I'm not sure words can adequately communicate the flood of emotions we have experienced today. It has been quite an amazing journey. We started with a very quiet young girl whose emotions of grief began to appear in a short time after we initially met her. At the time she wanted absolutely nothing to do with us. She would only communicate with a women from the orphanage and made no eye contact with us whatsoever. We did not wait too long and the adoption representative told us we should go back to our hotel. It was a huge effort getting her into the cab and away from the orphanage people. However, after a short time of grieving she began to attach to "ma ma" and then to her older sister "gi gi". By the time it was time to go back to apply for the adoption registration she had begun to trust and embrace all of us. We are overwhelmed at God's grace given to us through your tremendous prayer intercession on our behalf ... to Him goes all the praise, the honor, and the glory!!!
17 comments:
It is 6:20 am and Maggie and I awoke to the new family pictures :) We thought of you last night as we sat with Michelle Abel for Calebs first Middletown High School game (and he almost scored). We got home and couldnt sleep because of our prayerful day KNOWING and TRUSTING that God would unite you and She O Chin (that is how I have to spell it for now; sorry)as a family and that time has FINALLY arrived. I cannot fathom all that God does to surprise us with his love. The first picture of She O Chin and Shane made us amazed. They both have the same eyes and smile :) The one of She O Chin and her Teddy Bear has already been printed and is on Maggie's high school binder as she travels to school today. And the one of Todd and She O Chin made me realize a fathers love and how much our FATHER loves us in heaven and I cannot imagine that God love us MORE than that. I love you beauty and thank you for sharing this journey with us. I look forward to more pictures; more blogs and especially more tender time and an amazing adventure for your entire family; a family of FIVE. May God pour abundant blessings on you today and allow you a restful night sleep as you listen to She O Chin breathe quietly asleep with her OWN family and her OWN bed and her OWN pjs on her little butt. love you. Darcie
Aww!!!! I'm so happy for you guys! She's so beautiful! I can't wait to meet her! I miss you guys so much! Stay safe on your way home! I love you guys so much! God is SOOOOO good! <3
I was thinking of you all last night as I went to bed, knowing you were spending your first day together as a family. Sophie is just precious!!! That beautiful smile is great! We are praying for you and thinking of you. Try to see as much of China as you can, if you can take your eyes off your gorgeous new daughter! :-)
Love,
Susan J.
P.S. Chef salad? No way - ya gotta eat Chinese food! hahaha Actually, do be careful eating raw veggies. You can get too much water in those. :-)
We are so happy for you! Your "new" family looks absolutely perfect. Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in China. We look forward to your return and meeting Sophie Rose. :)
The Peters
Wow!! How amazing to see her WITH you after looking at her in pictures!! PTL!!!
We prayed hard last night that she would bond with you and will continue to pray.
She is adorable....and is it possible that she is wearing the same dress as the Stegall girls????
Let us know how else we can pray!!
Maddie just looked at your photos and says, "Please put more photos!" She also says, "When I saw Mommy and Daddy in China, I was a little scared. Now I love my Mommy and Daddy. Don't be scared...you will love your family!"
Heather Luke
Tears of joy have overwhelmed me this morning! What joy on her face in these pics! How kind God is to have her attach so quickly. I am in awe of His goodness.
She is absolutely gorgeous! What a blessed family! You all look so happy. Please give her our love... even if it is just a hug from home :)
Oh Happy Day!! Couldn't wait to get on this morning to see the first pictures. I was teary eyed to see her. I was so glad to see her smiling, that shows how much God is already at work. When I saw the pic. of her and Shane I was amazed at how much some of their facial featurs where similar. Praising God for how much he has already knitted your hearts together. He does have a perfect plan for us in his perfect time. Rejoicing with you!
Jackie
YEAH !!! Benzels!!!
Praise God - one chapter is written and a NEW one is beginning!!
We are praying for peace for Sophie as she sleeps and strength for EACH new day.
A new journey is beginning. We are praying for you.
Kara hopes she can meet Sophie while they both are still seven. :o)
Sophie is PRECIOUS and
you all look beautiful together!!
Whoot - Whoot - way to go God!!
The Strites
Oops -
last post should have been signed
Lynda for the Strites ;o)
I understand adoption trips can have so many layers of emotions and experiences. We are praying for God to be with you in all of it.
So happy for you,
Lynda for the Strites ;o)
She's just so much cuteness! Rejoicing with you. Praising the Lord.
Love the photos of Denise and the girls. The Author of the universe truly holds every detail in His hand. Awesome and Worthy of praise!
(my)Shane thinks Sophie is 'boo a full' and he wants to know where Jon is in the photos of Denise.
Love these updates! Keep them coming with more photos, please! :)
SO happy for you all!!! Continue to pray for a smooth transition for your new little girl.
I am so blessed in being able to read this! It brings tears to my eyes to see how incredibly happy she is with you. God is amazing and this situation is a prime example of how gracious He is! I'm so thankful that He has made this possible for you all. I'm praying for a safe return and can't wait to see everyone! Love you!!
We could not wait to run downstairs this morning to see what you had posted. There are not words to describe the first pictures of Sophie. She is BEAUTIFUL!!! Her smile displays the goodness and faithfulness of our amazing God. I cried and the 3 of us were (and still are!) simply overwhelmed with THANKSGIVING and JOY. How GREAT is our GOD!! The first scripture that came to mind was Psalm 118:23
"This is the LORDS doing; it is marvelous in our eyes."
Also continuing to pray Numbers 6:24-26 for your family of "5"
Much love to you all,
Cindy
Praising God for the work he did to prepare Sophie's heart to love you all. What a sweet memory the 1 a.m. time with her will be. (We actually have our own sweet memory of Andrew's first night with us when he was almost seven months.) What a joy to see God glorified in the so-evident love you all share in your first hours together.
Wow, wow, wow! There really are no words to express how excited we are for you all!!! Thank you for letting us be a part of the journey. God's grace that continues to be poured out to you all is faith building and inspiring!
We love you and can't wait to meet her!!! Love you, Tom & Renee and kids
Hello My Sweet Friends,
I'm so enjoying all of this: your pics and notes and all of what everyone else is saying, too! How marvelous HE is! Well, I guess you know how much I'm missin' you, but I'm thrilled at what you're experiencing and I know God is doing a mighty work in all of your hearts. I'll be agreein' w/the rest; more pics (is there any way to call u; I've tried 3times now; oh well, I'll try to be patient!)
Love you way too much!!
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