Travel Approval Has Arrived on the 5th Anniversary of Waiting for Emma

Today, it has been exactly 5 years since China logged in our dossier and we officially began the long 5 year wait for our sweet Emma. Last year, on June 22nd, we thought of how we had waited 4 years as we made our way across the country stuffed in our car and wondered if this would be the last summer without Emma. 2 years ago, we had only just arrived in NYC and on the 22nd, the 3 year wait seemed so long that it couldn't possibly get any longer...And June 22, 2008, we were sure it wouldn't be another year....June 22, 2007, we were here visiting from our home in England and we were sure that by Christmas, perhaps we would see her face...Little did we really understand that the wait would be this long. One thing we did know for sure. When we saw her face for the first time, whatever amount of time would melt away. And it has. Just 21 days ago, we finally saw her face. And the last 3 weeks have been busy ones filled with joy, the unexpected, fears, discouragement and hope all stuffed into this short time. And as we wait to hear more from the many doctors who are helping us piece it all together, we are filled with gratitude and hope. Gratitude for the prayers on our behalf, for an amazing adoption agency, for the information and medical tests so quickly given and for so much more. Hopeful. Hopeful that all this too will melt away when we see her face to face for the first time and finally take her in our arms.

Today, our travel approval, our invitation from China to travel to bring her home, arrived. Finally. Exactly 5 years later. That means holding her in our arms is only a few short weeks away.

Now, we await our Consulate appointment date, which should arrive in the next couple of days!

We are coming, Sweet Emma Zhi.

To Our Emma Zhi: A Sunday Snapshot

Dear Little Sweet Emma Zhi,

Your sweet little face appeared on our screen just one week ago. And while my heart melted and the tears of 5 long years waiting poured forth, your big sister shrieked with joy. And well, you had your daddy's heart instantly.




And since then, you have been in every thought, every moment of our days. Your big sister made copies of your picture to share with everyone she knows and doesn't know, "I am a big sister and this, this is my sweet little sister."



We have studied every word of your short story, every detail of each sweet captured moment of your life. We know that you love soft cloth books and baby dolls. We know that you have wonderful big feet like your sister and that your mouth is open...a lot. We know that their have been some rough patches for you... We know very little about you, really.





But this, this we do know for absolute certainty.
You, sweet Emma Zhi, are woven so deep in our hearts that no matter what may come, you are ours. You are loved. You are truly and completely loved.



And we are counting down (your big sister has already posted countdowns on all the walls) the days until we finally hold you and instead of reaching out and staring at another corner of one of these little pictures, we will look right into your beautiful eyes and tell you how very loved you are, Sweet Emma Zhi.

On Our Referral Day A Picture Was Taken

Yesterday, while we were anxiously awaiting the call and then rejoicing and celebrating our Little Emma, a picture was taken of little Yuan Zhi on the very same day. And less than a 24 hours later, our agency sent us the brand new pictures of her on her referral day. Little did she know that half way around the world people who already adored her were looking at her precious little face.

These are pictures taken yesterday and sent to us today. How much do I want to play with the crazy hair? A lot.

Crazy and Deliriously Happy: Day 2

Both stories of our daughter's entrance into our world come with their own glimpses of hope and of joy.

