Lucy's blanket
I bought it in celebration that our paperwork was finally in the hands of our adoption agency. The purple and green blanket. The soft and fuzzy on one side and smooth and silky on the other side blanket. I shopped for it. I really wanted it to be a special gift for Lucy. Something we would bring to Vietnam with us, wrap her in repeatedly, and then bring it home with her. I wanted her to have something that would be hers here in this place, and there for her once we were home. I can't really explain why, but for some reason it was important to me that Lucy have some comforting reminder of Vietnam, and that it come with her into our family.

I found it in a small boutique in Salt Lake. The pattern, with its asian overtones, was perfect. And that it was purple and green was a total plus. Purple and green have been the overriding theme of our girl's room decor for some time, so that it coordinated was a nice little bit of serendipity; the blanket was meant to be Lucy's.

So I brought it, packaged nicely in a gossimer bag, tied with a silk ribbon bow. And as soon as Lucy had been brought out of the orphanage and placed in our arms I wrapped her in it (o.k., this is what I wish had happened; in reality poor Lucy had to be covered from head to toe in permethrin cream to rid her of scabies, so the first 24 hours she was with us we were all about getting her cleaned up. Once she was "scabies free" we wrapped her in the delicious blanket).

I know the blanket is a feeble effort. I hope that, more than a blanket, our love and acceptance of Lucy as our daughter will be felt as a comfort as Lucy's surroundings change and we bring her home. But, maybe the blanket will help Lucy some how, perhaps years from now when she looks on pictures of this adventure to bring her home Lucy will see herself wrapped in the blanket and she'll think warm and cozy thoughts of her life here, before she came home to us all.