Our lives are different than they were only days ago…we have seen our daughter! And, what a wild few days it has been since that first look at her. I know this post is long, but it only scratches the surface really. This week has been such an experience.
For those of you who don’t know how the system works, in a nutshell, the office in China that handles all the international adoptions for the whole country issues a new list of available children for adoption about every 5 weeks (during our night time, their business day). We had been anticipating the new list for a while. In fact, the 5 weeks had passed, and we were at 7 weeks when it finally came out. We received “the call” on Monday night (1/18). Our social worker, Sarah, was not planning on calling us until Tuesday morning since she was going to be up all night locking files for families. She and I have grown to know each other pretty well over the last 3 years (she has held my hand every step of the way!), and I was disappointed that I would not hear from her in the middle of the night and that one of her associates would be calling Tuesday morning with any potential files for us to consider. I really wanted to hear it from her. But, she had told me that she would catch up with me Tuesday when she returned to the office. And, that was that. But, at 10pm on Monday night, our phone rang with her home number on the caller id. I answered tentatively, and she told us that she had a file for us to look at, and she just couldn’t wait until the morning. So, she sent it right over. We opened the file and saw the teeniest little peanut baby ever. She was born on March 10, 2009 with a straight forward small VSD and PFO (relatively common heart defect) – she is now 10 mo. old. But, her file was from when she was 4 mo. old. And, she was a very very small 4 mo. old at that–the size of what some large newborns in the states are. We read over her file and thought things looked good but her growth was very very poor. Not only was she extremely small in head, length, and weight, but over the 4 months recorded, she had dropped on the growth charts from being at about 25% to being off the chart significantly. I stayed up until maybe 1 am reading every word of her file and researching all I could. We sent her file to multiple doctors right away. No one seemed overly concerned about her heart, but no one was happy about her growth. Tuesday evening ended with me in tears as one particular doctor we trusted was extremely concerned; words such as serious genetic disorder and possibly death were mentioned. We were broken. But, we just felt like it wasn’t fair to this child to make a decision to say no based on 6 month old information. We had already requested an update earlier that day. But, we knew we wouldn’t get it before we had to submit our letter of intent. Our agency gave us 2 options: (1) send in the letter of intent and wait for the update, if is not good, withdraw or (2) do not send in the letter of intent and they would look for another file for us that night when some files locked 48 hours ago were released. I felt like it was a test of my faith. We decided to send in the letter of intent and prayed for specific growth numbers in that update. I looked at those growth charts and just chose certain measurements for each area that would demonstrate amazing growth. Our doctors told us it would be a miracle alone.
At 8:30 last night (1/20), 36 hours after we requested the update, Sarah called us again from home. She had decided to check her work email and our update had just come in only minutes earlier. Not only had she met the measurement numbers we had prayed specifically for, she surpassed them a little. Absolutely miraculous. And, we got new pictures we got to see for the first time with Sarah giggling in the background in which she looked healthy and strong…and, of course, beautiful. And, they told us she is crawling very well. We laughed out loud in praise of the God who works miracles! We sent the update to two doctors who contacted us within an hour–they too were shocked. They cannot come up with any reason for the turn around. One doctor simply said, “God’s hand was on this child.”
Monday, as we prepared for the shared list to come out that night, I opened up my Bible Study notebook to complete my homework for that week and the passage to study (ironically) was when Abraham sent his servant to act as matchmaker and find a match for his son Isaac—that would be Rebekah. I dug right into that passage and found so much that I could apply to our situation that very day as we entrusted Sarah to make a match for us. One of the things that particularly impressed me was how the servant had prayed very specifically for how he would know that he found the right girl for Isaac. After he finds Rebekah and is retelling the story, he says that before he was even finished speaking his prayer in his heart, God answered it. That is exactly how we feel today. Before we were even finished praying, God had already answered our prayers to grow our sweet Lydia months earlier.
This morning, as we were enjoying celebrating and trying to find our family (I just finally reached my parents at 9:30 tonight since they were on a plane to Beijing themselves that left yesterday), Sarah forwarded me an email that made her take pause and brought me to tears. The email was dated March 10, 2009, the very day that our Lydia was born. The email was sent to her with our application to join the special needs program. In the email, I explained that we wanted to join the special needs program though we were unsure whether our daughter would come to us through it. We were fearful and had reservations. But, I wrote that we felt compelled to get on the list because we knew we needed to be open to what God had for us, whatever, whoever that might be. I am so amazed that we joined the program–unsure, but we did it, stepping out in faith—on the day our daughter was born.
