lilah's 12 month medical update

Today we received Lilah's 12 month medical update! We are thrilled that she is developing well; she must be adorable looking with those little teeth. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures, but we will stay optimistic that they will maybe come later. Here are the measurements from her birth and 6 month reports we received previously, and also her 12 month report we received today. I can't wait to hold my precious baby girl!

	BIRTH	6 MONTHS	12 MONTHS
HEIGHT:	53cm	62cm	77cm
WEIGHT:	3.8kg	7.2kg	8.6kg
HEAD SIZE:	33cm	41cm	44cm
CHEST SIZE:	33cm	42cm	45cm
TEETH:	0	0	4

daddy's day

Happy Father's Day Colin!

There is one thing I know for sure, and that is what a fantastic father you will be to our little Lilah girl.

To my daughter - Kisses in the Wind

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are, what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin.
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my baby girl, I'm doing all that I can do.

love, love and more love

We can't get enough of our baby girl. We look at her picture many times a day declaring our love for her. I was reminded last Sunday of the following verse, speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 1:8 - Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. What a beautiful verse!

care package enroute to yangdong swi

So our agency told us we are allowed to send a care package to the orphanage for our little Lilah. It took us quite a while to figure out what exactly would go into that small package! We finally decided on the following...

- A little dress with matching ruffle bums and a little clip for her beautiful hair.
- A photo book with her mama and baba's pictures in it, so maybe she will recognize us!
- A new dolly since it's her favourite toy.
- Candy for her caregivers and a letter thanking them for looking after her.

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.

eleven months old today

Our baby girl is eleven months old today. We're missing this special milestone in her life. A milestone when she might be standing alone or learning to walk, she'll be understanding words and maybe even using her fine motor skills.

We don't know the reasons...but God does
We don't know when...but God does
We don't know how long...but God does
And we continue to trust and lean on Him

what's in a name

It's an interesting topic in the world of adoption. Should we keep our child's name that the SWI staff gave her, or change it? There have been a lot of discussions on this very topic and we have had to make some tough decisions. We wanted her to have an English name, however we also wanted to keep her Chinese name so she could change it back if ever she wanted. We have now decided on all the parts to our little girl's name and where they will fit in! We never imagined our daughters name to be this long, but it's beautiful, and here it is...Lilah Grace Xiao Tong Meaklim.

The names given to her by the Yangdong Social Welfare Institute:
Dong - surname given to all children in the care of the Yangdong SWI
Xiao - name given to all the girls in the SWI that were born in 2007
Tong - her given name that sets her apart

The meanings and reasons for her chosen names:
Lilah - (lilac tree) - because we love the name
Grace - (blessing from God) - because she was given to us by God
Xiao Tong - (morning redness) - because it's her name & her heritage

our daughter's birth province

Curious to know more about the Province in which our daughter lives, I've been researching the Guangdong Province. What an amazing place! I found some great information here.

Guangdong is located in South China, with an area of 178,000 square kilometers, and a population of 65 million. It adjoins the Wuling Mountains to the north and the South China Sea to the south, with a landscape sloping from north to south. It's mountainous in the north, and in the south there are coastal plains, hills and tablelands. The deltas of the Pearl River and Han River are its chief plains. The West River, North River and East River known as "The Peal River System" as well as Han River are Guangdong's main waterways. Its coastline is long and zigzagged with numerous offshore islands. With the Tropic of Cancer running across its central land, Guangdong is, in the main, subject to south sub-tropical humid climate.

Guangdong boasts abundant natural and historical sites and sceneries, including Yuexiu Hill in Guangzhou, botanical garden of South China, Xiqiao Mountain, Conghua Hot Springs, the Window of the World, the Yuexiu Park, the Seven Star Crags, and Dinghu Mountain. Guangzhou and Chaozhou are the renowned historical and cultural cities and Foshan is one of the Four Great Towns nationwide.

Guangdong cuisine, one of the Eight Great Cuisines, emphasizes seafood, and unique, mixed flavorings. It is divided into three branches: Guangdong food is traditional Guangdong cuisine; Chaozhou food is similar to Fujian cuisine because Chaozhou neighbors Fujian Province; and Dongjiang food, which is represented by Huizhou food, emphasizes domestic animals and poultry. The dietetic culture of Guangdong has retained many eating habits and customs of the ancient people, such as eating snakes. In short, to the people of Guangdong, everything that walks, crawls, flies, or swims is edible.

our little guangdong girl

Our referral has arrived and we are absolutely elated!

Our little baby girl, Dong Xiao Tong was born May 29th, 2007 in Guangdong Province, China. According to the information provided, she likes to play with dolls and listen to music! We just think she is the most beautiful baby we've ever set eyes on!

We're so in love with her.

These pictures were taken November 2007; she would have been around 6 months old.

what's in lilah's wardrobe

It's been awhile since my last post. At the request of my dear husband I am posting some of the contents of Lilah's wardrobe! It seems to be growing by the day; the longer the wait, the larger it gets! Click on the links to see her clothes, hairclips and stuff.

Oh how I love to shop!

approved by the ministry of ontario

We received some good news today! We have been approved by the Ministry of Ontario and are now able to proceed with the China 'Waiting Children' program, through Children's Bridge.

Now we're just waiting and praying for our little girl.