it's your first birthday lilah

It's your first birthday today Lilah - you're one year old! It's hard to put words to a post like this because we miss you terribly on this special day. We love you so much and it's hard knowing we're missing your first birthday.

On Sunday 13th April when Cathy called to tell us about you, she gave us 3 facts; your name, your birthday and the province you were born in. I will never forget that day; it will live with me forever. When we found out you were born in May we couldn't help but be amazed that we all shared the same birth month!

You're our precious little girl Lilah and we'll make this day up to you in the days and months and years to come, all being well. We love you so much baby girl. We bought a cake as a reminder of your first birthday, it's not edible but you can play and have some fun with it when you're a teeny bit older!

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

finding ad

We take it for granted that we have many photos of ourselves as babies and even more so now in a world of digital cameras; photos of our children are in abundance. Unfortunately orphanages in China don't have the time or money to take a lot of photos of the babies in their care. In most cases we will only get our little one's referral photo and maybe one update during the waiting period. Since 1999, the orphanages in China are required to run a provincial newspaper advertisement for children that are found and brought to their orphanage. They are called 'Finding Ads' - these ads contain information about where and when the children were found and which orphanage is caring for them. Originally these were text only ads, but most provinces now include photographs. These photographs are usually the earliest available pictures of our children, some from as young as a few weeks old.

Brian Stuy and his wife Longlan (adoptive parents to three beautiful Chinese girls) maintain this website - www.research-china.org - they locate the baby's finding ad, send a photo of the picture in the newspaper and may even have a copy of the actual newspaper!

Our daughter, Dong Xiao Tong's ad was in the 'Yangcheng Evening Newspaper' published July 13th, 2007 and is the 777th picture ad for 2007. She is so precious! Being able to get her baby picture is an opportunity we are most grateful for.

Deuteronomy 26:11 - And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house.

our dossier has been sent to china

Our LOA (Letter Of Acceptance) and dossier have been translated, notarized and were sent online to China today. Now we are waiting for our LSC (Letter Seeking Confirmation) which can take anywhere from 3-4 months.

Romans 8:25 - But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

mothering sunday (x2)

I am only a mother to a photograph of my daughter this year, all being well next year will be the real deal and I'll have earned this day! Psalm 127:3 - Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. I really enjoyed the following poem and thought I would share it.

-----------------------------------------------

"THE LOVE OF TWO WOMEN"

Once there were two women
living half a world apart.
God joined these women together
with a common thread between their hearts.

In one, He created a life,
a beautiful baby girl.
In the other, He planted an idea,
weighing it heavily on her soul.

The first, heartbroken, faith strong,
knew the baby wasn't hers to raise.
She watched as the baby was taken,
and knelt down to God in praise.

The second, frightened, faith strong,
asked God to hold her hand
as she traveled toward a dream
to an unfamiliar, distant land.

The baby, she was beautiful,
an angelic Asian face.
She stared, wide-eyed and curious,
as into her mother's arms she was placed.

And there were tears full of sadness
as one mother's heart wept.
And there were tears full of gladness
as one mother's heart leapt.

Two very different women
with a common circumstance.
Each asking for God's guidance
instead of leaving life to chance.

Two very different women
who love the same little girl,
praying to God daily
to guide her through this world.

And though they'll never meet,
they are forever joined heart to heart
by the same awesome God,
lands apart.

by adoptive parent, Shannon

our daughter's current home

Yangdong County SWI in Guangdong Province, China

The orphanage is located in Dongcheng Town. The director of the orphanage is Mr. Jiang. He became the director in 2003, and prior to becoming director he worked for 20 years as a surgeon at the nearby People's Hospital of Yangdong. You can read more about the orphanage here.

Also, here and here are blogs of families who have visited the orphanage. It's really nice to know that the staff try their hardest to give the children the best possible care, unfortunately this isn't always the case. But still, reading through these blogs breaks our hearts - all we can do is pray and we leave our little Lilah in God's care.