We are not permitted to post pictures of our baby girl just yet–we must get official approval from China first. So, you’ll have to settle for this. As you can see, my let’s-catch-this-significant-moment-for-the-family-on-video image in my mind never exactly is what I imagined.
What didn’t make it on video…Ashlyn is concerned about if Lydia will sleep in our room or her room (I think she thinks she is going to be the mama). She was very proud to tell us she would say “Ni hao” when she meets her for the first time. Evan is concerned about her learning English (“How is she going to know what we’re saying?”). I think he thinks that she will only speak Chinese…forever. And, Drew answered the question, “So, what do you think of your new sister?” with “She’s not a sister. She’s a baby.” I guess he thinks sisters only come in a 6 year old body.
Congratulations! I love your connection to the Abraham story, as we had the same thing happen with the story of David (1Samuel 16:7 to be precise). God has his hand in this, and it is so exciting to see His work and how He reveals Himself. I can’t wait to see pictures! Enjoy the ride, because wow, it’s wild one.
Jolene/kccmom from RQ
Congratulations and YAY on the answer to prayers on her growth. Remember me telling you in the PM that I asked God for something specific in regards to our daughter, Sarah by the way. I asked for a mention of her liking to dance or something be in the update…the update I had ONLY requested be of vitals and had she had bronchitis or pneumonia, and the question about her heart. The update…mentioned that she likes to dance multiple times. :) God is GOOD!!!!
Congratulations on your little baby girl!!!!
Congratulations!!! This is “junebugmama” from RQ. I am so thrilled for your family! I believe from our past “conversations” that you have been waiting a long while for this referral. We just returned from China 3 weeks ago with our 17-month-old daughter who also has a small VSD. We did not know either if she would need surgery. Upon our cardio visit last week he said no surgery, no restrictions whatsoever. Our daughter is very small but looks healthy has already started gaining weight. Even has two English words and is so happy and affectionate. We were an I-600 family and got our girl 2 months to the day that we first saw her face. It can go really fast from this point, so get ready. Look forward to following your story!!! Congrats again!
I saw you post on RQ and I wanted to hop over and congratulate you! Can’t wait to see pictures of your little one!
Keri
As I have already said, I am over the moon excited for you! I am crying here after watching your video…when your son came over and put his arm around you to look at the picture, it just struck me and I started to cry. Can’t wait to see her picture…hint, hint~
Kelly!! I am so excited for you guys!! That is amazing!!! I can’t wait to see a picture. You better post as soon as you can! I will be praying for you guys and for your little girl!
I am so excited for your family. I have followed your blog since you commented on us finding our new daughter months ago. We used Living Hope for our first adoption and they are so wonderful. It is so amazing and confirming to see God’s hand at work in our children’s lives before they come home to their forever families. Congratulations!!!!
Congratulations!! I’m so happy for you and your family and to hear how the Lord hand picked this sweet little one to be your daughter. Your faith is evident–I love your story. thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to follow along on your journey. Your kiddos are adorable..I love their reaction. So sweet.
Oh wow, this is SO exciting!!
Don’t you just love how God works?
I am hoping that your Lydia and my Chloe can be great friends :)
I have prayed for this moment and it is really awesome to see it starting to happen. I can only imagine what it is like for you!
CONGRATS!!!! I am so blessed to have been a part of your journey. I knew we would make it to this day!!! Enjoy!
Sarah
Oh, my goodness Kelly! This gave me chills! God’s will and perfect timing is evident in every part of this process and he has chosen the perfect child for your family! Amazing! I’m soo happy for you all. Kaitlyn has a VSD as well, and as you can see, it does not effect her one bit! I’m sure Lydia’s growth will thrive in your loving, nurturing care! Congrats to you all!
Oh Kelly! God is so amazing! His timing is perfect in every situation! Congratulations! We can’t wait to meet her. We would be happy to help with any childcare situations when you travel to bring her home. Let us know if you need ANYTHING!!!
Congratulations! We brought our DD home 5/09 through Living Hope off the shared SN list. We are just starting our 2nd adoptions through LH. They were wonderful every step of the way. Praying for quick approvals on everything!
Faith
Wow Kelly – what an amazing incredible post- I had goosebumps the entire time. Such a beautiful thing that you’re doing and stepping out in faith and then to have God confirm that He had been leading you to this exact baby all along.
I have to put you on my blogroll so remember to come and get updates more often!
Oh Kelly I’ve said it so many times on FB, on the Yahoo Group, in email, and now here…it’s amazing to me. God is truly so very good…and His promise is as true as it can be in this PERFECT little girl that was handpicked for your family by God! Wow! Still in Awe here of his Amazing Mercy and Goodness!
