Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Looking Back

I took this of her the first week that she was home with us, look at those cheeks! Oh I kiss them all of the time still!
This was at her first baseball game, Dayton was so proud to push her in her stroller! Our team was so sweet and followed along with us on our journey, they called the morning we left for China on their speaker phone to wish us a safe trip before their tournament started.
She loved these stacking blocks then and still does today!
This was taken on Mackinac Island, she was so afraid of the flowers!
She did not like the sand either!I love this picture of Mark with her on the shores of Lake Michigan in the U.P. , he is such a wonderful father and every time I turned around he was showing Myah something "new".

This week is very special to our family, two years ago we were "next in line" for our referral. We had been cut off by one day the previous month so we knew for sure that this was our turn. It was such an exciting week, we were finally going to see our daughter's face for the first time. I swear I lived on Rumor Queen, Salsa in China and Yahoo boards. I have said it before but we were at the very beginning of this now loooong wait for referrals, we had no idea what was going on. I am by no means whining, we are so thankful that we only had an additional 6 months tacked on to our original projection, but at the time, it was all new and no one had a clue what to expect, each we waited for a referral because at the time China was sending out a months worth of log in dates, all of the sudden it became a weeks worth and then days worth. We knew we were very close, but as time went on we cancelled vacations, packed warm clothes, then cooler clothes, had to buy new things for Myah due to the time of year we were getting her, summer, as opposed to December when we thought we would get her. Mark had to keep everyone at work on stand by with his 3 weeks of vacation because we just weren't sure when we were going. It was crazy, but so worth it!


I remember this being the week that I had everything in order, my house was immaculate, the video camera and still cameras were ready, my phone list was in order. The school knew that as soon as I got the call, that we were going to get Dayton out and drive across the state to pick up our packet and share the day with our adoption buddies. I could not wait to see her face, I wondered about where she lived, how old was she, what was her "story", did she have hair? Oh boy did she have hair! One of the only things I really purchased for her was hair accessories while we waited, it was a good thing! I will share a special post this weekend on the 27th to be exact, regarding this special day for us.


I was going through some pictures and found these from our first few weeks home with her. Gosh she seemed so big at the time but she was pretty little, she had turned a year old 5 days before we got her. She wasn't walking or crawling, or rolling over for that matter, so she sat for a lot of pictures! Boy did that change!


I thought I would post a few for your viewing pleasure. By the way I love this song by Celine Dion, I listened to it over and over during the wait in our lives. Strangely, it would be on the radio when we were visiting with our adoption buddies in restaurants, I would hear it in the grocery store, I still hear it every now and then at special times and I have to smile, it brings back sweet memories!

14 comments:

Kim said...

What a special time. I can't believe how much Myah has grown! She's just so beautiful!

Stefanie said...

What a thrilling time that must have been!! I can imagine the excitement that hung in the air when you FINALLY saw her beautiful face for the very first time!
She is so beautiful, then AND now :) Looking forward to your post on the 27th!

Football and Fried Rice said...

Thanks for putting some perspective into the wait & reminding me how much it is going to be worth it. Is it wrong that I dream about our Mya having lots of hair? I have been collecting bows myself during this wait (since we haven't a clue what her size will be!)

You are very blessed by your beautiful family; thanks for sharing your photos & your memories!!

LID 4/30/2007

Colleen said...

Myah is so precious....it's fun to see these photos of her so young! Amazing how quickly they grow up! I too have been doing much reminiscing as it was this time we were in China 4 years ago bringing Faith home. As Myah, Faith also was not crawling, standing or walking. I really felt like I went through an infant stage with her. Such wonderful memories to look back on and cherish. :)

Erin said...

What a beautiful baby she was! Her hair was amazing even then. It is touching to see how tentative she was about everything... look at her now! The photo of her and Dayton was so sweet... no amount of money could buy that feeling... a big brother and his little sister!

Virginia said...

Congratulations on 2 years with your beautiful little girl! I am so addicted to the Rumor Queen site..like you were then. That, and blogs like yours, are the only thing keeping me sane =).

Gin

Dawn said...

Oh Leslie, Myah is just so beautiful...I cant believe how tiny she is in those photos. What a special time for your family.

Chesnye said...

Myah is just a doll!! Thank you for sharing some ohotos from those first few weeks. Now I can't wait to see what the 27th will bring!

Jodee said...

Sweet pictures! Myah has grown soooo much!

Don and Lisa Osborn said...

Precious pictures of a precious time!

Can't wait to hear more about her arrival (even though I've read it before). :o)

Hugs~
Lisa

Adele said...

Absolutely beautiful!!!!

Jill said...

Precious pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Heather said...

Oh what sweet memories, Leslie. SHe is adorable then and now.

I always love reliving these wonderful memories with families.

Thank you for always sharing your heart.

Hugs,
Heather

Anonymous said...

She is just so CUTE!! Thanks for sharing!

Hope you are feeling well . . .

Jennifer, mommy to Adrienne