bringin’ baby home…..(some parting thoughts)

Good bye China. …..as much as I CRAVE to be home…oh so much! It is bitter sweet to leave.

What an adventure it has been….but there are things we will miss, and things we will certainly NOT MISS!

Things we will not miss
-being SO FAR FROM FAMILY and FRIENDS….being away from my babies!!!
-dirt and smog..eww!
-crowded elevators and no personal space
-weird smells
-living in a hotel
-eating out every night
-being so far from family and everything familiar
-the rude stares
-the grocery stores
-feeling unsafe while walking streets at night
-being stopped by immigration police to see our passports
-seeing children peeing on the streets, and people blowing their noses with no tissue
-not understanding the language around me
-the food
-not being able to drink tap water, or feel you can trust anyone’s ice
-taxi cab rides (more like “death grip” rides)
-crowded streets
-China TV, china radio
-lack of ice
-living out of a suitcase
-being so far from church, my doctors, and my walmart
-not using my smart phone
– FEARING getting sick

Things that we will miss dearly
-being present in Tahlia’s birth land….(it will be hard to take her from all she has known, the place where we met her and first touched her and fell in love with her)
-living in a hotel room and someone else cleaning it (best 5 words ever: Can I clean your room?)
-breakfast buffet
-our guide, John
-the new friends we’ve met while here…beautiful bonds were formed
-friendly conversations with locals
-being immersed in a different culture, and learning while living it
-sightseeing
-the island (shopping, greenery, nice shop owners, scenery)
-cheap shopping
-eating out
– intimate time with Bella, Tahlia, and daddy
-local Chinese people…their ways, their customs, their fashions, their accents
-feeling like celebrities with “nice stares” and photo opps! LOL
-the weather…the flowers…
-the KING SIZED BED!!!
-Starbucks everyday….almost everyday

China is where my 5th child was born….where we first laid eyes on her…To us, China will always be a magical and incredible place…a place where faith became sight, where God answered prayers and where Tahlia was finally and miraculously put into our arms. Nothing will ever compare to China in our minds, China is forever in our hearts, and forever a part of us.

And, Thank you so much friends and family.

First of all, we could not have come here to get our daughter had not our most amazing grandparents held down the fort at home. We were able to relax and not stress knowing our babies were in amazingly caring hands…what a gift they gave us. Thank you Nana, Pop pop, Gmom Pat and Papa Buddy and Aunt Amy and Aunt Amy….thank you for pouring love on us by pouring love on Ashton, Helaina and Ethan
Thank you to the Olivers for helping to take care of our other children…our furry ones! 😉 We appreciate you!

Thank you to my wonderful, totally awesome 3 kiddies who stayed at home to keep the grandparents company ;). WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! Thank you for loving your baby sissy by being so very brave and courageous to be away from us for so long. You are amazing.

Thank you to all of you who were a part of our journey through the blog, through prayer, through encouragement, through meals, and ultimately….through love. We have no more words to be able to fully express our gratitude…except thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and love. It was your prayers that got us through…..

but we still need prayer. So, please don’t stop. Adoption is not easy…it just doesn’t come as natural as giving birth to your biological child. Yes, I will say its just as magical and takes our breath away just as much as labor and delivery did. But, biological children don’t come with baggage…with a past….with brains already wired from their experiences (positive and negative). Our little girl didn’t get placed in our arms with a blank slate. She has a past, a broken past we will never fully know or understand. And, we witness the product of that past in her reactions and personality. She is very shy…very afraid of strangers…and makes you work very hard to win her trust.
From a distance she will be fine….up close she is insecure.
But, We have hope. Through prayer, consistent love and being in a family…we have hope that she will become whole. Her heart will heal fully. Because, we have a God who is in the business of restoration, of making all things new.
We will be patient. We will continue to love with no expectation. We will smother her with prayer and love. We promise to parent her with compassion and understanding of all she has been through…and is going through. We will love her unconditionally…We will be her safe refuge as her world gets turned upside down …yet again.

Sweet baby girl has only been with us 10 days….and just look at how far she has come. She has gone from a look of terror (gotcha day) to giggles, craziness, and joy. She knows her momma….knows her sissy…knows her daddy (well…the man who seems to always be with her, feed her treats and kiss all over her….though, has yet to bond with him and fully relax with him). Please pray for her to fully trust daddy….we know it will take time. She needs to understand that even though she is not used to men, this special man was given to her to keep her safe, nurture and love her. She has yet to understand the love of a daddy.
We press on… we wait.

Adoption is such a miracle. To think that little Tahlia was conceived in our hearts….and 1 1/2 years later placed in our arms ….half way around the world. WOW. God is so big and gracious. The minute we touched her, we LOVED her. And, even though the bond is not as instant as it is with biological children … not as naturally reciprocated. We understand that her heart has to be won over to fully trust. We understand…it will take time.
But Love will win. Why??? because “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.“. So, we will wait….we will wait for her heart to be fully ours…SHE IS SO WORTH it!!! LOVE WILL WIN and RESTORE her heart to peace…love never fails.

We are humbled to tears for the privilege to be able to love her and be called her family. Thank you God for Tahlia.

And, here is our Last day in China Photo album

tahlia LAST day in CHINA!