Friday, January 04, 2008

One year ago today....

One year ago today, January 4, 2006, Mr. U and I got "the call" from our adoption agency. They were calling with our referral- all the information and a few pictures about our new, long awaited baby girl.

The wait to adopt was only supposed to be 6 months, but, for us, it turned into a 15 month wait (it is even LONGER now!!!!!!!), but when we were on the phone with our agency, hearing all about our new little one, the wait suddenly seemed short! We were finally to see our new daughter's face. And what a wonderful face it was...


Now, this is what our little Elizabeth has turned into...


A sweet, kind, loving, full-of-giggles-and-smiles girl. We cannot imagine how in the world we ever had a life without her. What a blessing!!!

29 comments:

Jen said...

She is beautiful...what a treasure! I can think of so many questions to ask you..we have been praying for almost a year about possibly adopting a girl from China. It's a long story...seeing your little Elizabeth here is so sweet! I love the comparison photos! All the photos we've seen through the agency have been so similiar, except most of our girls (and boys) have some sort of cleft palate or birth mark etc. I want to cry when I see them because I know they were cast aside like garbage.
Thanks for sharing your journey. I'd love to ask you some questions sometime! You can click over to my blog and find my e-mail there whenever you have the time.
Be blessed and a blessing today!

Paula said...

I'm sure you cannot imagine what live was like before Elizabeth came into your life. What a blessing she must be!

Tracy said...

She is so very beautiful, and obviously cherished. I love how God exalts what some consider unworthy, don't you?

Anonymous said...

Isn't it amazing how quickly these children become so much of us that we can't imagine life without them?

What a wonderful anniversary!

Paula said...

Mrs. U, love the pictures! We recently were matched with our 3-year-old daughter from China. We are very excited to be bringing her home--most likely next month!!

Blessings,
Paula

Wendi said...

Wow! It is hard to believe that it has been a year for you already. Time flies when you are having fun and oh boy! has it been fun! Congratulations on your one year referral anniversary. What a beauty Elizabeth is!

Tammy said...

She is so precious! It is a shame that the wait has to be sooooo long! It doesn't make sense!

Anonymous said...

she is SO cute!!!

Melody said...

She is absolutely beautiful. I love it when you share pictures of her!

We adopted our little one, and it is so exciting to get THE call, isn't it? I don't know about you, but after enduring such a long wait, it makes me stop to cherish my son more than I might have otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the one year anniversary of your referral! The referral, like seeing your child in person for the first time, is an experience that is stamped on one's heart and mind forever. I am also an adoptive mother and a social worker who has worked in adoption for over 15 years. How sad I become when people assume that these children were "thrown away" or considered unworthy. This is certainly not the case for the vast majority of birthparents who make the most difficult choice that they will ever face when they determine that they will not be the ones able to raise the child that they gave birth to. Until one lives in a situation like this, it is unfair to make the harsh judgments that appear in some of the comments to this post. Elizabeth is an extrodinarily beautiful child. I hope that you and your family will continue to enjoy many precious years together.

Connie J said...

No way, it's been a year since you first saw your beautiful girl! Congratulations on your anniversary. Now, whatever was life like before Princess E! What a blessing!

Julieann said...

Oh yes, Mrs. U!!!! What a beautiful blessing she is:)

Julieann

Sharon said...

She is so beautiful!! I know you are proud parents.
:-)

Jen said...

I'm sorry if my previous comment seemed insensitive. My sister is adopted and I know it was agonizing for her mother, who loved her very much, to give her up. She did so out of love and I have always felt blessed because of her decision. I simply know, because of cultural differences, many children who are born with physical imperfections in China, are considered "bad luck" or unworthy to be cared for. They are cast aside and even left to die in some situations.
Having said that, I am so sorry if it seemed that I was harshly judging anyone who chooses to put their own child up for adoption. Circumstances in China are very different from the US...please forgive.

Theresa's Notes said...

Happy Birthday to your beautiful daughter!

Charree said...

What a beautiful little blessing. I am so glad that everything is going well and that you can remember the joy of that day.

Susan P. said...

She is such a darling little girl and she looks sooo happy! What a marvelous and wonderful blessing she must be!

Doug and Terrye said...

How sweet!! Isn't it amazing the changes that have happened. We received our referral 2 years ago also, and I posted on our blog. Isn't God's sovereignty amazing?!?!

Cyndi Lewis said...

What a wonderful and beautiful blessing! God is good!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Jen, what a lovely response to me comment.

Kelli said...

What a wonderful blessing your little girl is!! Congratulations on your anniversary!
Hugs,
Kelli

Mrs. U said...

Anonymous, I am a little late in commenting here, but if you were referring to Jen's comment as being a "harsh judgment", I think you are wrong. The Chinese people look down on the unlovely. Jen referred to special needs children and in China "looks" are everything. Several workers in our hotel kept referring to "broken babies", meaning special needs children. They didn't know why Americans kept coming to China to take "broken babies", didn't they want normal, happy babies instead. Sad, yes, but that is how it is viewed.

Perhaps you were referring to another comment, though. If so, just assume my comment here is just extra information. :)

His,
Mrs. U

Linda said...

She is so cute--and I am sure she is thriving with parents like you and husband. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

I think the issue is the phrase being cast aside like garbage. We are adopting a special needs boy from China. Being tossed out like garbage makes it seem like there wasn't any thought process involved. I'm sure it is hard for any mother to abandon their child and there was alot of thought and grief involved.

Mrs. U said...

Anonymous, it is very kind of you to think so highly of all mothers. Let's pray that it truly is hard for mothers in China to leave their babies.

His,
Mrs. U

My Blessings From Above said...

Happy Anniversary! I remember our referral calls like it was yesterday!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you have such a precious little one to add to you family! I really enjoy your posts and blog in general.

Blessings,

Trixie

kathyann said...

What a beautiful little girl! You are so blessed! She was so worth waiting for!Love from Kathyann and the girls from meg's mum's muffins

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

What a little beauty! A blessing indeed!

We have a 16-month-old granddaughter named Elisabeth!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Katherine

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