Looking Back. Part Three. Happy Gotcha Day!

The day FINALLY arrived. We met our sweet Lily face to face exactly two years ago today. After waiting, praying, doing homestudies, filling out endless amounts of paperwork, raising money, preparing our home, filling a nursery with clothes, toys, and everything else a child may need, reading books on parenting, reading books on adoption, and traveling 15 hours in a plane...WE BECAME A FAMILY OF THREE!!!!!!!

Thursday, April 7th, 2005 (written before meeting Lily)

Today is Gotcha Day. I can't believe it. There were many times when I wondered if this day would ever arrive and now it is here! It's 2am and I couldn't sleep -- wonder why!? Jay is snoring away. It is funny how very different we are. We're meeting down in the lobby at 5:50am to go to the airport. Our flight for Changsha leaves at 7:55. I'm nervous.

Sunday, April 10th, 2005

OK, where do I begin? I couldn't write anything on "Gotcha Day" after we actually GOT Lily. Too crazy. Today is day 4 with her and it is NOTHING like I had imagined. She is a daddy's girl big-time. She'll only let me hold her if Jay isn't around and she'll scream bloody murder first. It's been rough. I've spent a lot of time crying. I'm legally Lily's mom but it sure doesn't feel like it. I don't think either of us was prepared for how difficult it would be. She cries so loud and so long and we have no idea what to do for her. It is getting better day by day, though. We are figuring out what and when to feed her and when she needs a nap. (she eats and sleeps a lot)! She was up quite a bit last night, so I brought her into bed with me -so I could rub her belly when she cried and she would fall back asleep. She's teething and she has a cold so she's kinda unhappy about that. But, we have seen glimpses of a very sweet, funny, silly baby. She wakes up happy and playful and she loves playing with her spoon -- she bangs it on everything and just laughs!When I watch her sleeping I am in awe. Her beautiful eyes and lashes, button nose and sweet, little lips. She is a beautiful child! We are making it. Some days/moments are better than others. Our hotel room looks like a tornado blew through it. Hey! We're first time parents and we get messy trying to figure this stuff out! I am sleep deprived, homesick, and emotionally drained, but I pray each day it will get better. Jay has been incredible. He's a great husband and an amazing dad. This has been a difficult week, but I AM A MOM!!!!!

So, we had a rough start. It may have been the day I had been looking forward to with anticipation for years, but not so for Lily. She had been taken from the only world she had ever known that day and placed in the arms of total strangers. It was going to take some time for her...

Skip ahead.

Friday, April 7th, 2006

Exactly one year ago today we laid eyes on Lily Lin for the very first time. It has been an amazing journey so far with ups and downs that come with having a child --adopted OR biological. The year has flown by and of all the feelings that I have today the one that stands out the most is...blessed. I feel God loves me a lot to have had such an incredibly special plan for my life. Lily is my beautiful angel from heaven and she has shown me how to truly love. Unselfishly and unconditionally. I hope she always celebrates "Gotcha Day" with joy and thanksgiving with us and I pray she feels as blessed as we do. She has a family that loves her so very much.

Skip, skip ahead.

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

I've been a momma for two years! Wow. Life just keeps gettin' sweeter. This child of mine who started off as a stranger has become such a part of me. I loved her instantly, but I didn't KNOW her. That took time. Now, I love how we make each other laugh, and how sometimes I am the only one who can interpret what she is saying. I love how sometimes momma is the only one who can read her books to her the right way or sing a song with her. I love her incredible sense of humor and her ability to memorize an amazing amount of information. I love how she sings worship songs, and will get lost in an entertaining video. I love watching her sleep and also love hearing her call out for me when she wakes up. I love the way she smells after a bath, and how she wants me to sing "Rockabye baby" to her while she is still wrapped in her towel. I love the way her soft little body feels all snuggled up to mine. I love the sweet and quiet quality to her voice and how SMART she is. I love how she says "I yuv oo Mama" and how she says we're best friends. I love watching her climb and jump and dance around like a "badaweena". I love watching her laugh and play with her daddy, her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, and all of the friends she has made over the past two years. I love how excited she gets when I give her a piece of candy or chocolate and how she will quickly say, "Oh, tank oo Mama!" See, I loved her long before I met her, and it got even better when I held her in my arms, but now I get to spend my life getting to know her and finding more and more reasons to love this sweet little girl. And, it's great to have her love me too. Nothin' better!!

Happy Gotcha Day to you, my child. I shall make every day an opportunity to discover yet another thing to love about you, and I shall love you deeply, truly, and always!

* Happy Gotcha Day to all of Lily's sweet friends who also met their families for the first time this day 2 years ago...Chloe, Sophia, Mya, Olivia, Mia, Hannah, Leah, Emily, Anna, and Maggie. XOXO*