So, how do i post my message when something this GRAND has happened?????? it is a crazy thought for me....to try to express ALL that has happened since coming to China. i SO wish i could let you see ALL what has happened instead of having to try to write it all out for you....but i really want you to know what amazing things God has done. SO, i will write...and try my hardest to express my thoughts and feelings that run so deep inside of me.
first let me explain that i am typing on a lap top (which i never use) and a space bar that sometimes works...sometimes it doesn't give me a space other times it gives me too many spaces. so, what comes out i wont know...but will try to edit (me edit...now THAT is funny) as much as i can. except for the capital thing. sorry! :-)
i am also so grateful for my husband!! because we can't access our blog (dan being the IT guy he is, and a having a great friend just as "geeky" :-) have figured a way around all the posting problems (Praise the Lord) but has caused us some difficulty we weren't expecting. we knew this could be a problem because of where we are at, but was hoping it wouldn't be. oh well, i'm just so grateful that we have friends so willing to help us out!!!! so thanks Chris for all your hard work on this! ;-)
also, ALL the comments have been SUCH a GREAT joy to us. we can't see the blog, but those IT guys have figured that out too...and send to us, thru email a copy. if you have ever heard of the book Then Five Love Languages you will know when i tell you that "words of encouragement" is one of my top 2 languages. :-) so thank you SO SO much for all you comments!!!! and i think as dan has posted it really does make us feel closer to home and not so very far away.
i am going to try to go in the order of events so i can keep my thoughts in order...ha ha to those that really know me! :-) oh well, i'm trying. :-)
SO, if you didn't know by now....traveling to china takes a VERY VERY VERY long time. :-P i had NO idea that 3 plane rides could be SO hard! the first plane ride from Chicago to LA was scary! i thought for sure we would die before we even got to meet Millie, but God was in control and we landed. :-) first, with a rocky, swaying take off, to a very bumpy landing! oh boy, i don't want that to happen again! from LA we had to get ready for the next take off. we thought we would have lots of time as we had a 4 1/2 layover. boy, were we wrong. from the moment we left Warsaw it was go, go, go! NON-stop travel! at LA we waited in every LONG, very LONG line there was, and then had to board right away. no resting there. no water drinks, no potty breaks. it was off to board after standing forever....what an adventure it was. :-) oh, i forgot the bus ride we had to take. although driving in china now tops off all traffic i have seen (i mean UP CLOSE seen)...the bus ride in LA seemed rather crazy too. of course we had to wait for the bus ride too. long, long! that is all i remember! :-)
then, we finally get on our flight to China. the seats were great. plenty of room. but, we were tired. ready to go to sleep. so we tried. what i remember most about this flight is that it went ON and ON, and that we were upright for a total travel time of 38 hours!!! ;-) really, try sleeping upright for 14 hours. :- i remember asking dan how long we had to go, and he said at least 4 more hours!!!! i couldn't believe it. i asked him how long we'd been in the air so far, and he said about 10 hours (that was just on the china plane ride). i couldn't believe it. i thought this flight was only 12 hours...and now he was telling me it was a 14 hour plane ride. oh those 4 hours took FOREVER!!!!!!! after we landed (a much better landing, thank you Lord) we were officially in china. what a thought. Maddy and i just couldn't believe it! we unloaded off the plane onto the ground with steep stairs outside. a bus waiting to take us to the building. we had to check in our passports of course and got our first stamp in our passport visa thing. Maddy thought that was WAY cool! now she is a world traveler with a real stamp! :-) i was just tired and thirsty (again) and wanted to just get to Nanjing, but knew that required yet again another plane ride. our third plane ride. by this time, Maddy was pretty done with planes as well. but, we knew this ride would feel very fast as it was only an hour and half. this flight was much different cause we were pretty much the only Americans on the plane (except a few other families that were adopting with our agency- 3) so, what we heard was a lot of Chinese and what we saw was a lot of black hair heads. ok, so you may ask why i mention that. well, as a cosmetologist...i have to. i notice hair. ;-)
