Friendships

I think that I'll always be a daughter of two countries, two mothers, two cultures... Without both I would feel incomplete. - Jena Cook, age 16

We have been very fortunate to meet wonderful people along our adoption journey. Those relationships are priceless to us for many reasons. The most important reason is Sophia and what those relationships will mean to her as she grows. Riz and I (nor our families) can relate to the challenges that life will give Sophia. We can not understand what it will be like to be raised in a family where you don't look like anyone else. We can not relate to the loss that she has endured or how she will deal with that down the road. What we can do is surround her with friends that can relate to her life experience. Riz and I have been on the same page about this particular issue from day one. We have worked really hard, together (stepping outside our comfort zone sometimes) to surround ourselves with people who not only enrich our lives but who will enrich Sophia's life as she grows. While I was reading a blog that I just love (my friend Kim B) I stumbled across a wonderful story about 3 teenage girls. These three 16 year old girls were adopted in 1992 by American families from Wuhan China. Their mothers and fathers made the effort to stay in touch and to foster friendships between their girls. I wont tell you anymore go Here and watch the slide show...oh and grab some tissues....

I will say this.. We hope that We can provide these kinds of relationships for Sophia. We hope that we can raise Sophia to be as confident, well spoken, self assured as the girls in this slide show.