A Thanksgiving Like No Other

How thankful we are to have our girl home for Thanksgiving this year!  As we look back and remember our prayers from 2 years ago we were praying for our daughter who was awaiting us in China.  At that time we had only just begun the adoption process and had no idea how long it would be until she was in our arms forever.  But still we prayed.  We prayed for her to know the love of a family.  For her to know she was wanted, valued, loved.  We prayed for her birth parents.  We prayed for her future.

Little did we know as we prayed for her that she had only come into care one month prior.  We did not know that she was a beautiful 20 month old little girl with precious chubby cheeks and a smile that could light up a room.  But still we prayed.

Another year passed and we continued to pray.  Last year our prayers echoed those of the year before.  We cried out asking God to bring her home soon and to help us endure the wait.  We still did not know the child we were praying for. But still we prayed.

This year our prayers are a little different.  They are filled with Thanksgiving for our precious Annalise.  The beautiful 3 1/2 year old whose belly laugh and smile now fill our home.  The charming, mischievous little girl who loves to close doors and turn off lights.  Who squeals as she steals things from her big sister and runs away with them.  We are thankful!  So very thankful!

Unfortunately, our Little A did not get to truly experience her first Thanksgiving home thanks to illness.  There is no family picture to document our first holiday with her but there was plenty of cuddles, motrin, pedialite and temperature taking and that is just fine.  We are thankful she is home and knows the love of her forever family, thankful that we could offer comfort when she was ill, thankful for the sweet smile on her lips as her fever broke, thankful that we have many more days to celebrate with her.

We are thankful that we were chosen to be her family! Thankful for the gift that has been given to us through another.  Thankful for birth parents who chose life for their daughter and because of them we can celebrate with thanksgiving.

What's Up and Where We Are

It is time for a much overdo update on this here blog.  Life has kind of resembled a three ring circus since coming home with Little A.  We keep thinking we will hit our stride with a new normal but just when we think we have hit that new normal something else comes our way. 

We have been home just a little over 2 months now and it is so very hard to imagine that there was a time when Little A was not a part of our family.  Even in the mud and muck of the hard days it just feels right.  It is obvious that God handpicked this little one for our family.  He knew we needed her as much as she needed a forever family and we are forever changed.

Our weeks have been full of appointments and therapies and just trying to figure the new normal out.  Each week Little A has physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.  We are anxiously awaiting the day the language explosion hits.  This little one is so very expressive and certainly has a story to share, we just need to help her find her voice.  She is an OT and PT rockstar and is showing improvement daily in her body strength and coordination.

Over the past two weeks we have seen the orthopedist, orthotist, dentist, audiologist and ENT and tomorrow Little A will undergo an MRI of her brain.  I feel tired just typing all of this and must say we are all a little exhausted but we want our girl to receive the treatment and help she needs to soar.  Overall, the consensus is she is doing great and will continue to excel with therapy and time.  I would be lying if I said I was not a little anxious about tomorrow's test.  The results will most likely confirm what we already know so I am trying not to get too worked up over it. 

Overall we are doing pretty well.  We are taking one day at a time - sometimes one hour at a time and just reveling in the family that God has knit together.