when we got to Nanjing i was surprised. it was very flat. it didn't look at all like i thought it would. not that that is bad, just different than i imagined! again, we couldn't believe we were finally HERE in Nanjing knowing that this is the city that Millie is in. we were SO close!!!!! but, we were also SOOOO very tired. i just wanted to get back to the hotel, take a shower and go to bed and to get out of thee upright position. :-) i was told though that i had better wait till evening to sleep so that i could get my clock turned around faster. that day couldn't have gone ANY slower (except for that 14 hour plane ride to china). all i wanted to do was sleep! first i had to unpack EVERYTHING....i had to find where all of our stuff was...get ready for Millie the next day...and feel as if i "had it together". ha ha :-) i SO didn't! :-)
i had so many emotions while in the hotel. first i was beyond tired, so i knew that played a huge role in how i felt. but, i also know that it was more involved than just tired weariness. i was scared for the next day to happen. yet, had been longing for it for SO long. i wanted Millie so badly, yet i was so unsure how i could be what God wanted me to be for her and for our family. i truly didn't know if i could do this. here i was half way around the world, tired, scared, excited, and completely a mess! and, there was NO way i would go back to get on yet another plane again....so i was "stuck"! now, please don't think i didn't WANT Millie....i SO did....but i SO didn't know what to expect. you see, i had been preparing myself for the worse. praying that if that were the case that God would just carry me thru, but i was still scared. we have asked for your prayers and i am SO grateful for every ONE because they have carried us thru so much in this adoption journey....but especially now when we needed to be prepared to meet her, and her to meet us. God answered our deepest longings. i am forever grateful for this!!!!!! and, a precious memory i will forever have with my sweetest daughter ever! nothing can take that away from me. it is forever etched in my heart all that has happened. i am rejoicing in our Savior for such undeserved sweetness to me!!!!
so, i wake up on Monday morning...knowing this is the day that was to be! thee DAY. our DAY....Millie's day! i slept well that night which i needed so badly. to be at least functional to meet my new daughter, and be prepared for what come may. i hardly could eat anything. couldn't really grasp all that was going to happen....it was just really VERY surreal in EVERYway.
we were to meet in the Lobby with the other families. we get down to the lobby and there are the other families. immediately we are to load a bus and just go. GO! GO, to meet our daughter JUST like that! on that bus we are....risking death!!! with the way traffic and the way they drive here...... wow, that's amazing in itself. :-) we get off the bus and walk to the building. the building didn't look at all like i thought it would. boy, this is becoming a theme i think. :-() we walk into the front door and go to our left. dan and i were the last family to enter. i heard babies crying,....and i looked back to dan and said....i think the children are already here!!!!! oh man! i walked into joyous chaos!!!! here was the director pointing children out to various families. i saw Millie immediately. she was on the couch looking as sweet as could be. :-) she had a red coat on with the sweetest hat on. my favorite kind of hat on. the director is showing me that this is Millie. of course she didn't have to do that!!! silly...because i KNEW!!!! i had her face memorized! but this was not a picture! it was HER. in real flesh and blood. she was right there ALL cute and SO much smaller than i thought. not a bad small...just a real life small. you see, in all the pictures of her it was so hard to tell how big or small she really was. it just looked as if she was "big". now, here she was real and alive and small AND very very cute! :-) other children were crying...the room was bustling....Chinese being spoken by the caretakers there (those that brought the children to the building) and to help with the children....everything was going on!! BUT, for me all i wanted was to hold and meet my Millie. i went to her. gently i picked her up and all she did was kind of look at me and quickly looked away! BUT, NO crying at all. we got a sucker out hoping it would help this very weird transition for her. sweets are great! she loved the sucker....but didn't know to hold it....but liked it when we put it to her mouth. i knew that dan was recording...taking pictures or something to that nature. at least i hoped he was...i was kind of in a state of shock! :-) all i knew at that moment was i had Millie in my arms and she wasn't crying her heart out! Maddy of course wanted to hold her and couldn't get to her fast enough...so i shared. :-) Millie let Maddy hold her too. Dan finally got a chance to hold her now and without ONE whimper or cry!!!!! oh Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!! She went to all of us without one traumatic sadness! Our prayers were answered. she was prepared!
