CELEBRATING GOTCHA DAY!

Today marks a very special anniversary for our family of four. One year ago today, an unknown woman placed the most precious, adorable, perfect little girl into my arms. That one act has changed all of our lives forever.

A look at our family then and now:




We spent some considerable time discussing what to do to celebrate this special day. We purchased some gifts for Malia while in China to giver her over the years, but since she's so young, we opted not to give her a gift this year. However we did start one tradition this year that we plan to keep doing over the years. We bought a special frame for our Gotcha Day family photo and a three-wick candle. We placed these items on a prominent table in our home.

Rick lit the first wick of the candle, which represents Malia.


Spencer lit the second wick, which represents Malia's birth family.


And, I lit the third wick, which represents her adoptive family.


Over the years we'll try to spend a little time in between lighting each wick to discuss more about each of these very special aspects of her life.




I am in tears reflecting on this most incredible journey that brought us together as a family. The years of waiting were excrutiating, but the pain has faded to the background and over the last year has been replaced with incredible joy and thanksgiving as we've shared life together. I am humbled to think that God picked our family to be a part of Malia's life - and He chose her to be a part of our family. She is such a blessing to us, and I pray she will find us a blessing to her as she grows and matures into her own person. Our prayer for her is that she will accept this path God has chosen for her, rather than reject it. Either way, I'm sure she will endure emotional pain in knowing there is another family out there she was once a part of. May God reveal that family to her in His own way and in His own time. And, may he strengthen us - her adoptive family - to help her find peace.

WE LOVE YOU MALIA!

Before lighting the candle tonight, we went out to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The owners of this place have really taken a liking to Malia. They always take time to stop and admire her. They did not know that we were celebrating this particular anniversary tonight, but the "Dad" brought us some Chinese bread to take home with us. (We actually ate this type of bread in China. It has meat inside it.) As he did so, he took time to just stand and watch Malia and smiled the whole time. I wonder if he thinks back on the days when his own daughters were that little. The older of the two is now a Freshman in college and I'm sure he's missing her a great deal. The younger daughter is now a senior in high school and will be leaving for college in less than a year. Oh, how time flies! One other little tidbit about our time at the restaurant. We got to witness how the family eats together. It's hurried as they each grab a quick plate from the buffet and sit at a table near the front of the restaurant. They were all using chopsticks to eat. Their time together only lasted about five minutes! However, in that little piece of time, it made me wonder what life would be like for Malia if she were still in China, and even possibly living with her birth family.

The most difficult part about today is that Malia is sick. She's been coughing a great deal and it seems to be moving into her chest. She coughed and gagged so much tonight that after her bath she threw up. The first time since she's been part of our family! She sometimes feels feverish, but when taking her temperature it's reading less than 98 degrees. We're praying her health will be restored quickly.