My very first Pampers and Pakhlava post in April of 2009 was titled: “Where the heck is Armenia?” Three-and-a-half years later I can say I know exactly where the heck Armenia is, because I’ve been there. Five times.

When I started this journey to adoptive parenthood, I never imagined I would travel so many times to a country so far away. But travel I did: 11, 540 miles–to be exact– the distance from Seattle, Washington to Armenia and back again, twelve hours time difference and 15 hours of flying time.

Armenia is small in square footage, a diminutive country the size of Maryland, sandwiched between Turkey, Iran, the Republic of Georgia and Azerbaijan, but there is a lot to see in Armenia’s diverse landscape. Mountainous and arid in some regions, lush and green in others. I have been fortunate to visit a few cities and a several historical sites.

And while my knowledge of Armenia’s ancient language may only be only a few phrases and a handful of words at this point, I have grown immensely fond of the cuisine, have deep respect for the country’s history and feel immense pride that our daughter has roots in a country with such a rich culture.

I look forward to sharing it all with her, and can’t wait to bring her back to learn about her birth country and see the stories come alive–with her own eyes.

These days if you ask me, “Where is Armenia?” this is what I’ll tell you”: It’s half-way around the world, and always near my heart.