so, here i was finally with my Millie. i thought i would be a blubbering mess.....i thought i would have cried my eyes out. but, i didn't. i just couldn't. i didn't want to upset her. i didn't want to scare her. she seemed "fine" with us. i was MORE than fine with her! she was priceless! she was completely amazing! God is completely amazing!!!!!!!!! beyond it all! i Praise Him so much! i thank ALL of you who has prayed for this specific event and time! i am forever grateful!!!!!!!! He answers prayers! she was prepared by God Himself! our God is Good! :-)
THEN we leave....but we leave with Millie in our arms. just like that. walk into a building, meet your daughter, and go. except we had to sign a paper for a 24 hour period until the next day when the adoption would be considered final. the Chinese government gives you a chance to say no. of course we were NOT going to say no! she was ours, just not completely in the eyes of the Chinese government yet, but already ours in our hearts for sure! :-)
when we finally got back to the hotel room we were able to put her down and give her a few toys, let her explore and walk a little...but i knew she needed to take a nap. everything was new for her now in her little life. i wanted to hold her as much as she would allow without upsetting her to much. it broke my heart when i realized (but had been prepared by reading of such things) she didn't know how to be held when sleepy. she had NO idea of this special process of a wonderful thing called nurture from a mama. i had already started noticing so much! there was no mistaking that she was in an orphanage. it was obvious. it broke my heart. it broke my heart that she didn't know how to be cuddled, be rocked, or soothed. so, i had to begin this teaching and try as long as she would allow. dan and Maddy left the room and went next door (we had to get 2 rooms since there are 4 of us traveling together). she didn't know what to think of all this. she was tired that was for sure. this was her nap time. i was completely new to her. in our room we have one picture. a picture i hadn't even noticed really before. BUT, Millie noticed it. she couldn't stop looking at it. she kept going back to it...she couldn't keep her eyes off it. i knew that this picture for whatever reason was her coping method. she needed it. this picture is a picture of Chinese character writing. we have NO idea what it says, means. all we know is our daughter clung to it. i tried very gently to have Millie look at me. when she did, i would praise her. but often her eyes quickly dashed away. she just couldn't look at me long. poor thing! :-( she was so very tired....and was trying to find comfort in a picture. as time went on though she finally did fall asleep in my arms. i had to sit up while rocking her and she upright as well. her finger is one method of comfort for her. her finger is very "worn" if you will and i soon realized that when she wants to sleep this finger sucking starts to happen. i knew that i wanted her to wake up with me to look at first thing. i wanted her to see me again...and realize that this dream was real. for me i needed to know this dream was real, and holding her while she slept was that time for me. i cried then. that is when my many tears finally came....while holding my daughter for the very first time in a nurturing way. a way every child should be held. during this time i was also able to have my own praise and worship time with our Lord. it was the three of us in that hotel room....crying, rejoicing and bonding.
she then woke up....she was shy....but we had our soft music in the back ground and i allowed her to wake up slowly. i talked softly to her as she looked at me. she had forgotten about the picture for that moment. she was looking me over deeply...and i was soaking it all in. it was our private moments to share. beautiful moments.
it was a perfect first day together!! one i will always cherish and remember. a day i will always give thanks to my God for. :-)
it is now the second day, and Millie has now started her grieving. :-( oh the sadness of a little 2 year old girl is much to break a heart!! we have made lots of strides...but yet she still grieves. i knew this day would be. it was just sad to see it, to hear it, to experience it. my heart breaks for her deeply. i know she must walk thru this even though i wish it weren't true, however i am so grateful that she is walking with us now. she is NOT alone!!! she is being prayed for, she is being held, loved and kissed all over! we cant get enough of her. :-)
the picture on the wall is still getting looked at. BUT, we know she has the most beautiful eyes...how? because she is letting us in...and we see them!!!
