Happy Gotcha Day

One Year.  It has been one year since a beautiful, brown eyed baby was placed into my arms half-way across the world.  It was a moment and a Christmas that I will never forget.  I can hardly believe sometimes that it even happened.  This precious child that God has allowed us to raise has been all that I prayed for and more.  God knew exactly what David and I needed and gave her to us at the time that He knew was perfect for us.  We may have missed celebrating Christmas with our families last year, but God was making us a family in a communist country where Christian Christmas music was being played.  We were reminded of God's love as we celebrated Jesus' birthday in China while accepting our own baby into our family.

In so many ways, it seems that Amelia has always been with us.  I can hardly imagine our lives without her.  She was a piece that was missing from our home, and we didn't even know it.  God knew it when He placed adoption on our hearts and guided us through the adoption process and long wait.  How blessed we are and how happy we are that we listened to Him!   

Amelia has changed so much over the past year.  She was a developmentally delayed baby when we first held her and now she is a normal two-year-old toddler who stays in constant motion and has the occasional two-year-old fit.  We have experienced so many "firsts" with her even though we missed the first 18-months of Amelia's life.  Words to describe my child would be intelligent, determined, serious, and busy!  At times, she is even spicy!  In China, girls from Chongqing are known as being spicy, and Amelia definitely fits this at times!  Sleep is still an issue for Amelia, but we hope that one day she will sleep through every night.  Amelia is in love with Bailey, kitty cats, Hello Kitty, Kai-Lan, letters, numbers, and shapes.  She enjoys pushing her baby in the stroller, driving her pink car, having tea parties, and shopping at Target and Costco.  School is something she tolerates because Amelia would rather stay home with Mommy or go shopping.  She enjoys "reading" books, but it is hard to have her sit still long enough to go through an entire one at one sitting if you are reading the entire book to her.  She prefers to point out things in the picture and describe what is happening or in other words, tell her own story.  Amelia enjoys eating most everything, but she is beginning to have an opinion about what she would like and wants to choose it herself.

This Christmas will be vastly different from last year.  Last year, we were standing in a government office in Chongqing, China, taking an oath to love and care for Amelia.  This year, we will wake up Christmas morning to see the wonder and delight in Amelia's eyes as she sees a filled stocking and gifts from Santa.  We will visit family and friends to exchange gifts, and Amelia will actually get to be a part of this.  I am so excited to share my favorite holiday with her!  We will honor and celebrate Gotcha Day the night of December 23rd each year.  There are a few reasons for this: 

1.  It is officially December 24th in China when we actually celebrated our original Gotcha Day.
2.  We celebrate Christmas with out of town family on Christmas Eve and attend church that night.  We want Gotcha Day and Christmas to be seen as two different special events that happen to occur at the same time.
3.  Amelia should always know that Gotcha Day was one of the best days of our lives, and our family is special because of it.  It should be honored as a separate event with gifts and Chinese food.

Tonight, we will eat Chinese and tell Amelia the story of how we became a family.  She loves to hear this story, especially the part where we flew on an airplane all the way to China to get her and bring her home.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support throughout our adoption process and the time transitioning into our forever family.  This was a fabulous year for us, and we look forward to many more!  Happy Gotcha Day, Amelia!  Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know!