Our First First Anniversary!

Well, today was a day to celebrate. Last year on this day, we received our referral packet from AWAA by FEDEX and Troy and I sat together on the bed and anxiously opened an envelope full of information that would change our lives forever. We opened our referral packet from China and saw our daughter's face for the first time. This was probably the most overwhelming feeling I'd ever had, I mean I was ecstatic! We sat there in awe and just stared at them and of course, I was crying and I think I saw Troy wipe a tear or 2. We read her medical information, her growth information, where she was living in the BIG country of China, the offer from China for us to adopt her, the letter telling China that we were accepting her that we needed to sign, and that she was in foster care. I remember how excited we were about that because we had prayed and prayed over the previous months that she would receive God's favor. We prayed that she would be loved and cared for in a special way. So, for us, this was a total answer to prayer. We figured, if she had a foster family to attach to, it would be easier for her to transfer attachment to us.

In reflection of the significance of this day, I can't believe that a whole year has passed us by. Our lives have changed so much since then, and in the best possible way. We have a few more anniversaries coming up: On 10/27 we'll celebrate the day that we left to go to China, but more significantly; Sarah's birthday--the first birthday that we get to celebrate WITH her. On 10/31 we will celebrate the first anniversary of the day we met our daughter and held her in our arms for the first time in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China in the conference room of the Lakeview Hotel. On 11/1, it will be one year from the day our adoption was finalized in China and on 11/9 it's the first anniversary of Sarah becoming a citizen of the U.S. and the day when we got home from the great country of China with our Jewel of a daughter. All I can do is thank God for the miracle of adoption that has touched us and changed our lives forever. He gave us the most beautiful gift in our daughter...it's really more than mere words can express.

Doesn't she just looked scared to death in these photos? And it's like there's a lack of "life" in her eyes...her expression. Just goes to show you how much she's changed in this past year.

Wow, I thought she looks like she's seconds away from blowing a gasket in that photo!

I remember looking at her little face wondering what she was thinking. "Why the heck am I laying on this thing?" "I don't think I like this, what are you doing to me?" "I don't know about this, am I going to be okay?" I remember thinking that she was about to start SCREAMING! based on the look on her face in this photo. I wondered, what do her little feet look like...and her little fingers, how long are they? She's so bundled up, she looks like she can't even move, even if she wanted to. It seems like a lifetime has passed since I looked into those black almond shaped eyes for the first time...but it's been only the first year of many more to come of being Sarah's Mama.