These are the lyrics to a beautiful song that expresses so many of our feelings while waiting for Lila. She will be the answer to our prayers. We cannot wait for those first precious days with her.
I Could Not Ask For More, Sara Evans
Lying here with you, listening to the rain
Smile just to see the smile upon your face
These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
And these are the moments I'll remember all my life
I've found all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
Looking in your eyes, seeing all I need
Everything you are is everything in me
These are the moments I know heaven must exist
And these are the moments I know all I need is this
I've found all I've waited for,
And I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
And every prayer has been answered
Every dream I've had's come true
right here in this moment Is right where I'm meant to be
Here with you here with me
These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
And these are the moments I'll remember all my life
I've found all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more
than this time together
could not ask for more than this time with you
And every prayer has been answered
Every dream I've had's come true
right here in this moment Is right where I'm meant to be
Oh, here with you here with me
No, I could not ask for more Than this love you gave me
Cause it's all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Grace is 3
Grace turned 3 on Sunday. Wow, I hope the wait for Lila goes as fast as these past 3 years have. We celebrated with a family party after church. She was so excited about her cake that she blew out the candles before we could sing so we had to relight them & start over. She loved eating her messy, sticky, chocolatey Pablo cupcakes for several days. We had a wonderful day playing, opening presents, eating and playing some more! Gerry and I were both a little melancholy at the end of the day wondering where our Lila is, when is her birthday, when will we celebrate her 1st birthday at home... We can only wait and pray that it will be soon and continue to enjoy our Gracie Grace as much as we possibly can.Thursday, May 17, 2007
Yuan Fen
Tricia is one of the members of the CHI China Yahoo group that I am also in. She always finds really informative articles on adoption and China then shares them with our group. She is a great resource, thanks Tricia! Today she posted the following information. I really liked the message so am sharing it here.
Yuanfen (or Yuan fen) is a Buddhist-related Chinese concept that refers to fate. In English we think of predestination as having to do with events of our lives, but yuanfen is related to fate in relationships between people. It is used positively to connote a blessing, a sense of 'meant to meet', 'meant to be together'. It can be defined broadly as the "binding force" that links two persons together in any relationship. When one meets a person who is hard to find, one can exclaim: "It is yuanfen that has brought us together!" This message speaks of love and the idea that everyone is predetermined to meet. It can be a reminder that it is yuanfen that will one day bring our daughter home to us. Be it God's will, yuanfen, or fate, we know it will happen.
Yuanfen (or Yuan fen) is a Buddhist-related Chinese concept that refers to fate. In English we think of predestination as having to do with events of our lives, but yuanfen is related to fate in relationships between people. It is used positively to connote a blessing, a sense of 'meant to meet', 'meant to be together'. It can be defined broadly as the "binding force" that links two persons together in any relationship. When one meets a person who is hard to find, one can exclaim: "It is yuanfen that has brought us together!" This message speaks of love and the idea that everyone is predetermined to meet. It can be a reminder that it is yuanfen that will one day bring our daughter home to us. Be it God's will, yuanfen, or fate, we know it will happen.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Part of us
This is the Chinese symbol for family.
Lila is already so much a part of our family. We already hold her in our hearts and blow her kisses in the wind. Grace proved to me just the other day that she loves her little sister already. We were talking and I asked Grace if Lila was going to be her baby sister. Grace, in her sweet little 3 year old voice, said "Yeah, she’s my best friend!"
We truly feel like we are expecting a baby. The adoption community uses the term "paper pregnant" to describe this waiting period. It will be long but we cannot wait to see her for the first time.
I would like to try to explain issues she will face, our issues as an adoptive family, and our responsibilities as adoptive parents. Hopefully through educating everyone we can all help Lila when she comes home.
Lila will be abandoned at birth and have lifelong abandonment issues to deal with like wondering why she was abandoned, what was wrong with her that they gave her up, wasn't she good enough for them to keep, what did she do wrong to make them not love her? It is the responsibility of the adoptive family to provide unconditional acceptance and stability to help cope with abandonment.
