Dear Lia Faith,
Even though you may not remember this particular today in years to come, it is a very important day for you and for us. So we want to make sure to note what’s happening now and what’s happened before. Today is your birthday and it’s the first one we have been able to enjoy with you. You were born on March 26th, 2006 in Datong, China. That’s in Shanxi Province in the northern, mountainous region of China – pretty close to Inner Mongolia. To get there is a 4 hour drive north from Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, through mountains and coal mining towns along the way. You can see parts of the Great Wall along the way, parts that aren’t disturbed by tourists. But other than that, there isn’t much to see. It’s usually very cold and very dry there in your hometown and many people wear masks over their faces just to keep warm and to keep the coal dust out. Some day we will take you back to Datong, so you can see for yourself where you were born and how you spent your first few years of life. We have some friends there who looked after you while you were there. Each Sunday, they came to see you and to teach you some English. We are very thankful to them for that and for telling you about us before we came for you.
Even though we don’t know anything about your birth parents, we are thankful to them for taking care of you as best they could while you were with them. Our hearts break for them as we think about the emotions they must have suffered when they decided on August 11th, 2006, the day they placed you at the entrance to No.2 Hospital, that you could be better cared for by someone else. We are thankful that God decided that we were that someone else. And we are very, very happy to care for you and love you as you become everything God intended for you to be. What an honor for us. We are thankful to those in Datong who cared for you while God’s plan unfolded, bringing into focus that we should adopt you, become your new family, and bring you home.
You’ve been a part of our family forever by God’s timing and grace, but God only allowed us to meet you in person on December 15th, 2008. That’s the day we call “Gotcha Day,” when we first met you in China and planned to bring you home with us. We spent 18 wonderful days in your beautiful China getting to know you and allowing you to get to know us. You and Lily Grace became best friends, sisters, and lifelong companions immediately, with a common bond and heritage. Lily learned to be a big sister and sort of grew up a little bit by becoming your window into our little world. She said we’d have to teach you to speak English. Oh, and she also says that while you and she were made in China, Austin was not! You and Lily Grace were immediate best friends, laughing and chasing each other around the hotel room while the rest of us just watched and laughed. In those first few days, you wanted to be dressed exactly like Lily Grace every day – you even wanted to wear the same pajamas. It’s a good thing your mommy brought two of everything! And you wanted to play with the same toys, eat with the same utinsels, and drink with the same sippy cups. You even had to take a bath together! Lily says that you and her are like two peas in a pod.
We were very excited to see that you loved your big brother, Austin, from the minute you saw him and the way he watches you play, eat, sleep, and do whatever, shows how much he loves you too. You chased him around the lobby of our hotel the first day we met you, squealing with laughter as if you had been suddenly released to laugh as you never had before. We tried to keep you and Lily quiet in the lobby, but that was pointless. And besides, most of the people in the lobby were smiling and a few were even teary-eyed at your new found joy. I think those were the ones who had some inkling that Jesus was at work here and their part was to simply watch. Yes, Lia Faith, Jesus was there too, watching and smiling (and maybe shedding a tear himself).
Your mommy and I loved you even before we ever met you and couldn’t wait to come for you. We waited 188 days from the time we first saw your picture until we could hold you in our arms. My first words to you were “bong bong tong,” which means “sucker” or “lollipop.” I gave you the “bong bong tong” and you took it and ran, unsure, I guess, if I’d let you keep it. Your mommy cried when she held you for the first time, but you were just interested in the “bong bong tong!” And now, we both love you and Lily Grace like crazy cakes, even though we missed those first few years. Believe me, we’re doing everything we can to catch up from that missed time. Hopefully, one day you’ll enjoy all the pictures and stories we have shared in these journal entries. And hopefully we can share as much as we know about your early days when the time comes. We often wonder about yours and Lily Grace’s birth parents and we hope God has touched their lives with the knowledge that their sweet baby girls are safe and sound, living in a Christian home with a loving family.
In China after Gotcha Day, we took you to Taiyuan, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai and showed you many things about your country. We took you to ancient temples and visited a coal mine in Taiyuan since that’s your province’s main product. We visited the orphanage where you lived for a short time and talked with your nannies and the director of the orphanage. We took you shopping in Guangzhou and had your finger nails painted along with Lily Grace’s. We took you to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to make sure you’d be a U.S. citizen as soon as we got you home to America. In Beijing, we took you to an acrobat show and you were amazed, sitting for the entire show, completely absorbed by the amazing things the acrobats could do. You shared your popcorn with the man sitting beside you and he smiled and thanked you for your kindness. We made sure to visit the neighborhoods in Beijing so we’d know how your people lived in China’s capital city. And we had several meals at Chinese restaurants so we’d know how the food was prepared and how it tasted (don’t eat the small black balls that come with the Kung Pow Chicken!). A nice lady named Helen helped us while we were in Beijing and she seemed to grow more and more fond of you each day. We too became very fond of Helen and appreciated everything she did for you and for us.
We celebrated our first Christmas with you while we were yet in China and it was our best Christmas ever. We had Christmas Eve dinner at the Wahfujing Grand Hotel in Beijing, but none of us liked the food, so we walked to McDonalds for a cheeseburger, which you thoroughly enjoyed! We decorated a ficus tree in the hotel room with yours and Lily Grace’s hair bows to serve as a Christmas tree – it was the most beautiful tree we’ve ever had. We exchanged Christmas gifts on Christmas morning – our first together - and you were so excited. We took you to church at St. Josephs Cathedral on Christmas Day, but there was no service, so we just prayed silently outside and looked at the pictures of Jesus in the foyer. Jesus was also there with us I am sure, for we could feel His presence. St. Josephs Cathedral is the most beautiful church we have ever seen and taking you and Lily Grace there during the Christmas season was absolutely awesome.
Finally, on December 28th, 2008, about three months ago, you came home with us and saw your new country for the first time. Since then, you have been such a joy to all of us and you have stolen our hearts and our attention. Even though we all brought home the Chinese flu that has lingered with us these past three months, we have been greatly blessed by watching you adapt to us and by experiencing the love God put in your heart. We could never have known how loving you would be. Every time we must be away from each other you come running saying “hug, hug!” I often wonder if those first few days you were alone in Datong instilled in you an understanding like no other that all of us need to be hugged and loved. You have become a very loveable little girl, who likes to hug and kiss those who love you too. You and Lily Grace have the deepest eyes anyone could imagine. Sometimes we just sit and stare into those eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of your first few years or to learn something more about you that we could share with you. Your eyes, like none I’ve ever seen, are a window into your heart and there, we find Jesus again, filling you with His love. And for that, we are ever thankful.
Last night, Lily Grace and I baked a birthday cake for you while you slept. We hope you like it – it’s yellow with chocolate icing! Mommy says that’s what you asked for. Austin watched us bake the cake while he studied and he couldn’t help but laugh at us for making such a mess. Mommy only shook her head at the mess and the ones guilty of making it. Lily didn’t mind cleaning up the mess though, since it involved using her fingers, elbows, and nose to clean the cake batter from the bowl, countertop, pan, mixer, fork, and spoon – she cleaned it all and then was bouncing off the walls until midnight! Tonight we celebrated your birthday together and we thanked God for you (and for chocolate cake).
Today, you are three years old and growing stronger and more confident every day. So, Happy Birthday Lia Faith. We love you very much.
Mommy, Daddy, Austin, and Lily Grace
