Forever changed!

A year ago today Ian and I woke up in Beijing. It was a day like many others on our travels together near and far. I headed for the shower first while Ian snoozed a few more minutes. We got ready, headed for breakfast, and returned to our room to zip our suitcases for the next leg of our trip. A day like so many before, yet so different...

You see, this was the day that we were to officially change from "DINKs" to parents. We were just one flight, two bus rides, ~ separated by a quick stop at the hotel apartment ~ and a packed elevator ride up to the Civil Affairs office away from meeting Kylie. It seemed that one minute we were clearing security in the Beijing airport (thanks to Cindy for the cheesy grin photo of us ~ the last "posed" one taken before we met Kylie) and the next minute my heart faltered when I saw Kylie enter the room.

So much of the time at the Civil Affairs office after Kylie was in my arms is a blur. I do remember one of the orphanage workers coming over to us within minutes and asking to take a picture of our new family. We later learned that she was the one that named the babies. Her face will forever be etched in my mind, after all she named our daughter "Precious Treasure" and it is the name we kept for her middle name ~ BaoZhen. Someone in our family recorded that first posed family shot, here we are about four minutes after we became a family of three...



And after a year, the uncertainty (suddenly that day I realized that I had no idea what I was doing as a mom ~ I would have gone into a full blown panic but then my mom gently reminded me that she didn't have a clue when I came along either AND Kylie didn't quite know what to think about these tall, strange sounding people that had taken her from a familiar set of arms) and unfamiliarity (we all had a lot of learning about each other to do!) are a distant memory and I think we make a great looking family!

First anniversary of Gotcha Day

There is so much that I want to say today, so many thoughts running through my mind... I find myself amazed at the journey that getting to today was. Yes, it was a trip to China, but it was so much more than that. It really was a journey of the heart, a soul searching realization that blood lines don't determine family. It was listening to God calling us for something more special than we could have dreamed, going to find our Precious Treasure...

What pulls on my heartstrings the most is to look back at her and see how stiff she was with us the first few days. But despite her apprehension, we figured we'd be okay when she grabbed hold of Ian's finger that first day. We loved her anyway, but this sealed the deal! With that tiny leap of faith in her new circumstances, all three of our lives were forever changed!!!


There is more to write to express how blessed I am to have been chosen as Kylie's mother but it is late and my little dynamo rises early (at least this week she has anyway).