I am trying to be intentional this Christmas not to get so busy that I miss the golden moments that come with this season and the celebration of our Savior's birth .
Some of our recent "golden moments" include the sparkle in Lily's eye that I saw the day we brought out our tree and she saw the lights for the first time.
And the sweet kiss that she planted on her big brother...
Watching her play with the china tea set that belonged to my grandmother's aunt...
Taking Lily to see Santa for the first time...
Lily went from wonder and innocence exploring the cookie jars while we were waiting...
to a very sad little girl who was petrified of the big man with the white beard! (or maybe she was screaming about her mom who had not showered and went out looking like this in public :)
but tears slowly faded into smiles with the yummy gingerbread cookie they gave her...
One of my favorite moments of this month was Lily's "golden birthday" a couple of weeks ago.
The day started with lots of balloons filling her room as she woke up (thanks Dad!), singing happy birthday with a candle in her pancakes and having several of my close friends and family over for lunch with Lily!
Thanks to my parents, Lily had the perfect golden dress for her special day. It looked like a princess and she was living it up, flowing and dancing around the house in her abundance of gold tulle.
We sang happy birthday, Lily gave us her proud "two" pose and then she did her best to blow out the candle...
She opened each gift with enthusiasm and wonder...
Then we celebrated with a little Chinese tradition thanks to my thoughtful niece who called me the night before the party to share what she had studied in her Chinese class in college.
In China, on the child's first birthday, the parents place different objects out and see which one the child goes to first. Each object represents a different occupation/career (i.e. stethoscope/thermometer=doctor, calculator=accountant, orange=good fortune, etc.) and whatever they choose first is supposed to predict their future.
We placed about 12 items on the floor for Lily and made some bets as to what she would go to first...any ideas???
She picked up the thermometer first (a future doctor perhaps?? or as our doctor said, maybe hot tempered? I like to go with the doctor :)
then the i-pod (musician...this definitely is true to her nature as she LOVES to listen to music)
and a calculator (accountant) was third. Only time will tell and I look forward to seeing how God will use this little girl to impact His kingdom.
Michael came home from out of town late on the night of her birthday so of course we had to sing (again!). I saved her "one less broken" cake for us to have with her daddy.
The day started with laughter and smiles and ended with this...
It just melts my heart everytime I see her love on Michael...especially knowing how far she has come since our time in China. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her daddy!!!
I am sure our sweet Savior longs for us to be captivated by Him the very same way.
More golden moments to come...on Sunday she will be dedicated at our church and as God would see fit...it will be the same date that she was abandoned in the Nanyang city park two years ago...broken and alone.
God's redemptive story is still alive.
Christmas came early for us...March 14, 2011 to be exact. We were handed one of the best gifts we have ever received that day and we are over the moon excited that Lily is with us this year for Christmas!
