Happy "Gotcha day" Linzhi! (videos included)

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's been a whole year since God placed Linzhi Rose Xiao Li in our arms for the first time. I promise you, the memory is still so very strong for both CJ and me. So for fun, I have cut and pasted my text from Gotcha Day from our MAW website. When I read it, I still get chills and my stomach drops. I wish I could put into words how extremely nervous CJ and I were on that day. We really had no diagnosis on Linzhi so we were going by blind faith with trust that our Lord chose this child for our daughter and HE would get us through it all and he has... Here's my post from November 19, 2007...


(Pre-Gotcha)
CJ and I are sitting here wanting to put into words how we feel at this very moment…hours before we are united with our little girl. To say we’re nervous/anxious would be an understatement. We are overjoyed with the feelings of being completely blessed too. This website is for Linzhi so with that said. Linzhi, your mama and baba love you and want you so much. You are our angel and even though you were not carried in your mommy’s womb, we carried you in our hearts. We are honored that God chose you to be our daughter and to think of all the millions of people in China he found you! Our darling, little angel. We pray that you come to understand how much you were wanted. Your birth parents wanted to keep you but the circumstances made it impossible and we hurt for them because they chose to give you life and a chance at finding a forever family. We will never forget the sacrifice they made and the heartache they bear not having you with them.In less than 4 hours you will be with your mama and baba and we will never leave you, ever. You will never go hungry or be afraid without someone there to comfort you. We will teach you about our Lord and Savior Jesus and our hope is that one day you will come back to China and maybe bring a baby home yourself. You are such a brave little girl and our hearts overflow with love for you.


FOREVER FAMILY DAY!!!!

Trevor and Rachel, we’d like to introduce you to your new sister and is she ever a cutie pie…. Absolutely beautiful!We are in awe of God’s grace!We met Jane in the lobby at 12:45 to go over some paperwork and exchange money then headed over to the civil affairs office. We were the first to arrive and as we walked in we saw through the big windows a baby coming. We knew the child wasn’t Linzhi because she was an infant. At this point CJ and I were getting very emotional, we kept looking out the window and sure enough we see Linzhi being carried in my the orphanage director! At that point we were shaking and all of us were in tears. In she came, not a peep out of her. She went to both CJ and I without any problem. At one point she started to get a little teary eyed so daddy gave her a cheerio and boy, she loves them! We were able to sit and talk with the nanny, she answered several questions and she kept telling us how smart she was but more on the shy side. We were also presented a special gift from the orphanage. They gave us a photo album with around 20 pictures of her throughout her babyhood. What a blessing for her to be able to have baby pictures to show her children one day! After that we went up to the notary’s office took our pictures for her passport and then headed back to the hotel. When we returned our guide Jane pre-ordered our dinner and it was delicious! Did I mention Linzhi is not a picky eater? She loves to eat and she gobbled up all her rice and eggs. She has also been drinking lots of water too so that in itself is a huge blessing. Many kids will refuse food and drink for a few days. Back in the hotel we were able to give Linzhi a bath, she fussed for a minute but then started splashing the water without a smile. After that we dressed her and played then the most exciting this happened. She walked over into her daddy’s arms with a big smile on her face!!! This is God’s grace again… then she walked right into mama’s arms with a smile! Praise God!!Her hair is thick and shiny and her teeth are beautiful white. She was fed well because she is not at all bony. She can bend her elbows but not too much and she is able to hold and pick up objects. Linzhi is also making excellent eye contact with both CJ and myself, thank the Lord again!At bedtime she started to grieve and it was just gut wrenching to see her in so much emotional pain. She kept looking around for something familiar, so mama rocked her and daddy walked her…finally she was able to fall asleep and now she’s snoring!!Please continue to pray that her grieving is less and less. She is such a strong, brave little angel and I know God will heal her.

Linzhi Rose, you have changed our lives forever. Linzhi is our sweet, stubborn little China angel that is always ready to give out kisses. Every morning she says in her sweet little voice "Morning Baby" or "Morning pumpkin". When I look at you, I'm still in awe that you're actually here with us!

Happy Gotcha day!!
Love,
Daddy & Mommy

You can view our complete China journey by clicking this link www.myadoptionwebsite.com/linzhi