Getting Tian

It was just a year ago when the call came that we had a beautiful baby girl waiting for us in Kunming, Yunnan, China. I remember being so surprised when Steve looked at the picture and instantly fell head-over-heels in love with her. For the months preceding the phone call, Steve has said things like " I just don't understand how all these adoptive parents 'fall in love with a picture!'" Little did I know that was only the beginning!! We've both been falling in love ever since!

Tian is pure joy. She has such a sweet personality and fits perfectly in our family. She is growing to be a tall girl, fitting perfectly into a size 2 right now. At 22 months, Tian is talking with new words every day. It's such fun to finally hear her words. She loves her Elmo and stuffed doggies, comfort toys of choice. She plays with her dolls - feeding them and rocking them with such sweet care. Sometimes I have to blink back tears as I see the way she has responded to being loved by giving it back to her babies. With children adopted almost a year after birth, this nurture extended in play is not taken lightly by the parents. Tian loves to write with a pencil or pen in her "writer's notebook". She writes daily which is a great inspiration to her mama and papa who really need to be doing that!

Grace upon grace - Steve and I were talking last night about how the adoptive process was so hard... and there were times when it seemed TOO hard. But there are no words to describe how grateful we are that God pushed us through it - to give us such a beautiful gift. Steve and I are so tired at night that we can hardly make it past her 8:00 bedtime... but within a few minutes of her sound sleep one of us usually says something like, "Isn't she something? It's the best thing we've ever done!" In our hearts we know the truth... It's the best thing He's ever done... Reaching down here, and adopting us into His family and allowing us to see the beauty of adopting one of His precious ones into our family. Have a wonderful Christmas!