with all my love,
marna
first let me explain that i am typing on a lap top (which i never use) and a space bar that sometimes works...sometimes it doesn't give me a space other times it gives me too many spaces. so, what comes out i wont know...but will try to edit (me edit...now THAT is funny) as much as i can. except for the capital thing. sorry! :-)
i am also so grateful for my husband!! because we can't access our blog (dan being the IT guy he is, and a having a great friend just as "geeky" :-) have figured a way around all the posting problems (Praise the Lord) but has caused us some difficulty we weren't expecting. we knew this could be a problem because of where we are at, but was hoping it wouldn't be. oh well, i'm just so grateful that we have friends so willing to help us out!!!! so thanks Chris for all your hard work on this! ;-)
also, ALL the comments have been SUCH a GREAT joy to us. we can't see the blog, but those IT guys have figured that out too...and send to us, thru email a copy. if you have ever heard of the book Then Five Love Languages you will know when i tell you that "words of encouragement" is one of my top 2 languages. :-) so thank you SO SO much for all you comments!!!! and i think as dan has posted it really does make us feel closer to home and not so very far away.
i am going to try to go in the order of events so i can keep my thoughts in order...ha ha to those that really know me! :-) oh well, i'm trying. :-)
SO, if you didn't know by now....traveling to china takes a VERY VERY VERY long time. :-P i had NO idea that 3 plane rides could be SO hard! the first plane ride from Chicago to LA was scary! i thought for sure we would die before we even got to meet Millie, but God was in control and we landed. :-) first, with a rocky, swaying take off, to a very bumpy landing! oh boy, i don't want that to happen again! from LA we had to get ready for the next take off. we thought we would have lots of time as we had a 4 1/2 layover. boy, were we wrong. from the moment we left Warsaw it was go, go, go! NON-stop travel! at LA we waited in every LONG, very LONG line there was, and then had to board right away. no resting there. no water drinks, no potty breaks. it was off to board after standing forever....what an adventure it was. :-) oh, i forgot the bus ride we had to take. although driving in china now tops off all traffic i have seen (i mean UP CLOSE seen)...the bus ride in LA seemed rather crazy too. of course we had to wait for the bus ride too. long, long! that is all i remember! :-)
then, we finally get on our flight to China. the seats were great. plenty of room. but, we were tired. ready to go to sleep. so we tried. what i remember most about this flight is that it went ON and ON, and that we were upright for a total travel time of 38 hours!!! ;-) really, try sleeping upright for 14 hours. :- i remember asking dan how long we had to go, and he said at least 4 more hours!!!! i couldn't believe it. i asked him how long we'd been in the air so far, and he said about 10 hours (that was just on the china plane ride). i couldn't believe it. i thought this flight was only 12 hours...and now he was telling me it was a 14 hour plane ride. oh those 4 hours took FOREVER!!!!!!! after we landed (a much better landing, thank you Lord) we were officially in china. what a thought. Maddy and i just couldn't believe it! we unloaded off the plane onto the ground with steep stairs outside. a bus waiting to take us to the building. we had to check in our passports of course and got our first stamp in our passport visa thing. Maddy thought that was WAY cool! now she is a world traveler with a real stamp! :-) i was just tired and thirsty (again) and wanted to just get to Nanjing, but knew that required yet again another plane ride. our third plane ride. by this time, Maddy was pretty done with planes as well. but, we knew this ride would feel very fast as it was only an hour and half. this flight was much different cause we were pretty much the only Americans on the plane (except a few other families that were adopting with our agency- 3) so, what we heard was a lot of Chinese and what we saw was a lot of black hair heads. ok, so you may ask why i mention that. well, as a cosmetologist...i have to. i notice hair. ;-)
when we got to Nanjing i was surprised. it was very flat. it didn't look at all like i thought it would. not that that is bad, just different than i imagined! again, we couldn't believe we were finally HERE in Nanjing knowing that this is the city that Millie is in. we were SO close!!!!! but, we were also SOOOO very tired. i just wanted to get back to the hotel, take a shower and go to bed and to get out of thee upright position. :-) i was told though that i had better wait till evening to sleep so that i could get my clock turned around faster. that day couldn't have gone ANY slower (except for that 14 hour plane ride to china). all i wanted to do was sleep! first i had to unpack EVERYTHING....i had to find where all of our stuff was...get ready for Millie the next day...and feel as if i "had it together". ha ha :-) i SO didn't! :-)
