We've had a busy few weeks at our house!
Nana and Pop came for a weekend and Pop got to meet his newest granddaughter for the first time! I was a tad bit nervous about her reaction to him, but she did FABULOUS! She just "knew" that this was her pop and let him hug and cuddle and rock her! I really think the only other man that she has ever let hold her is her daddy so this was big! Nana and Pop were here for three (short) days and we can't wait to go to their house once school gets out.
Tammi Nowack also did a shoot for Ashley. When she gets nervous she puts her fingers in her mouth and apparently she was nervous a lot. Or maybe she was cold. It was about 45 degrees the morning we did pics and this bad mama made her wear a summer dress:) Go check out Tammi's site....she is AMAZING! We were honored to have her photo Ashley...and wish she could have been with us to take pics IN China :)
Well, today marks two months home with our Hunan "spicy" girl. In some ways, it seems like it's flown by and in others, I can feel everyday. I know things appear to be perfect and rosy with her, but I can assure you they are not. SHE of course, is a tremendous blessing whom we adore, but adoption is hard. This 21 month old has been through more in the last 2 months than most of us could ever imagine. She is still grieving her life in China and will for some time.
The only way I can wrap my brain around it is to think of Annalyse. She's 2 years and 4 months old. Think if one day, someone picked her up, drove her to a Chinese family, dropped her off and then 13 days later, flew her to China to live forever. Changed her diet, her language, her clothes and took away us...her mama and daddy. Ashley has experienced just that. (remember she was not in an orphanage, she was in foster care.)
For the most part, things are going beautifully....but she still has hard days. Overall, she is a JOY and we love her to pieces....and we continue to pray for her heart to be healed and mended.
The other night as Jay was praying over us, God reminded me that this was a CALLING on our life. Not some fun, cool, "idea" or a quest to "save" a little lost orphan. It was something that He called us to as a family, and being called requires sacrifice. And hard work. As a family who is called to full time ministry, I can tell you that in many aspects it is the same. God never said it would be easy....He only said it would be worth it. And even on the hard days...it is worth it.
Stay tuned....she's discovered chocolate ice cream and it's one huge, hilarious mess :)
2 comments:
Emily,
Thanks for letting me meet her. I need to have a 2nd go at her when I'm not messing around with a brand new camera.
I DO have to say that when I was reading this blog post at 1:20 a.m. I burst into loud laughter when I read how "Ashley had a shoot with Tammi Nowack. She sucks her fingers when she's nervous...." because it sounded like *I* suck my fingers when I'm nervous. LOL!!!
I totally don't.
I suck my thumb.
Thanks again for giving me a chance to photograph her! She's beautiful and seems to be adjusting splendidly. What a precious gift. :)
Great post Emily. I love the way you kept it honest but not regretful. People need to know these little ones do not feel rescued they just feel kidnapped and sometimes they don't feel at all they are numb. Unlike the older children these little ones don't get to choose. But God knows where they need to be. They need to be in a place where they can have a real family and learn about the real God not one of the thousands that their country made up. Keep up the hope and know we are all here watching and praying for you cause we do understand. We just love you and your family have a great 2 months anniversary.
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