When we received our referral for Sara Graceanna in 2004, it was two years after our heartbreaking loss of my sweet brother Nathaniel and sister Sara. It had been a painful and long journey in its own right. I had lost hope. I had lost joy. I was empty. Then, after picking up the adoption after it was stalled for so long after losing Nathaniel and Sara, evidences of grace and hope were scattered along our road to Graceanna. The week of her birth and abandonment was the week on the other side of the globe that we fell upon her name, Graceanna, a double portion of grace, something a kind lady had assured me that God was working in my life, even in my grief. Praying that first Christmas following the accident that God would give me some bit of joy, of peace, of grace in my life and finding out after our referral that our soon to be daughter was conceived that December. And that day when we first saw her face. I was standing on a tower of boxes cleaning my office that Tuesday afternoon. My reader, a student who worked for me, answered the phone and I told her to take a message and she told me to TAKE THE CALL. Realizing it was Hillary from CCAI, I almost lost my balance on a precarious stack of boxes and plummeted to the floor. Hearing her say, "I know you have been through so much and I just wanted to call you personally to tell you that you are a mom of a beautiful little girl...." The tears that followed. The inability to recall my password to open my email. My reader somehow knowing my password. My office filling with students pouring out into the hall. My husband running from his office to mine as her picture slowly appeared from bottom to top, old school fashion and then the tears, the crying, the clearing of the room until it was just Matt, me and this face I had always known in the depths of my heart. And the joy. The return of joy. That was an incredible story. So many pieces of beauty and brokenness tied up into a picture of hope.

Yesterday, the climax to a second story. Emma's story. Graceanna's story. Our story. A long, long road of so many turns, so many unbelievable moments of uncertainty in our lives. New journeys of purpose, leaving and letting go of our lives as teachers and entering the unknown. Everyday a challenge in faith or a question of "what were we thinking?" The heart of a little sister that was so desperately wanting a sweet baby sister that never a day in 5 years went by without a prayer for her and a longing for her. 5 years of travels, new countries, new homes, challenges, interesting people, even more interesting sagas. Each year bringing a new home, a new country and a new adventure all from the same 6 suitcases, but no mei mei for Gracie.

And now, here we are. 6 years after starting the process for Emma, 5 years after her paperwork arrived in China and 5 years after Matt started medical school. Here we are. Matt turned 40 a couple of months ago, and last month he received his diploma for medical school in the mail. In a week, he marches at Lincoln Center in downtown Manhattan. And, I am happy and pleased to say when he does, he will be holding a picture of a little girl. A little baby girl long awaited, long hoped for, long prayed for. A little girl in our hearts long before she was even conceived. A little baby girl whose big sister has been praying for her, planning for her and talking to her long before she even opened her eyes for the first time.

Two wonderful stories of joy and hope and a lot of patience and faith.
And two beautiful gifts to remind us that life is very, very good.


So, look at those yummy sweet cheeks and lips. I am thinking they look a little like sisters...

Introducing Our Beautiful Little Girl!

After 5 years of waiting, we have just seen our daughter's face for the first time. It has been a long wait....But really, it hasn't been a "wait". We have longed for Emma for 6 years. She has been in our hearts and our prayers daily. But in the last five years, life has been enriched with adventure, challenges and changes, travels and more. In the last five years, we have had the privilege of living in some pretty incredible places. I always dreamed of living in England. We did that. I needed a change from the life of a boarding school teacher and we left our careers and stuff and moved to the Caribbean. We took on life in the city of NYC for a couple of years and learned we could not only survive the city, but fall in love with it. Yes, we have longed for Emma for 5 years. And each night for those five years, my daughter has prayed for her sister and wondered what she will be like. Five Christmases have come and gone with thoughts and hops that the next Christmas we would share with her. Never far from our hearts...But in the "waiting" we didn't waste away the present. And now, at the end of one journey through medical school and all our travels, we prepare to start a new chapter. A new turn in the road that takes us to the next step in Matt's career, a new place to call home, and finally, our Emma. Finally.

And the phone rang. Today. Just when I said, "why haven't they ..." They called. The phone rang and I was overcome with joy. All my thoughts and words escaped me completely. I don't know what I asked, what I said. My husband and Graceanna came running across the room. We gathered around the phone with our video camera running and met our long adored, long sought after daughter and Graceanna's long awaited, long prayed for little sister.

So, we would like to introduce to you our daughter:

Emmalyn LeRea Yuan Zhi

Yuan Zhi
means source or spring of peace and noble flower.

10 months old from Hunan Province, the province of our sweet Graceanna.

And we are in love.