This past Sunday we reached a milestone of sorts, it has
been 6 months since our “Gotcha Day!” It
is hard to believe that we have had this amazing little girl in our lives for 6
months now. It has been an incredible
journey so far and so much has happened in this time frame.
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| Gotcha Day (Jan. 13, 2014) after a bath. |
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| Six months later, post surgery (July 13, 2014) |
On Jan 13th a little girl was handed to us in the
crowded Adoption Registry Center and cried for approximately 10 seconds. As she spent the rest of that day trying to
figure out what was going on, we had no idea what to expect.
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| The "hand-off" on Gotcha Day |
In the days that followed in China, she
slowly warmed up to us and all the hugs and kisses. It has been neat to reflect upon our trip over
the past few days as this milestone approached.
It is neat to see that this little girl who spent every day in an
orphanage from 2 days old until she was placed in our arms, who did not fully
understand love and affection, has become very affectionate. Before night-night, she will give me hugs and
kisses and immediately say, “Sissie’s turn.”
She absolutely loves it. In the
middle of eating she will look at either her mother or me and pucker up wanting
sugar. It is the sweetest thing. Oh yeah, she also loves to give herself
kisses on my phone.
She has grown to enjoy being around other family
members. She was apprehensive at first,
which was expected, but now she sees all of them as family and loves to talk to
them on the phone.
We’ve come a long way from the days of her hanging out by
the mirror in the hotel room trying to figure us out. Every day is a new adventure and we are still
learning much about one another. A few
weeks ago we had a poignant moment take place out to the blue. Belle has a dog grooming toy set and Primrose
brought me the clippers.
When she was
standing in front of me she said, “Daddy look!” and proceeded to run the
clippers through her hair a few times.
She then looked up at me and smiled and showed me the clippers
again. I was floored by this
action. How did she know what clippers
were and what they were used for? Then
it hit me… they usually shave their heads in the orphanages. It was one of those moments where the reality
of “life in the orphanage” resurfaced (of course it made me misty eyed).
We have had a few of these moments in the past 6 months, and I expect
there to be more.
It has definitely been an incredible journey and I cannot
wait to watch the rest of this unfold. I
am grateful for those of you who have been walking with us through this whether
it is from a far or just down the road. Remember,
there is still a tremendous need out there.
You can help be a voice to the fatherless though child sponsorship,
donating to orphanages, fostering, fostering to adopt, or by jumping in with
both feet and adopt. Do your part to
help the helpless.
