Baby Girl

This is our whole travel group, less one family who left earlier. One of the awesome unexpected blessings of this trip was sharing such an immense life changing experience with such amazing people. Two weeks ago we were all total strangers, now we're linked together through this incredible place, and these really beautiful kids. We love this whole group of people, and we've fallen in love with their new children.

 This is little Chu Chu. She LOVES Gary! She plays games with him, and next to her dad, she will only let Gary hold her. We love her and her family! She is adorable and we will miss her.

This is Yao Ming and he LOVES me! He is the cutest little boy oh my goodness. He lets me hold him and love on him and he blows kisses to Emily, then hits her! Oh my goodness I love this baby.

 Em and I went wandering today. She had a rough day, and a really rough night last night. All of the adopted children here have mourned the loss of their orphanage life, and the absence of their Nannys, their second mothers. Emily was happy with us from day one. She accepted us and loved us. Last night, and today, she's regressed a little bit. She's pulled back, and is starting to mourn perhaps. All of the babies have been restless. They sense the change that is happening. All of us parents are anxious about our upcoming long flights. We're anxious about our children at home. We're anxious about our "new normal" and how it's going to go, and the babies are picking up on this. We think that it has just hit Emily that we aren't going away, and that her little life is getting rocked upside-down. She has been far less generous with her smiles and affection today, she's cried for the first time since we got her. I've been so stung up, going on no sleep and stressed out about my baby, we just needed a quiet moment to reconnect. I found it in this little park. It was quiet, uncrowded, and so very beautiful. We sat on a bench together, I took off her socks (and got told off for it by a cute old lady so we had to put them back on), and we just sat. We held hands, and enjoyed the moment. She didn't smile much, but it was just what we needed.

 When we got home, she laughed and smiled with us, she took a nap, gave out some kisses, and was back to herself a little bit.

 Her little life is going to change oh-so-much. It breaks my heart in half to think of all that she's going to have to take in in the next several weeks. It's not going to be easy on her. We love her so very much! We know this is the best thing for her, but it will come at a price.

 Self portrait at the park shortly after our scolding for not having socks on.

I read a story today about a baby girl that was abandoned in China. She had a tear drop shaped birthmark right under her eye that the Nannys at the orphanage said was the tear from her mother who would love her and miss her forever. Our baby also has a tear shaped birthmark. As her birthday approaches, I've been thinking about her wonderful birth mother, who first loved her, who had such high hopes for this baby, who let her live and who surely must miss her desperately. I will pray that she will have peace in her heart and know that her baby is so very very loved, and will be taken care of and cherished for her whole life. We are so blessed and so lucky to have this beautiful daughter in our family.

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