Then the VIDEO–of course I scrolled to the bottom to make this comment and OM goodness a video of telling the children! No way–how special is that! I love the “Big Sister” when she says, “Isss itt Lyyydia’s picture????” with that–“No way tone in her voice!” Sooo precious–and Drew wasn’t sure what was going on until you confirmed it for him when you said, “this is Lydia”. And Evan, sweet Evan was just soaking it all in and thinking it all through first–before getting too crazy don’t you know. Oh Lydia will just love this video for years to come–what a special, special thing to do for her too.
Ok–we’re off–are you packed yet? Do you have your list done? Time to get that room ready for her…oh my sooo much excitement, so much fun!
Big Hugs to You all!!!
The video cracked me up!!! :) I know, that’s just what happens with me. I have this picture of how this big, exciting moment will play out, and the kids are like, “yeah, cool!” then they go about their day!!! SO funny- and cute.
Well, I just sent you a nice long e-mail, so I won’t repeat myself, but, I am just SO , SO thrilled for you and CANNOT WAIT to see your family all together!!! :) To God be the glory, great things He has done! :)
Oh my goodness!!!! Praise the LORD!!! Soooo thrilled for you!!! Love seeing the Lord blessing such a faithful family in such an amazing way! Can’t WAIT for pictures;)
Kelly,
I am so excited for you and for your family. When I read about that horrible agency taking all the little babies, I thought of you and hoped you would somehow get a baby this time. I can’t wait until you can post a picture. I will pray that your paperwork goes through extra speedy so that you can have her home early this spring.
Joy
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!
So happy for you!!!! How exciting!!! The video is adorable!!!!! :)
Good luck and God Bless!!
Can’t wait to read the updates and follow you along your journey to go get her!!!
~Allison & Gary
I have been checking on your blog ! The silence scared me.What a wonderful suprise to get up this morning and hear this wonderful news! I just knew he would lead you to her!
Ava had a Vsd and was so tiny! At 14 months she weighted only 13-14 lbs! I came in from Russia and went to Babies r Us and bought onsies in a size3-6 months. It was terrible! She now is a thriving ,spunky 2.5 year old!
Congrats! Let me know if I can help you with anything!
Nicole
Congratulations! It is amazing how God works and how he lets you know that this is just the child you have been waiting for. I can hardly wait to see her picture as well!
Congratulations on your little girl! This is MissCourtneyk from RQ here…….We are with LHAA also and were matched with our Shaanxi boy back in March 2009. We are traveling to China on January 30, 2010, to complete his adoption.
We will be thinking and praying for your family as you wait for the approvals to bring home your precious little girl!
God Bless!
YAY! YAY! YAY!
So excited to be in connection with you – so excited to have another baby coming home. And we’re biased, but we think she’s perfect ;P
YAY!
Looking forward to an amazing ride from here. We really are so happy for you all.
Oh yeah. And Miss Sarah R.O.C.K.S.
;P
Kelly,
I am so happy for your family! I can’t wait to see pictures of your need little one!!! Congraulations! I am so thrilled for you! There is nothing like the feeling of seeing your child’s face for the first time. You study every single detail of that beautiful face and can see it anywhere you look. I love seeing Parker’s face! We are still waiting for our LOA! I am praying for a speedy LOA and TA for you!
Another Living Hope Family,
Tricia
Congratulations! How amazing is our God?! I can’t wait until you can post those pictures!
Lara
YEAH!!!! I couldn’t watch the video, but I love to hear your testimony to your faithfulness to God!! Your obedience is awesome and will be rewarded – Can’t wait to se you hold Lydia!
Congrats on your referral! We are another family that worried over referral paperwork but then got great news in an update. We brought our dd home in August at the age of 23 mos.
kristi875 from RQ
Congrats on your new daughter. The video is priceless. We are waiting to travel for our little girl and should be in China the first of April. Best wishes!
Congratulations! I know you are over the moon. Celebrate this day because every day from this point forward you will stare at that little face until she’s in your arms. Can you believe this is happening? I am so excited for you and I’ll be following your journey from now on.
Blessings…
Congratulations Kelly and family :)
Your video is priceless and I love how God’s hand is so clearly evident. 3/10 is a special birthday for me too- both orphans I have sponsored have been born on the same say.
~Kelly
Congratulations on your new baby girl!
Kelly, I’m a friend of Erin and Brian’s. We have 2 biological children and an adopted little boy from Korea. I am so excited for you guys!!! What a precious moment to be caught on tape. Ty was (still is) super tiny, too. He was 23 pounds at 2 1/2 when he came home. We’ll be praying for the next stage of waiting. I know it can be excruciating.