i had so many emotions while in the hotel. first i was beyond tired, so i knew that played a huge role in how i felt. but, i also know that it was more involved than just tired weariness. i was scared for the next day to happen. yet, had been longing for it for SO long. i wanted Millie so badly, yet i was so unsure how i could be what God wanted me to be for her and for our family. i truly didn't know if i could do this. here i was half way around the world, tired, scared, excited, and completely a mess! and, there was NO way i would go back to get on yet another plane again....so i was "stuck"! now, please don't think i didn't WANT Millie....i SO did....but i SO didn't know what to expect. you see, i had been preparing myself for the worse. praying that if that were the case that God would just carry me thru, but i was still scared. we have asked for your prayers and i am SO grateful for every ONE because they have carried us thru so much in this adoption journey....but especially now when we needed to be prepared to meet her, and her to meet us. God answered our deepest longings. i am forever grateful for this!!!!!! and, a precious memory i will forever have with my sweetest daughter ever! nothing can take that away from me. it is forever etched in my heart all that has happened. i am rejoicing in our Savior for such undeserved sweetness to me!!!!
so, i wake up on Monday morning...knowing this is the day that was to be! thee DAY. our DAY....Millie's day! i slept well that night which i needed so badly. to be at least functional to meet my new daughter, and be prepared for what come may. i hardly could eat anything. couldn't really grasp all that was going to happen....it was just really VERY surreal in EVERYway.
we were to meet in the Lobby with the other families. we get down to the lobby and there are the other families. immediately we are to load a bus and just go. GO! GO, to meet our daughter JUST like that! on that bus we are....risking death!!! with the way traffic and the way they drive here...... wow, that's amazing in itself. :-) we get off the bus and walk to the building. the building didn't look at all like i thought it would. boy, this is becoming a theme i think. :-() we walk into the front door and go to our left. dan and i were the last family to enter. i heard babies crying,....and i looked back to dan and said....i think the children are already here!!!!! oh man! i walked into joyous chaos!!!! here was the director pointing children out to various families. i saw Millie immediately. she was on the couch looking as sweet as could be. :-) she had a red coat on with the sweetest hat on. my favorite kind of hat on. the director is showing me that this is Millie. of course she didn't have to do that!!! silly...because i KNEW!!!! i had her face memorized! but this was not a picture! it was HER. in real flesh and blood. she was right there ALL cute and SO much smaller than i thought. not a bad small...just a real life small. you see, in all the pictures of her it was so hard to tell how big or small she really was. it just looked as if she was "big". now, here she was real and alive and small AND very very cute! :-) other children were crying...the room was bustling....Chinese being spoken by the caretakers there (those that brought the children to the building) and to help with the children....everything was going on!! BUT, for me all i wanted was to hold and meet my Millie. i went to her. gently i picked her up and all she did was kind of look at me and quickly looked away! BUT, NO crying at all. we got a sucker out hoping it would help this very weird transition for her. sweets are great! she loved the sucker....but didn't know to hold it....but liked it when we put it to her mouth. i knew that dan was recording...taking pictures or something to that nature. at least i hoped he was...i was kind of in a state of shock! :-) all i knew at that moment was i had Millie in my arms and she wasn't crying her heart out! Maddy of course wanted to hold her and couldn't get to her fast enough...so i shared. :-) Millie let Maddy hold her too. Dan finally got a chance to hold her now and without ONE whimper or cry!!!!! oh Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!! She went to all of us without one traumatic sadness! Our prayers were answered. she was prepared!
