Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Two years ago today our little Hope was born!


Today is Hope's birthday. Or at least today is the day the orphanage estimated as her birthday two years ago. Our precious little Po was abandoned at the orphanage on a freezing winter night on December 24, 2009. I guess someone estimated she was around 4 days old, so we celebrate her birthday on December 20 this year!

Last year at this time I was beside myself in pain. I had held this little girl six months earlier and in my heart she was already MY BABY. Waiting on paperwork and approvals was painful and difficult! Every single day waiting was hard. Good meaning people would say things like, "Oh, you've waited three years, what's another month?" and "Oh well, you can have one last Christmas with your original family before you go get the new girls." Blah blah blah. My baby was in China and not with me!

And now that everyone has met and fallen in love with Po, they certainly understand why I couldn't let it go last year...why I was miserable waiting. Po is precious. Po is perfect. Po is so amazing in every way. I call Po my harvest. I feel like of all the times I've given to others, sacrificed, made right choices, turned to God, done the right thing....Po is my reward. I feel blessed. I feel lucky. I feel HONORED to be her momma!!!!

Here is little Po when she was days old. Now I'm sure her mouth alarmed her momma. And I'm sure if I gave birth to a baby with a big hole in her face (as Johnny calls it) that I might be upset too, but we just think Po is so cute here. In a little Chinese rat kindof way!

Here is Po when she was six months old.

Here is Po when she was 10 months old and I hadn't seen her in four months. This photo makes me cry to think about just how cute she is and I didn't get to play with her during these months!

Here is Po when she was one year old last year. The wonderful lady at the orphanage emailed me this photo on CHRISTMAS EVE last year!!! What a gift!


And here is little Po in February when we got our hands on her finally!

Here is Po a couple months after we got her.

And here is Po after she got her mouth fixed this past Spring.

And here is Po on her family birthday party this past Sunday! I really don't see how she could be any cuter, do you??

Hope Xiaodan Hope, aka Po, PoPo, baby Po, has filled our family with so much joy. When we first got her in February she was quiet and easy going but she really didn't want us to interact or hold her. She was at home in her crib by herself. She has always been a great sleeper and napper. SO EASY. By far the easiest baby we've had. And plus, Po has four older siblings that always want to get her up from her nap, play with her, and feed her and watch her. We fight over Po. "It's my turn to go get her from her crib!" She is like our little pet or favorite toy. She is pure JOY!

And do you know her name Xiaodan can be translated into CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL? Hello, isn't that the perfect child for us, and especially Husband as much as he loves Christmas. My mom said the other day that if we would've just seen her name and it's meaning we would've said, OH YES, that's our child! Plus, I am guessing God named her after Husband (dan).

So many times I do not go on and on on this blog about how wonderful Po is. I think I feel like because we have had challenges with Lily, if I write about how great everything is with Po then it will look like she is my favorite. Adopting a baby compared to an older child is different in every way, but my love for them as my children and as their mother is the same. Full and complete. But to not write about how Po has brightened our life would not be fair either. And I am going to try to balance that out as I continue to blog.

Po likes to tell her daddy how much money she saves him. Especially since we didn't have her until she was 14 months old. Daddy always responds by calling Po our most expensive child to date! Her two surgeries were worth every penny though. Po says a lot. Most of it only sounds like "uh uh" or "NO!" but we all know what she is really saying. We like to say that Po is fluent in Po, and that we understand Po dialect so it's all good. Po's speech is delayed due to her cleft palate, but this is normal and we are in no rush or panic. Po is Po and we love her just like she is.


We think about Po's biological mom a lot. I have a feeling she thinks of her often. I have a feeling she gave her up because Po was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate and she couldn't afford to take care of her. Why else would she take the time to wrap her in a blanket and take her to the orphanage to be found? And on that night two years ago, GOD KNEW THAT HE WOULD EVENTUALLY GET PO INTO OUR FAMILY! I am so grateful to God He chose us to raise Po!!! I love God so much. I am so honored to be Lily and Hope's mother!

Happy Birthday little Po. Mommy loves you!

2 comments:

Lisa Goforth said...

Love, love, love!! Anyone who has met little Po knows she is pure joy! Happy birthday little one!

Leanna Harvey said...

So precious! Happy birthday sweet Po!