Gotcha Day Reflections

I am so thankful for my sweet husband! He is acting as our resident "blogger" while in China. God has been so gracious to allow me to feel a part of it all even though I am so far away. Here are David's words of reflection . . .

What an amazing day it has been! This morning we headed from our hotel in Beijing to Harmony House, which was about an hour’s drive. We actually went to the Ovation hotel first where we met Lily, who is the director of Harmony House. The hotel is only two years old and is very beautiful. I think we might be the only ones staying here though because it is awfully quiet!

We then drove a few minutes to Harmony House. We had prayed about this day for such a long time, and we were now going to actually get to see, hold, hug, and kiss our little Linda. When we first walked in the door, we saw several kids playing so we had a chance to say “hi” and interact with them. Linda was still upstairs, so they called her to come down because we had arrived. We were not sure what kind of reaction she would have in meeting us. We were hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

She walked down the staircase and gave a little smile as she saw her Daddy and sister for the first time. Mia and I embraced her. She cautiously, but genuinely, hugged us back! How sweet it was to finally hold our daughter in my arms! She was fairly shy and quiet at first and there was a lot of commotion going on inside the home. So Lily suggested we take her outside to play with her on the playground equipment.

While outside she really began to smile and laugh with us as she took us by the hands around the playground. Even though she wasn’t saying much with her words, it didn’t take too long for her to communicate warmth to us in other ways. She was definitely identifying us as baba and jie jie (daddy and sister).

There was a group from the US coming to visit HH so Lily took the three of us to a local Chinese restaurant to have lunch with the group so they could meet us. It was a huge blessing for us and them to interact and for them to be encouraged by Linda’s story. Seven of the eight people were from Washington, but one gentlemen was from Mission Viejo, so we hope to stay in contact when we return.

After lunch we went back to HH and spent the entire afternoon playing with Linda and the other children. It was a lot of fun and they all had a lot of energy! We spent a lot of time playing and talking to a special little girl named Kari. We hope that Linda will get to see her back in the US!

We returned to the Ovation hotel around 4:30. Linda continued to warm up to us and her silly side began to come out! She was singing and laughing to some of the songs from a Chinese DVD that we had brought. It was a joy to see her having so much fun! She loved taking a bath and getting into her Hello Kitty pajamas – so cute!

She was a bit sad as we got her ready to get into bed to sleep. I held her and we prayed for her. She cried softly in bed for about five minutes and then she fell asleep in my arms. She woke up with a big smile on her face, and I was so excited that she was no longer sad! In a way, it was good to see her have some of those tears because it makes you realize that this is such a huge change for her and she gets it.

We are so thankful for how God worked out all the details of our first day and our meeting of Linda! It feels so comfortable and normal and it has only been less than a day now! Praise God for His love and kindness!

(My sister captured the moment that the boys, Joy, and I got to skype with David, Mia, and Linda for the first time! What a thrill! We can hardly wait for their next update!)

Gotcha Day!

Linda is in their arms!!! Here is what David said about their Gotcha Day . . .

"We had an amazing time meeting her and spending time at HH today. We can't wait to share it all with you. She is precious and has quickly warmed up to us. Her beautiful smile has been persistent!"

My mama heart is soaring! I am abundantly thankful to our loving heavenly Father for making this possible. Here are some of the pictures they sent. I am looking forward to skyping with them later to get more details. But for now . . .

 

It looks like she has already stolen their hearts!

 

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs!"

Psalm 100:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safe Arrival

David and Mia arrived safely in China! They stayed the night in Beijing, and now they are almost on their way to Harmony House. Little Linda is about to meet her ba ba and jie jie . . . they could not be more excited! The rest of us are praying fervently, and we can hardly wait to hear all about it. It's a big day! Precious girl, here they come!!

Going to China!

"Kai shing!" . . . translation: "I feel so happy!" Tomorrow is the big day . . . going to China! Our beautiful, precious daughter will join our family forever.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

 

After almost two years of praying and waiting, little Linda will be ours! God has divinely placed her in our family, and we thank Him for His goodness. With much anticipation this day has finally come! Although it is huge (change usually is), peace that surpasses understanding is ours to claim. And this is only possible because we know the Prince of Peace. He promises to be with us wherever we go . . . what an awesome truth! Into the unknown we go, following our Good Shepherd where He leads!

 

Precious daughter and sister, we can't wait to meet you, love you, and tell you of our wonderful Savior!

 

 

Leaving friends behind, and leaving what is familiar and comfortable may be hard . . .  

 

 

Yet, God is writing a beautiful story . . . one of redemption and love! We pray God's comfort to your tender heart and a strength in your spirit. We pray that as you learn to trust us, you will learn to trust the One who created you.

 

"I will be your God throughout your lifetime. I made you, and I will take care of you." Isaiah 46:4

 

We can't wait to meet you, Linda! We love you and Jesus does too!

Surgery Success #3

Well, we made it! Surgery #3 is complete! The doctor said everything went great, exactly as planned.
Here she is with her fan club right before surgery. These big bros and sis are such a blessing!

Joy's right knee bends . . . this is so amazing! To actually see her knee bend is a first in her life. And her cast is very purpley! Of course, her favorite moment in the whole thing is going home in the wagon.

This little girl continues to show such resiliency . . . we are truly in awe! She was actually excited when she woke up this morning, "just one more time!" The kids were marveling at the fact that Joy is quite the celebrity at the hospital. (We have spent quite a bit of time there!) It is so comforting to be in a familiar place and to see familiar faces. The nurses are so wonderful, and they truly now feel like family. It has been an opportunity to share our story of adoption and point to the One who has ordained it all. I had an especially good conversation with the recovery nurses today.