so, here i was finally with my Millie. i thought i would be a blubbering mess.....i thought i would have cried my eyes out. but, i didn't. i just couldn't. i didn't want to upset her. i didn't want to scare her. she seemed "fine" with us. i was MORE than fine with her! she was priceless! she was completely amazing! God is completely amazing!!!!!!!!! beyond it all! i Praise Him so much! i thank ALL of you who has prayed for this specific event and time! i am forever grateful!!!!!!!! He answers prayers! she was prepared by God Himself! our God is Good! :-)
THEN we leave....but we leave with Millie in our arms. just like that. walk into a building, meet your daughter, and go. except we had to sign a paper for a 24 hour period until the next day when the adoption would be considered final. the Chinese government gives you a chance to say no. of course we were NOT going to say no! she was ours, just not completely in the eyes of the Chinese government yet, but already ours in our hearts for sure! :-)
when we finally got back to the hotel room we were able to put her down and give her a few toys, let her explore and walk a little...but i knew she needed to take a nap. everything was new for her now in her little life. i wanted to hold her as much as she would allow without upsetting her to much. it broke my heart when i realized (but had been prepared by reading of such things) she didn't know how to be held when sleepy. she had NO idea of this special process of a wonderful thing called nurture from a mama. i had already started noticing so much! there was no mistaking that she was in an orphanage. it was obvious. it broke my heart. it broke my heart that she didn't know how to be cuddled, be rocked, or soothed. so, i had to begin this teaching and try as long as she would allow. dan and Maddy left the room and went next door (we had to get 2 rooms since there are 4 of us traveling together). she didn't know what to think of all this. she was tired that was for sure. this was her nap time. i was completely new to her. in our room we have one picture. a picture i hadn't even noticed really before. BUT, Millie noticed it. she couldn't stop looking at it. she kept going back to it...she couldn't keep her eyes off it. i knew that this picture for whatever reason was her coping method. she needed it. this picture is a picture of Chinese character writing. we have NO idea what it says, means. all we know is our daughter clung to it. i tried very gently to have Millie look at me. when she did, i would praise her. but often her eyes quickly dashed away. she just couldn't look at me long. poor thing! :-( she was so very tired....and was trying to find comfort in a picture. as time went on though she finally did fall asleep in my arms. i had to sit up while rocking her and she upright as well. her finger is one method of comfort for her. her finger is very "worn" if you will and i soon realized that when she wants to sleep this finger sucking starts to happen. i knew that i wanted her to wake up with me to look at first thing. i wanted her to see me again...and realize that this dream was real. for me i needed to know this dream was real, and holding her while she slept was that time for me. i cried then. that is when my many tears finally came....while holding my daughter for the very first time in a nurturing way. a way every child should be held. during this time i was also able to have my own praise and worship time with our Lord. it was the three of us in that hotel room....crying, rejoicing and bonding.
she then woke up....she was shy....but we had our soft music in the back ground and i allowed her to wake up slowly. i talked softly to her as she looked at me. she had forgotten about the picture for that moment. she was looking me over deeply...and i was soaking it all in. it was our private moments to share. beautiful moments.
it was a perfect first day together!! one i will always cherish and remember. a day i will always give thanks to my God for. :-)
it is now the second day, and Millie has now started her grieving. :-( oh the sadness of a little 2 year old girl is much to break a heart!! we have made lots of strides...but yet she still grieves. i knew this day would be. it was just sad to see it, to hear it, to experience it. my heart breaks for her deeply. i know she must walk thru this even though i wish it weren't true, however i am so grateful that she is walking with us now. she is NOT alone!!! she is being prayed for, she is being held, loved and kissed all over! we cant get enough of her. :-)
the picture on the wall is still getting looked at. BUT, we know she has the most beautiful eyes...how? because she is letting us in...and we see them!!!
with all my love,
marna
24 comments:
All I can say is "Thank you" dear friend. For sharing your heart, being transparent, and trying to help all of us "see" what's happening in your lives. We will continue to pray for Millie to "open" and trust and feel safe. That the Lord will see you all through her grieving.
She has the most loving, giving, committed family to transition with in her new life as your daughter. I cry tears of joy and trust the Lord in all of this. We are beyond wanting you home.
