One Month Update
Well.... time flies when you are having fun, right? As hard as it is to believe, Sadie has been a part of our family for a whole month. I thought I would share an update and answer some of the questions we get asked the most.
First of all, these photos took about 60 seconds to take because she literally smiles ALL of the time! She is an incredibly happy girl.
Second of all, when I look at this face, I see so many answered prayers.
Adoption is hard. For a lot of the journey I was afraid of all of the unknowns and possible outcomes. As adoptive parents we researched, read, and prepared for all of the worst case scenarios. For me, it was important to be educated so I knew what to expect and how to face each hard thing. I always felt an assurance that in the end everything was going to be okay. God spoke these exact words to my heart early in our calling. He said, "it is going to be good."
But you know what? I didn't have to wait until the end for the outcome to be good. It has been good from the beginning. This can only be Jesus. From the day she was placed in our arms, everything has gone better than expected, better than the books said it would.
For a while I kept waiting for something bad to happen. China was wonderful, but I kept thinking, "well when we get home x, y, and z will probably happen." But since we've been home, things have only become better. Sadie is so relaxed in our home. When everything should be new and scary for her, she is filled with peace. And oh my goodness, more JOY than I have ever seen. One day while driving and praying, I felt God say, "Quit looking for faults in her, quit waiting for something to go wrong. Don't you see, I have answered all of the prayers that were prayed over her."
HELLO! How quickly I was to forget that we had prayed for her for years. Long before we saw her face or knew her name. So many people have prayed for her, for us, for Graham and Ansley, for our travels. Everything was covered in prayer and God literally answered every one of them. He answered them in ways better than I ever imagined. So this huge smile reminds me that God is faithful. What he says He will do, He does. He is a God of miracles, big and small.
Our first month as a family, we have tried to spend intentionally. We have kept Sadie's world pretty small. In the adoption world they call this cocooning. Our number one priority right now is bonding. We are hoping that she will form a strong connection to us. She will learn that we can be trusted and we will never leave her. We will meet all of her needs. She hasn't been without either Dane or myself with her. It's been a sweet season for us as a family and Sadie is doing fabulous.
People are often curious about her language. In China, she was able to communicate in Mandarin. She spoke in sentences. She didn't know any English and unfortunately we knew very little Mandarin. Thankful the head nod is a universally spoken language! Sadie understands much of what we say. We can tell her to go do something and she does it. Her ability to understand us has amazed me. She copies all of the words and phrases she hears, which is adorable! She finds a way to make her opinions and desires known.
We have been to the pediatrician and had a great report. She is tiny! 3rd percentile for weight and 12th for height. Research says for every 3 months in an institutional setting, an orphanage, a child is delayed 1 month. This hasn't necessarily been the case for Sadie. We have been so pleased with her development.
Things Sadie loves....
Noodles
Her brother and sister
Her Mama and Baba
Being tickled and rough housed
Trucks
Balls (Girlfriend has an arm)
Babies
Bananas
Eggs
Welcoming visitors with a smile and wave and sending them off with a "bye bye" and blowing kisses.
Things we love about Sadie....
Obviously, her smile
Her laughter
Her Joy
Her sense of humor. She has so much personality and is super funny.
Things we can learn from Sadie....
Joy comes from knowing Jesus. Sadie has every reason to be filled with fear and sadness but she is instead filled with happiness. We believe it is Christ working in her heart, and through us as her living example of who He is.
Trust... she has trusted us when she had every reason not to.
Openness to people who are different and things that are new.
Love can been freely given. You just have to choose it.
Most days it feels like one month has flown by. It is hard to believe that she has been anywhere other than with us. I feel like I have always known her and she has always been a part of us.
We can't wait for you all to meet her. She is one incredible little girl!
Second of all, when I look at this face, I see so many answered prayers.
Adoption is hard. For a lot of the journey I was afraid of all of the unknowns and possible outcomes. As adoptive parents we researched, read, and prepared for all of the worst case scenarios. For me, it was important to be educated so I knew what to expect and how to face each hard thing. I always felt an assurance that in the end everything was going to be okay. God spoke these exact words to my heart early in our calling. He said, "it is going to be good."
But you know what? I didn't have to wait until the end for the outcome to be good. It has been good from the beginning. This can only be Jesus. From the day she was placed in our arms, everything has gone better than expected, better than the books said it would.
For a while I kept waiting for something bad to happen. China was wonderful, but I kept thinking, "well when we get home x, y, and z will probably happen." But since we've been home, things have only become better. Sadie is so relaxed in our home. When everything should be new and scary for her, she is filled with peace. And oh my goodness, more JOY than I have ever seen. One day while driving and praying, I felt God say, "Quit looking for faults in her, quit waiting for something to go wrong. Don't you see, I have answered all of the prayers that were prayed over her."
HELLO! How quickly I was to forget that we had prayed for her for years. Long before we saw her face or knew her name. So many people have prayed for her, for us, for Graham and Ansley, for our travels. Everything was covered in prayer and God literally answered every one of them. He answered them in ways better than I ever imagined. So this huge smile reminds me that God is faithful. What he says He will do, He does. He is a God of miracles, big and small.
We have been to the pediatrician and had a great report. She is tiny! 3rd percentile for weight and 12th for height. Research says for every 3 months in an institutional setting, an orphanage, a child is delayed 1 month. This hasn't necessarily been the case for Sadie. We have been so pleased with her development.
Things Sadie loves....
Noodles
Her brother and sister
Her Mama and Baba
Being tickled and rough housed
Trucks
Balls (Girlfriend has an arm)
Babies
Bananas
Eggs
Welcoming visitors with a smile and wave and sending them off with a "bye bye" and blowing kisses.
Things we love about Sadie....
Obviously, her smile
Her laughter
Her Joy
Her sense of humor. She has so much personality and is super funny.
Things we can learn from Sadie....
Joy comes from knowing Jesus. Sadie has every reason to be filled with fear and sadness but she is instead filled with happiness. We believe it is Christ working in her heart, and through us as her living example of who He is.
Trust... she has trusted us when she had every reason not to.
Openness to people who are different and things that are new.
Love can been freely given. You just have to choose it.
Most days it feels like one month has flown by. It is hard to believe that she has been anywhere other than with us. I feel like I have always known her and she has always been a part of us.
We can't wait for you all to meet her. She is one incredible little girl!
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