She will have lived in an orphanage with hundreds of other babies and very few staff to care for them so very limited human contact. She will not have the copious amounts of love and undivided attention that parents shower on their infants. She will not understand love and not have learned to develop healthy relationships. She won't know how to trust or how to allow others to interact with & love her. She must be able to rely on her loved ones to nurture her.
She will be a minority in the US especially so in the predominantly white midwest. We will have to teach her how to deal with the racial discrimination that she will encounter from people at school, out shopping, at the zoo, in a park, in a restaurant, in any public place. She definitely doesn't need her family & friends adding to that discrimination.
She will see that she doesn't look like her mama, daddy & sister. She will feel that she is different from us. We cannot risk that someone in her extended family will treat her differently than they do Grace. She is in every way our daughter just as Grace is. We will not accept anything less than equality for both girls.
Please learn with us and learn to love & accept our new baby girl.
Lila is already so much a part of our family. We already hold her in our hearts and blow her kisses in the wind. Grace proved to me just the other day that she loves her little sister already. We were talking and I asked Grace if Lila was going to be her baby sister. Grace, in her sweet little 3 year old voice, said "Yeah, she’s my best friend!"
We truly feel like we are expecting a baby. The adoption community uses the term "paper pregnant" to describe this waiting period. It will be long but we cannot wait to see her for the first time.
I would like to try to explain issues she will face, our issues as an adoptive family, and our responsibilities as adoptive parents. Hopefully through educating everyone we can all help Lila when she comes home.
Lila will be abandoned at birth and have lifelong abandonment issues to deal with like wondering why she was abandoned, what was wrong with her that they gave her up, wasn't she good enough for them to keep, what did she do wrong to make them not love her? It is the responsibility of the adoptive family to provide unconditional acceptance and stability to help cope with abandonment.
She will have lived in an orphanage with hundreds of other babies and very few staff to care for them so very limited human contact. She will not have the copious amounts of love and undivided attention that parents shower on their infants. She will not understand love and not have learned to develop healthy relationships. She won't know how to trust or how to allow others to interact with & love her. She must be able to rely on her loved ones to nurture her.
She will be a minority in the US especially so in the predominantly white midwest. We will have to teach her how to deal with the racial discrimination that she will encounter from people at school, out shopping, at the zoo, in a park, in a restaurant, in any public place. She definitely doesn't need her family & friends adding to that discrimination.
She will see that she doesn't look like her mama, daddy & sister. She will feel that she is different from us. We cannot risk that someone in her extended family will treat her differently than they do Grace. She is in every way our daughter just as Grace is. We will not accept anything less than equality for both girls.
Please learn with us and learn to love & accept our new baby girl.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
China Adoption Lore
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." Ancient Chinese Proverb
This proverb is very popular among those of us who are adopting or have adopted from China. Some doubt its authenticity while others claim it has nothing to do with adoption but actually applies to finding your husband or wife. I think it really does apply to destiny bringing our daughter to us. Through all the obstacles and distance we will become a family.
Ladybugs are seen as a symbol of luck and hope during the adoption process. That's why I chose a ladybug theme for our blog. We have several ladybug items for Lila. I bought a giant ladybug pillow with matching slippers & blanket, ladybug sandals, a ladybug dress, and a ladybug shorts outfit. I have also given her a ladybug braclet & ring and ladybug toy that were mine when I was little. They are all waiting for her in her room. I hope the wait goes quickly.
This proverb is very popular among those of us who are adopting or have adopted from China. Some doubt its authenticity while others claim it has nothing to do with adoption but actually applies to finding your husband or wife. I think it really does apply to destiny bringing our daughter to us. Through all the obstacles and distance we will become a family.
Ladybugs are seen as a symbol of luck and hope during the adoption process. That's why I chose a ladybug theme for our blog. We have several ladybug items for Lila. I bought a giant ladybug pillow with matching slippers & blanket, ladybug sandals, a ladybug dress, and a ladybug shorts outfit. I have also given her a ladybug braclet & ring and ladybug toy that were mine when I was little. They are all waiting for her in her room. I hope the wait goes quickly.
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