IT'S ELIZABETH DAY!!

November 4, 2007 we walked into a business room in a hotel in Fujian, China.

With butterflies in my stomach and my heart in my throat, I walked off the elevator, turned the corner and saw my little girl standing with her traveling nanny/nurse at the couch.

The little girl God had placed in our hearts in November of 2005 when we began our process to China was now standing before us.

our first introduction

1st "family" photo

1 scared little girl whose world had just been rocked.


Fast forward 2 years and you have this.

1 happy little girl who is VERY proud to be from China, but who is also securely a part of our family and very happy to be here.

I never know if we should celebrate "Gotcha Day" -Nov. 4th, or Nov. 5th -the day we officially adopted her. This year it's today the 5th. :)

a couple pics of Ellie-bellie with her favorite friends in the whole-wide world. :)

This last year has been SO much better than the first. We are thriving as a family, not just surviving. I think alot of that is due to the fact we were able to identify Elizabeth's issues as attachment related and deal with them head-on.

We are making great strides with Elizabeth. Her episodes of insecurity are definitely fewer, shorter, and further in between than they used to be. Oh -for sure we still deal with stuff daily....but I finally feel like we're able to deal with them properly and thus help Elizabeth heal.


She has come a long way this year in just about everything.

She is best "buddies" with her brother and sister.

She doesn't just play with toys, but also play imaginative things.

She LOVES to draw, color and do crafty things.

Her English has exploded! She is speaking much better now. True, sometimes she is difficult to understand and she doesn't pronounce all her words correctly -but she is getting there.

She LOVES to be outside and we are finding is quite adept at sports related things..swimming and riding her bike are 2 things she has excelled at!

She LOVES to be held and snuggled. :)

Elizabeth -

sometimes the moments in China seems so far away ~ the moment I first saw you, the moment I held you and cried with you, the moment I noticed you asleep on my shoulder...and sometimes they seem like just yesterday.

sometimes I take a step back from our whole situation and am amazed at how scary those first few weeks with us must have been....but how brave you were to come to us and trust us.

sometimes I get frustrated that you still haven't come to the point of fully trusting us and our love for you...but then I am reminded of how much hurt and confusion and sadness you experienced before coming to us. it makes me so sad that even after 2 years, there is still a part of you that you keep at a distance from us.

Elizabeth, we love you.
We love ALL of you -your silly part, your sad part, your mad part, and your happy part. You can try to push us away, but we're not going anywhere! My hope and prayer is that sometime soon, you will be able to fully love us and let us fully love you.....that God will fully heal your heart.

I love you Ellie-bellie.

love -mommy