OHMYWORD!!! AMAZING!!
that video has me in tears! i’m so, so happy for you and so, so happy for baby lydia!
YEAH!!! Congrats. She sounds absolutely wonderful. How amazing it will be one day when you can share with her this beautiful story of God’s grace. Love the kids thoughts on their baby sister. lol
-Charity
So excited for you and your family! Hope you are able to travel soon to bring your newest addition home to your family!
Kelly,
I popped on over from Lisa site to read of your good news!! It is wonderful and you have a very similar story to our…. our Lydia was 9 months old at the time of referral and was also 4 months old in her pictures and she had a heart condition ASD. (although we were not able to get any updates because she was from Kunming! It is also a year ago when we received our referral!
I know that you must be absolutely blessed right now and full of joy!!! Oh and our daughter Eliana, does think that she is the mama at times!!!
Wow another Shaanxi girl is coming home!
Our daughter came to us thru LH in 2007, she had VSD po, and she is the healthiest little love bug there is!! Congratulations and no worries!!!!
Emily was from Xianyang Social Institute “Hope Haven”..there is a yahoo group for Shaanxi if you are interested!
Carol, Bruce, Anthony, Hayden, and Emily Wood!!
Your kiddos are cracking me up! I thought it was funny that crazy-bed-head-Ashlyn said somehting about crazy hair! :)
Congrats, my friend! Can’t wait to be in China with you!
What an amazing story! You have your red thread connection…WOW! I have been following your blog and awaiting the good news of your precious daughter! We will be praying for your little one! Enjoy the journey to China…may it be soon!
How wonderful! Where in China is she?
OMGoodness Kelly!! I am in TEARS!!! CONGRATS! I didn’t realize you were reviewing a file. Though I had been praying for you in anticipation for that new list that was coming out last week…but I had no idea! SO, SO, SO happy for ALL of you! Love the video of the kids… pretty much exactly how I would expect little ones to react. So priceless. I can’t WAIT to see photos of your precious Lydia! Oh what an AWESOME God we serve. I love all fo the connections in your journey already…perfectly knit together by our Father Himself…and only just the beginning. I can’t wait to follow along as everything unfolds. Praising God with you, dear friend!!
BTW, I haven’t been on the computer all weekend and just came over to ‘congratulate’ you on winning my Scarlet Threads Give-away!!…but I see MUCH bigger CONGRATS are in order!!! Hit me with an email when you have time and let me know which apron you choose! Send me your mailing address again, too…I know I have it somewhere…but this way I won’t have to hunt for it. I will have the apron drop shipped directly to you! :)
Blessings and GINORMOUS HUGS!!!! <>< Love, Tanya
So excited about finding your blog via Tanya’s post. Congrats on your referral. What a powerful story and testimony to His faithfulness. What a sweet reward in response to the perfect timing of your obedience to His call of adoption on the very day your daughter was born! I love how adoption works like that and living proof that blessings follow obedience. Our story is very similar!
Love & Blessings from Hong Kong,
Kim
Oh sweetie! I am SO happy for you and sorry that I missed this. You and the the kids were so cute in the video and I am so happy for you sweetie! Can’t wait to hear more. She sounds perfect!!!!!!
Love,
Jonni
Congratulations Kelly!
I am Denise’s friend, Diana being honored in the same blog post with Sienna Grace! Thank you for sharing your testimony of God’s faithfulness. I know the feeling when you see the child that God has hand picked just for you! Blessings while you wait for the next milestones to be met!
You have much to look forward to!
Blessings,
Diana
Congratulations!
I follow Denise’s blog and just saw that you saw sweet Lydia’s face for the first time! How wonderfully exciting to see God’s plan unfolding!
Blessings as you prepare for your newest daughter, Ashley
I found your blog through Denise and wanted to say congratulations. We just switched to SN and look for forward to seeing our precious little girl! Bless you as your prepare to travel!!!
Sharon
Oh, Kelly!!! She’s known to you now!!! I’m so, so overjoyed for your family.
I love seeing the fingerprints of God all over Lydia and what you were specifically praying for concerning her growth. Then the March 10th date?!?! Oh my word.
Lydia has no clue of what an awesome family she’s coming home to…but will soon!!
Congratulations on your new daughter!
Oh my Kelly!!!!! PRAISING GOD!!!!!! I’m a drippy eyed mess and had to race down to this post when I saw the one with the gorgeous crib!
Congratulations Kelly!!!!!! I can’t tell you how happy I am to read this news and know that another precious babe is coming HOME to her beautiful family!
(((HUGS)))
M~
Loved this post way back when, and love it now. I love how God surprises us! He is faithful, and continues to be so faithful to you and your family.