i just realized (thanks to my perpetual calendar on my windowsill!!) that on THIS day, 3 years ago (3 YEARS!!! there were times i thought we wouldn't last
3 months! i can't believe we've made it 3 years! and we are all alive and smiling!),
we saw lincoln and levi's faces for the first time.
this was our first glimpse of them. we could see that spark in lincoln's eyes from miles and miles apart ;-)
and we couldn't figure levi out...even once we met him, he was so reserved. but now his joy is so apparent and FULL!
once everyone is home from school and up from their naps, we will all watch this together. i will bawl. i haven't watched it yet today...and bailey will cry. and i will remind lincoln, especially, how he came to be in our family...how God chose him for us...how much we loved him even before we saw him. i pray another small piece of his little hard heart softens...
this video (towards the end) shows us seeing them for the first time. {we ALL look so much younger! the last 3 years have AGED us! in good ways...and bad ;-)}
2 comments:
Courtney - this is Mandy Gift (Bradley) - I lived in Camelot in college. I have been following your blog, and I just saw this post. I loved watching this video! Wow it made me emotional! Kyle and I have three boys and are nearing the end of the paperwork part of the process to adopt a girl from China. We started the process last fall, and we're getting there! This just makes our current experience so much more real and exciting. Thank you for sharing!!
I've followed your blog for a couple of years, I think since right after you brought the boys home. I have 2 girls from China. We have had our 5 year old for 4 years now. She was an undisclosed preemie. The first few years were very difficult. I think it is great you are homeschooling. I really, really think you are on the right track. We just cannot understand the trauma our kids go through, and, sadly, we won't ever have the answers. Our second daughter came to us at 23 months old, she's been much easier. But, I have to say, it is all worth it. At 4 years home I can finally lay in bed with my little girl to help her fall to sleep. She finally sits as close as humanly possible on the couch. She grabs my head and kisses long and hard with sound effects :) It has been a process, and I know it's going to continue.
Hang in there! I'm so glad you are seeing progress and I will continue to jeep you in prayer!
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