this day I have been constantly encouraged even though I live so far away. Blessed is an understatement.

shay: "hey momma Haley"
me: "hey baby, I love you!"
shay: "I really miss the way you eat fried chicken and you need to come back plz"

& these are the conversations on Facebook that hold a special place in my heart. I remember walking into a room full of girls and being attacked with the biggest bear hugs ever, it is so nice to be a role model. The environment that they have grown up around is an environment that brought me into a minor form of culture shock. I could not imagine the normalcy of abuse, violence against women, vulgar words, and hatred. I was not there to fix the culture they were comfortable in though, I was there to prove love to them.

When I get letters and messages like these my mind immediately thinks of adoption papers. If it were legally possible to go steal them and have them live with me, I would.