early morning revelations

It's 6:10am and I hear her early-morning footsteps on the stairs. I'm reminded of the talk we had just the day before about staying in their beds until 6:45 so that mommy and daddy can read and hear from God in the morning, and consider how I'm going to re-direct her. As she sneaks into the living room, I give her a quick smile - one to let her know I love her, but also to give her a chance to remember yesterday's conversation and scurry back upstairs. She heads straight for my lap and before I can gently scoot her back to bed, utters, "mom, I had a really bad dream". Not yet sure if this is a ploy for more lap-time, my eyes encourage her to continue. "My aunts in Ethiopia try to take me. They come on da school bus and try to take me wit dem." My breathing stops and I try to evaluate her emotions. "Were you scared?", I ask, not knowing if going back to Ethiopia with her birth family is a good or bad thing. "Yes, I was really scared", she says. And as she snuggles closer to me for safety and comfort, I know we are becoming a family.