Abundant is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as “amply supplied”—On August 7, I was sitting at the Delta Gamma house surrounded by girls when I saw my phone light up, it was my older sister.   
Knowing she knew I was busy, I knew it must be important for her to have called, so I answered it. From the cracking of her voice, I could tell something was going on.  A thousand things crossed my mind.  Is everything at home okay? How fast can I get there? And so on.
Then she said, “We’re getting a baby. In three weeks, you’re gonna be an aunt.”
Tears of joy ran down my face.  The next three weeks I prayed nonstop for this angel that would hopefully be coming into our lives, and I held my breath.—a lot, knowing how badly it would hurt my sister and brother-in-law, and all of us if this fell through.
Over the past few years, they have endured multiple miscarriages and so much pain in the attempt to start a family, so this was huge for us.
Finally, the day came.  They flew out of New Orleans on September 1. Their baby girl was to be born on September 3.
On September 2, Summer and Caleb met the birth parents—we prayed, and we prayed some more.  
A couple hours later, they called and said the meeting had gone as well as it possibly could have.  Of course we had so many questions, one of them being, “who does the mother look like?” Is there anyone you could compare her to? A movie star, a family member, anyone?
Caleb and Summer both simultaneously agreed the birth mother most closely resembled Molly Grace, our little sister.  What are the odds?
By this point, face time was not cutting it.  I wanted to be home with my family to be a part of everything.
I hopped in the car on September 3 and made it home right before the birth mom was to go into surgery.
When I pulled up, I could see the anxiousness in my mom’s face.  Then, my grandmothers both showed up, and my aunt.  
It was the strangest thing.  It turned into a “baby wait party.”
 So, we waited.  Finally a message came through, “healthy baby girl born at 12:24- 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long.”
Minutes later I received the most precious picture I’ve ever seen.
Immediately, I loved her so much.  How crazy is that?  She was thousands of miles away.  I had not even held her yet.  All I had seen was a picture, yet I already felt so much love for her.  Instantly, it was abundant love.
 But it wasn’t over yet—the wait was not over. The birth mother had the next 24 hours to back out. That is when the real breath holding began. For the next 24 hours, we prayed, prayed and prayed more.  
Never has it ever been so hard to be away from my sister.  Your sister having her first child is a moment you usually get to be there for, but my sister was thousands of miles away.  It was just Caleb and her there.  
It felt so strange to be so far away from them at such a memorable time. We all oohed and cried over every picture they sent, and begged for more. At last we received a message, “She’s ours.”
That is when the real waterworks began.  That is when thankfulness swept over me.  God had answered our prayers.  So many prayers were prayed.  So many prayers were answered.
At 12:24 on September 4, the adoption was finalized, and we could finally tell the world Caleb and Summer were the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, Damie Katherine.
After the wait period, finally the day came for us to meet her.  It was a moment none of us will ever forget. Damie Katherine was finally in Mississippi, and I was finally an aunt.  Everyone in the airport had begun to crowd around us— they could tell something big was happening.  
Our family was growing. This is where the “abundant love” comes in.  Before this, I did not understand what it was to instantly love and to love abundantly. It was then I realized God was teaching me to love bigger, to love better.
I had no idea how much I could love someone I had not even yet. But, I did.  Before I even met her, I loved her so much, and when I finally saw her in Summer’s arms walking off the plane, the love just grew in leaps and bounds—and it just keeps growing with every smile, every picture, every face time, every day.
Over the past two months, I have spent every minute possible with this angel child, and every time I have to head back to school, she is my hardest goodbye.  
I am so lucky to have the opportunity to love abundantly and to spoil this little girl and be her aunt. We are so blessed, and so in love with her.  We are so thankful.
It is National Adoption Month and to me, adoption is all about “abundant love.” The birth families have to love abundantly to give up their babies, and the adoptive parents have to love abundantly to adopt.  Before they even knew Damie Katherine, when it was only the hope of her, they loved her already.  Through this adoption process, I have seen my sister and brother-in-law love so abundantly.  
This adoption has taught me so much— one thing being parenthood is not about DNA, it is about a selfless, abundant love.
This month when you think about National Adoption Month, think about this-abundant love.
National Adoption Month is so much more than just another month, so much more than a name.  Adoption is countless stories of love, of family, of blessings and of life.  Adoption is abundant love.