Love,
Jen A
Okay, I'm crying, too! (sniffle, sniffle!) Thank you for taking the time to share all you felt, saw, thought....who cares about spaces and captitals, anyway?! :)
Oh, give Millie a big kiss for EACH of us! You can space those out if it's too much at once! ;)
Rejoicing with you and continuing to pray (especially in the night when Zay-Zay gets me up--which is the middle of the day for you!)
Love and LOTS of hugs!
Trisch
All I do for days now is cry--I cry thinking of the goodness of God. I cry thinking of the wonderful feeling of a baby in your arms and I cry when I think of a baby who doesn't know how to be comforted. I am asking God to give you patience and wisdom with timing and knowing what your baby needs and when. I am asking for supernatural strength and stamina. Know how much I love you, my friend, and the joy I have that goes beyond words. I pray for you day and night. Thank you for the blog that you wrote and for being wonderful you. I cherish every detail you wrote and weep through it all. I can't wait to kiss that baby! "God is the strength of your heart and your portion forever!!! To Him be the glory!"
Michelle
Just tell her that her Tico awaits in Chicago. That should make all of her fears and apprehensions fade away! :)
I'm so happy for you guys and I can't wait to meet her.
Maddy, are you loving every minute of this? How exciting.
If you guys could, please bring me back an egg roll, or lo mein, or a throwing star.....something! :)
Just kidding! Again, I'm so happy for you guys!
Marna,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts of receiving Millie. I can't begin to imagine what you are going through. I thought I knew what it would be like when I get Mylee, but after reading your post, I think things will be a little different. If you get a chance, take a picture of the picture Millie keeps staring at and I will have a friend of mine tell you what it says.
Mandi
Dear friends, as I read your update I have tears of joy for you. Our God is good!! We continue to hold you in prayer.
Love to all!!
Tammy and the Boggs Boys
What a blessing to see your journey through your words. It is almost too much to bear in joy!
The picture we have all been waiting for. God be with you til we meet again.
Blessed bonding,
Vicki P
What a blessing to see your journey through your words. It is almost too much to bear in joy!
The picture we have all been waiting for. God be with you til we meet again.
Blessed bonding,
Vicki P
What a blessing to see your journey through your words. It is almost too much to bear in joy!
The picture we have all been waiting for. God be with you til we meet again.
Blessed bonding,
Vicki P
Thank you so much for all of the details and for painting a picture of what it is like for you right now! I am just sobbing reading this email, but it helps me to know how to keep praying for Millie, for you & Dan (and Mady too) and for this transition time. You did a fabulous job of sharing your heart with us and we love you so much for it!!!!
Kim
What a blessing to see your journey through your words. It is almost too much to bear in joy!
The picture we have all been waiting for. God be with you til we meet again.
Blessed bonding,
Vicki P
Marna, I just want you to know that I've been praying for your family and especially for Millie. God bless her poor little bruised heart...just remember, He is the great physician and can heal her heart and use your family's love and prayers to do it. Keep holding and touching her (like I have to tell you that). This gives me a glimpse of what it might be like when we get Ava. I know I asked Susan this too, but can I copy and paste a section of your post on my blog (giving you credit, your first name only?)
Tara (from Nanjing board)
Hi, Pacheco Family!! Well, I finally made it to your blog. Apparently this site is quite particular about each and every placement of the letters in the address. You would think that it could have extended a little more grace and let me on even if I forgot its precious little (.) Arrrgggghhh.
Millie is absolutely precious. We are praying for your continued safety and good health to all, body and soul. I'm sending lots of squaunches to the whole family and we are looking forward to seeing you when you get back.
Grace, peace, and love to all.
Cricket
Praise the Lord you now have your beautiful Millie with you. How emotional it must have been for all of you and we will continue to pray that you all will get some good rest. We watched a family in Sunnyside bring their little girl home from China (about the same age as Millie). At first she was rather shy but now she's very out going and quite a little princes. She has adjusted beautifully. Her older brother was on Joel's baseball team so that's how we became aquainted.
