our journey to Mary Katherine {forever family day}

I woke up at 4 am and couldn’t go back to sleep so I went out in the hallway to write in Mary Katherine’s journal, pray and reflect on all God has done to bring us to this day. Michael joined me in the hall a few hours later and we had a sweet time of prayer before getting ready for our day.

As we were waiting for the bus to take us to the registration office we took one last “waiting for you” picture of our family of four.   

In just a few hours there would be no more waiting… just a lifetime of forever with our sweet girl.

We have a large travel group with 8 families (compared to only 4 when we adopted Lily). Three of the families are returning to adopt again from Henan. We have enjoyed getting to know the other families and love hearing their stories. I never cease to be amazed at how God perfectly sets the lonely in families.

The waiting began and we eagerly watched each van drive up wondering if it would be the one holding our daughter.

Lily could barely contain her excitement. She kept standing at the door watching and asking when her baby sister would be coming. She prepared the dolls in their blankets and all the toys she wanted to give Mary Katherine when she arrived.

As God’s timing would have it, just as with Lily, we were last family to receive our daughter. We saw the van pull in and watched from inside. I could see that she had fallen asleep and they were waking her up to bring her to us.

Her big brown eyes took my breath away. I waited to hold her as they began telling us about her medication. We also wanted to give her some time to warm up to us. The weight of her in my arms is a feeling I will always remember. I love the last picture in this series with Lily’s little hand popping into the frame holding the rattle she wanted to give her baby sister. Her first of many acts of love.

We took our adoption certificate photo and met nurse Jonah from Maria’s Big House of Hope who was so very kind. It is evident that she loves the children in her care.  

We are so grateful for the level of love and care she has received from both Maria's and New Hope.  There are no words that can express our gratitude for this amazing gift.  

The emotions in the room are full. Some babies still screaming they say goodbye to their nannies, others with blank faces withdrawn and grieving silently, and a few with smiles on their faces adjusting well to their new family.

My heart breaks yet is full knowing every child in this room will know the gift of a forever family.

Adoption… so beautiful yet marked with such brokenness….a reflection of our adoption as sons and daughters of the King.

My prayer is that Mary Katherine will feel the depth of our love for her soon and trust us as we do our best to meet her every need.

We arrived back to the hotel and went back to our room taking is slow and letting her lead the way.

Michael left to complete some paperwork and we sat on the floor to play.

Slowly some smiles came our way as she began to giggle each time Spencer knocked down the tower of blocks.

She is curious and full of expression. She is quick to learn and likes to imitate what we do. At times she looks at us with a little furrowed brow and will pucker her little lips together in the sweetest way.

She is pure delight and already has captured our hearts.
 Lily said “she is the sweetest baby I have ever seen”.

After playing a bit she popped up out of nowhere and stared walking around the room .
She is a girl on the go eager to explore. We took a few laps up and down the hall which she loved.

Michael returned after a couple of hours and I went back with him to sign some papers and put her handprint on our official documents. On the way back to the hotel she fell fast asleep on his shoulder.

At dinner she discovered the steps and loves to go up and down them holding our hands.

We ended the night with a bath which she loved.

We tucked the girls in bed, read some books and prayed together thanking God for this beautiful miracle of one.

Mary Katherine, forever and always we will be your family.

Forever and always you will be our child.