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory becaue of Your love and faithfulness." Pslam 115:1

 



We are so thankful to be in the home stretch. Joy's cast will come off in 4 weeks . . . let the countdown begin! For now, we will adjust to one more new cast. We will choose to stay positive. We will lift and hold and carry. And we will thank the Lord for this season in our lives.

 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" Philippians 4:13

 



"Just One More Time"

Joy's famous phrase is "just one more time!" She is referring to her cast. We are about to hit week #15 . . . phew! It really is getting a bit old at this point!

Joy goes in for one more surgery tomorrow on her right knee. The biggest blessing was when the doctor announced that this will be an outpatient surgery, which means we don't have to stay overnight at the hospital. Thank you, Lord! This surgery is much more minor than the ones on her hips since it does not involve any bone, just soft tissue. The doctor's goal is to release the tension in her muscles surrounding her knee in order to give the knee flexion. Joy has decided to go "purple" for the final cast. She likes to count the casts . . . pink, pink, green, purple . . . 4 casts "just like Joy". (The green really was a pretty color!)

 She will be in cast #4 for 3-4 more weeks . . . then finally the cast will come off! What a glorious day that will be! Joy often tells us about how she will walk slow, and then run! Little precious girl . . . she can hardly wait. We know that we will still have a long road of recovery ahead of us. It is hard to imagine yet what it will be like "post cast". God continues to be so faithful to us, and He strengthens us when we are weak. We will literally put one foot in front of the other and trust God through it all. You can do it, sweetheart . . . we're almost there!

 

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Birthday Pictures!

We just received these pictures from Linda's birthday celebration! She had a cake, which are so beautiful in China, and she received the birthday package that we sent to her. :) What a blessing to see her sweet face looking so happy! Just one more week! xxxooo

Happy Birthday, Linda!

Today is Linda's birthday . . . she is 5 years old. We so wish that we were with her to celebrate! It won't be long now! Happy Birthday, Linda! We love you!

Linda's Coming Home!

It's official! The travel dates have been set, and the plane tickets have been purchased. David and Mia leave exactly 3 weeks from today to bring our precious daughter home. Many details are yet to be worked out, but we know and trust that it will all come together exactly as God has planned. Sweet baby girl, you are almost home!

 

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Skyping with Linda

It was amazing! We met Linda on Skype! We saw her, talked to her, and interacted with her.

Lovely Lily, who is the director of Harmony House, was able to translate for us. It felt so normal, so right to be talking to Linda (eventhough she is on the other side of the world) . . . afterall, she is our daughter! She has a gruff little voice . . . so adorable! She said "hi" to us and told us that she is happy to be coming home. Lily said that she understands, and she has watched all of her friends meet and go home with their families. It is finally her turn! We got to tell her that we love her and that she will be home very soon. I told her that she is beautiful. And then Lily told us that she responded with "Mama is beautiful too. Jie jie (big sister) and mei mei (little sister) are beautiful too." Talk about melting my heart! We told her about our home and about all of the things we will get to do together once she comes home. She politely said "thank you" in response to everything we said. She was so sweet!

At one point the cook came to say "hi" to us. She really wanted us to know all of the foods that Linda likes. At the top of the list was meat and potatoes. :) She doesn't really care for rice, but she likes noodles . . . sounds like another little Chinese girl that we know!

It was just such a blessing to have that conversation. God continually shows us how kind and personal He is. We are planning to Skype with her at least one more time, maybe two. It should really help Linda in her transition that she will already have some familiarity with us. She will be about as well prepared as she can possibly be. Yet, we constantly pray for her little heart. She is about to experience something huge . . . a pivotal moment in her life. She is about to join her forever family! We love her so much and are counting the days until we are all united!

"I Like Mommy"

A few nights ago Joy and I were talking before bedtime. I occasionally will ask her questions about her life in China attempting to gather any tidbit of information that I can. Lately, she is using phrases such as "I don't remember" and "I don't know". Whenever I ask her something about China she almost always tells of when we met her. Her memories of China seem to only include us. However, when we show her pictures of the orphanage and her special nanny, she smiles and lovingly holds onto her most special pictures.

So, anyways, as we were talking the other night, I casually asked her about her friends in China. She gave me the usual, "I don't remember." So, I prompted her with a couple of specific names including Ling Jian, her special nanny. She looked right at me and blurted out, "Joy no like that . . . I like Mommy!" My tears came instantly. I immediately clung to her and wrapped her up in my arms. My heart was breaking for my daughter. She was having a memory of a place that she did not want to be. Yet, my heart was also bursting with overflowing love for this child, my child. In the only words she could find to express it . . . she was saying that she is happy here with me, her mommy. She identifies with me. She wants to be with me. She was well cared for in the orphanage in China, and she did have little friends who she was obviously fond of. But she does not want that life. Nothing takes the place of family. Every night she prays and thanks God for each family member individually and then her "whole family". It is simply precious! She is mamas girl!

Adoption is a beautiful thing . . . a gift . . . a blessing! Yet it does not come without pain. Every adoption begins with a sad story, a story of sacrifice. And every adoption is a story of redemption and love. I want to always be able to talk to our girls openly and honestly about their stories. Each one is unique, yet similar. I pray that they will be able to see the love of their heavenly Father in the good plan He has for their lives . . . and that plan includes adoption. When the difficult questions someday come, I will trust in the one who has the answers.

"Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3