Maddie you are a wonderful big sister. We've heard so many good things about you and even though we don't see you very much, we are very proud of you.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We continue to be amazed at the way God blesses our lives and are so thankful Millie will now be raised in a Christian home.
Love you lots,
Carol & Ted
ps: We are headed to Arizona for three weeks but will be able to use our laptop some.
I just finally caught up on your news today and was thrilled to hear how God provided in your travel (no missed flights) and in your bonding as a family. I love the picture of Millie laughing and giggling when you were tickling her. (She and Luke will get along well with their giggling!) I pray that the rest of your time in China will be an enriching experience for your family and that you will learn much that you can share with Millie someday. Right now you are sharing with her what she needs most - the deep and abiding love of a FAMILY! We look forward to being able to add to that when you return. We will anxiously await our first opportunity to welcome Millie, and the rest of you, home. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Praying for daily health, rest and encouragement.
Big hugs and much love to all 5 of you!
Love,
Kaylin (for Emil and Luke too)
She looks like one of the girls already! :) Your expressive words painted a lovely picture of how you are adjusting to being a family, Marna. Thanks for being so honest and giving your time to write this when you must be so exhausted. It will help you remember so vividly later, too. Hope all of you are enjoying the time together and soaking up the culture as much as possible so that you will be able to share that with Millie when she starts to ask questions. We will keep praying for you as you all go through the range of emotions together!
Oh what a sweet sweet precious time. To see God carrying you through each and every moment. Praise God in how He has gone before each and every single detail of this process preparing, guiding and directing you all the way to China to sweet Millie and He will be with you ALL:) on your way home and with each and every stage of this wonderful process. We rejoice with you completely and you are in our prayers continually - Oh I know I don't need to know details to pray - but thank you so much for sharing this experience and your heart. Praise God as we see God's faithful and sovereign hand throughout your precious and priceless journey.
We love you!
Carrie T
PRAISE the LORD ! God seems to have worked out some of the concerns and the joy you express comes through as a praise and thanks to God. God must have somethig extra special for this little girl because thousands will never be adopted and God saw fit to give little Millie to a wondrful Christian family who in time will love here to Jesus.
I just have no words!! Joy does not even seem to begin to express, oh Marna, your words played out like a movie in my head, I could see it all, especially Millie asleep and you praising our Lord and Savior, and memorizing every detail of your precious baby. I think you could probably fly without a plane now!! know that we are praising with you!! (and Maddie, Rissa thinks it is way cool that you are a world traveler, with a stamped passport!! ) Oh my friend, soak it all in, and then hurry home to all of us!!
love much
Ami
Dan, Marna and Maddy,
We are rejoicing with you and congratulations!! Marna, thanks for sharing how you feel -- what a great and awesome God we have! He loves us beyond words and He certainly loves Millie!
What a blessed Mama you are :)
Kimberly Chance
We rejoice with you, as you get to know your precious baby girl. Millie is in our prayers, for the Lord to heal all the broken places in her short life. Oh, how His heart aches as this child has to deal with pain He didn't intend... But there is redemption, like our adoption into Our Lord's family, Millie has been grafted into a beautiful, loving, godly home! Praise God for His goodness to your family, to Millie! My heart is happy and sad at the same time!
Love,
Jen for the Webers
Oh my...What a sweet blessing. Thank-you so much for all the wonderful details. Oh how I loved seeing the picture. What a beautiful family you make. We continue to pray . Know how much we love you and can't wait to have you all home again.
W/ love Brenda
Marna (and dan and marna too)
Your writing was so beautiful I felt like I was there in the room rocking Millie myself. I could see it all in your descriptions. What a wonderful writer you are. Your emotions came through so beautifully and I just appreciated the chance to be a part of it. You know we love you and just rejoice in your joy. This is just the beginning of a wonderful relationship with your daughter. I just imagine how much joy she will have someday to read what you wrote, knowing she was recieved with such excitement and emotion. We love you all so much.
Konda
Oops, I must have jet lag too since I meant to write (dan and Maddy too). Didn't mean to leave you out Maddy.
Konda
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