From Childless to toddler in 18 days

Our walk down memory lane this month brings us to today May 19th. It was a year ago today that we received a second gift from our agency and from China. It came in the form of an "update". We were luck to receive an update about Sophia, her physical, medical and developmental state. We also received 7 beautiful pictures that we cherish still today. In a matter of 18 days we went from being a childless couple to being the parents of this little girl whom we only saw as a 6 month old baby until may 19th. These seven pictures fast forwarded things for us in a big way. We now were the parents of a toddler with quite a personality. We learned that she could stand and from studding the pictures gathered that she could walk (the dirty shoes. They are the shoes she was wearing on Family Day). We also got a glimpse of Sophia's foster mother and we learned that Sophia was inquisitive based on the fact that she was trying to see what was going on around the corner. We were able to see where it was she was living and a bit of the surroundings. We both studied these pictures for any kind of information that would help us to better know this child who would become our daughter in a few short days. We learned that she could drive a motorcycle and thought how perfect (we live in Daytona Beach, FL the home of Bike week and Biketober Fest). Most of all we were able to see that Sophia had the most amazing eyes and the sweetest smile. These updates are so valuable to anyone who is waiting to travel to meet their child. It is just a bit of added information that you can share with your child later in life.

A very Happy Mother's Day

Me and my Daughter
it is so wonderful to say that.

For so many years Mother's Day was one of the hardest days of the year for me. For so long I dreamed of being a mother. Long before we decided to adopt I wanted to be a mother but it never happened for whatever reason. I always wondered why I had not been blessed with a child to love and to call my own. It was not until we decided to adopt that all began to change. Each year that we waited for Sophia we celebrated because in my heart we were already parents and I already a mother. This year was my first Mother's Day that there was no sadness or emptiness just pure love, joy and more happiness then I ever dreamed possible..


I hope that all of my family and friends had a very happy Mother's Day I thought of you all many times through out the day.

We also took time as we will every year to honor Sophia's first mothers both her birth mother and her foster mother. We feel if it were not for these two women we would not be so blessed today.

What a difference a year can make

One year ago today (May 2, 2oo8). Our lives changed in the most remarkable way. We went from dreaming of our daughter. Wondering what she looked like, where she was and how old she was to knowing her and some of the details of her life. We have been reminiscing about that day for a week or so now and it has been amazing to look back on such a wonderful time in our lives. It is unbelievable to us how much our lives have changed for the better in the last year. Sophia added so much joy and excitement to our home and to our lives that day and every day since then. I was looking through documents on my computer yesterday and came across an e-mail from Uncle Zhou. Zhou is a true angel to us and all the EAC families that he has helped join together. One year ago today I opened my computer at lunch time and saw this and life from that moment on changed forever.....

"CONGRATULATIONS

Jan.10 LID group and all, Hi!Congratulations to your referrals. Kim in the Office is busy copying the referrals right now, she will call you pretty soon. Just let you know they are in the office. We got twins too. How exciting. Babies are young, about 10 months old, from Jiangxi Province. Again congratulations. Remember today is a great day for all of us.By the way, I am right now in Beijing with a family. We are going to Inner Mogolia to adopt a baby girl.

Zhou in Beijing"

These pictures were the first glimpses of our daughter. They were in this order and the most beautiful pictures we had ever seen. They still are very precious to us for so many reasons. Sophia was 6 months old in these pictures.

The Mug Shot

The High Chair

The laughing baby