I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you
That song keeps playing in my mind. I am absolutely, totally, 100%, in awe of his love for me. He has lead Jason and I half way around the world for the second time, covered it all in the blood of Jesus, held our family safe on the plane, gone before us, protected Jessa's heart, prepared our gotcha day, completely covered it ALL - I am in awe......
I guess after reading that you can assume that yesterday was AMAZING! We got to the orphanage around 9am.
I had a preapproval letter from a friend so that I could meet her daughter for her. I insisted that she come before Jessa and they honored my wishes.. What a moment that was. We got to meet this precious child and whisper to her that she is loved! I told her that her family was coming and that they loved her so very much! That felt good!
Then it was time for Jessa. My heart was beating so fast. The kids were ready with camera's in hand. Jason was calm as usual. Our guide had my camera and walked into the hallway. I saw the flash of the camera and I jumped up. She was looking out the window below and saw Jessa walking up. I probably should have just kept my toosh on the couch because of course the waterworks started! But I couldn't resist a quick peak of my baby girl!
She walked into the room and that feeling came rushing back. The same feeling I felt last April after seeing Jackzhen for the first time. You are real! I know it sounds ridiculous to some but it is exactly how I felt the moment they laid my three bio babies on my chest for the first time too! All of the waiting, anticipation, prayers, come down to that one moment! It is a feeling that you can't really explain, but I will keep deep in my heart forever. I reached for her and hugged her sweet face. She smiled and said Ni Hao to everyone in the room. I introduced her to the kids, in my broken Mandarin, probably making all those fluent in the room, giggle! But I didn't care!
She sat on our laps and we went through her bag, showing her the new things we had for her. She loved all of them with such sweet joy!
Jason had to leave with our guide to do some paperwork. When he was gone, the kids and I just enjoyed Jessa. She would talk to us and we would nod (hardest part of the whole thing is the language barrier). I have found though that nodding and agreeing is the best solution to not understanding. It makes them feel like you do and it makes Jessa smile, so it is a win win!
When they returned we left that building and headed to her classroom. We passed a sign that said no photos, bummer! When we got into the classroom my heart skipped a beat. There were 12 of her classmates sitting around the tables, doing school. There were faces that I had seen on advocacy sites, I wanted to scoop them all up and love on them. One face in particular caught my eye, Yanzi. It was the little girl that Jessa had shared bottles with when the little was casted for her clubbed feet. I was so excited to find her mom last month through our Yahoo group, and I so totally wanted to take a picture of her to share with her mama. I asked my guide and the teachers said sure! It is the best feeling to meet a child before their parents come to adopt them, there is such excitment in that moment, to reassure them that they are loved, their family is coming, and they don't even understand a word of what you're saying! haha That is okay, trusting God to prepare her heart just like he did Jessa's!
When we left the orphanage we were met by the director. We asked to take a picture with him, and he obliged. He scooped Jessa out of my arms and in Mandarin told her to put her arms around his neck. She was unsure of leaving my arms (already after only holding her for an hour, can I get an amen??) But it was just a quick picture and I grabbed her right back when we were finished!
That was that! We left the orphanage with a smiling, lovable, sweet little girl who, like her brother Jackzhen, hasn't looked back since! I am amazed. To all of my friends that haven't yet experienced adoption, this is not the norm. Although children usually come around within the first few days of being with their new family, it is not common to have laughs and hugs within the first hour! I can't write enough sweet things about this amazing child.
She loves to laugh and does so very often.
She likes to touch my face and say mama.
She likes to touch baba's facial hair and laugh.
She has amazing manners, shea shea and boo coo chi all the time!
She likes to share.
She goes to sleep almost immediately after laying her down.
She loves all of her brothers and sisters.
She likes to tickle Jackzhen.
She likes her nails painted.
She loves shoes.
I don't doubt for a second that in the 7 months of paperwork and process, God was at work knitting this all together. She is an Aldrich through and through and we feel SO blessed to have heard His voice yet again! Thank you LORD for this sweet angel of yours!
