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
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
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 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.
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!
