Happy Family Day!

A year ago today we went to a municipal building in ZZ China. It was the moment for which we had waited over 2 years. I remember standing out in the hallway and a man walked by and saw Bill and I and said, "Bing Qi!". (Michelle's chinese name) He recognized us from our photos, and I realized at that moment she was just down the hall!

Our daughter Lizzy asked if we could pray before going in to meet her. I don't remember exactly what we said, but as we held hands and prayed, I remembered thanking God for his amazing blessing to our family, and I remember a peace coming over me that could only come from Him.

We walked down the hallway with several other families in our group, and as we peeked in the room it was already crowded. There were 4 children adopted from Luohe orphanage that morning, and we recognized 2 of the families already inside from pictures on our yahoo group. Then, suddenly, a couple of ladies walked out into the hallway with Michelle. She was so tiny, wrapped in layer after layer of clothes. As she stood before me, I looked at this precious little girl and said to her, "Ni Hao, Bing Qi. Wo shi ni de mama." Which means, Hello, Bing Qi. I am your mama. I had practiced these 2 phrases for weeks before our trip. She looked up at me and said, "Mama?" The nannies picked her up and placed her in my arms.

Just as she started to have tears in her eyes, Josh came to the rescue. He was standing on the side, with a "wa-wa" (doll) ready to go. He came over with a big smile, gave her the wa-wa, and she looked at him and grinned. I knew right then we would all be fine!

We had such a wonderful first day with Michelle. She was so sweet and fun from the very beginning. She decided right away I was her "person", but she still played with everyone. It still takes my breath away when I think back to that time I first saw her precious face, that God would grace our family in such a way is just so amazing to me.

It's incredible the difference a year makes. We had a little celebration last night, a day early because my oldest daughter has a concert tonight. We couldn't really sing Happy Birthday because it wasn't the right song, so we sang "Michelle" by the Beatles as we brought out her cake. She loves the Beatles, and grinned from ear to ear. She blew out the candle on top of the cake, something she wasn't able to do a year ago. Now that she has had her cleft palate repaired, she can blow out candles, drink through a straw, and say almost anything she really wants to say. Her speech is getting more clear and articulate each day. That in itself it a miracle.

We love you Michelle! You complete our family, and you were so worth the wait.