7/11

Our social worker came to visit this week to see how things were going. She asked how parenthood was, etc. It's funny but when everyone asks how long we've had Beatrice and how things are going, all I can think about is how it doesn't feel like my life has changed all that dramatically. I think that's because the real shift in my life came one year ago today, July 11, 2008, the Friday morning we received our Child For Consideration, Ngo Minh Hanh, a 2-month old girl in an orphanage in Bac Ninh. I remember that phone call so clearly. I remember hearing "she" and I interrupted and asked to repeat because we had been told from the very beginning that a boy was much more likely. "A girl?" "We have a girl?" "Yes, a baby girl." "Only 2 months old?" I never imagined we'd get a referral for a child so young, and I recall thinking even with the WORST case scenario we would be bringing home a 6 or 7-month old (little did I know). I remember being concerned about a referral coming from Bac Ninh since babies had hospitalized with pneumonia and some died there recently and I was so afraid for her health. We were reassured she was healthy and fine and pictures were on their way. We didn't get the medical report or anything else before we'd committed our hearts and minds and lives to this baby. We had waited so long and been through so much that we felt that whatever child came our way was meant to be and, one year later, there's no question that that is the case. We had a daughter and I became a mother. From that morning until the afternoon I held her in my arms nearly nine months later, my daughter was with me in mind and heart every second. I was constantly agonizing about how her health was, dreaming of our future together, and plotting as to how we could get her home as quickly as possible. Then, on April 8, 2009, she joined our family physically, at long last. Here is a photo of her last night signing and mouthing "more" in reference to reading another book, as well as the first photo we ever saw of her. Anthony and I both smiled and laughed at first sight at her wild hair. We knew then she was our Beatrice, our voyager through life, and we've been grateful ever since for the miracle which allows us to witness and share in her trip.