Halloween, 2013...

Hi everyone--

As you've possibly noticed, I've been behind on the blog, but I made some progress in catching up last week-end... I don't like to post out of order, but I wanted to pay tribute to memories about some very important moments in our journey with Ellie-Kate...

In 2008, we trick or treated with our friends, Dan and Jen and their children Ryley and Caden. Afterward, we visited in our living room while Ryley and Emmy embraced a chance to play. As Jen and I were chatting, I mentioned this beautiful baby on the special needs list-- with the most adorable brown eyes. I could close my eyes and see her face, especially those eyes. However, her needs went far beyond what we had agreed that we could handle. I had mentioned "Kristin" (her agency name) to Roger in passing but not really pushed anything. He was the practical one; I was being unrealistic. We already had three busy girls. Clearly, we had limits on our time, boundaries on what we could give, what we could address in the frenzy of our lives. Quietly, I had clicked on her face more times than I could count between the first week of September and that day of trick or treating. How could I already love this baby when I would possibly never meet her?

Jen responded in a way that I will never forget. She noted that, when the doctor put Ryley in her arms, he indicated that she was a healthy baby. Yet, Ryley has endured many health challenges in her life. The point? We never know. Why not find out more?

After our friends left, I talked to Roger and showed "Kristin" (or "An Yu Fan," her Chinese name) to him on the computer. She was so beautiful, and I was so drawn to her. Blessedly, the International Adoption Clinic at Nationwide Children's Hospital offers consultations for a modest fee. We could find out about her heart defect, spinal biffida occulta, and hip displacia-- wow, even typing those conditions now, they sound so scary, so difficult, so overwhelming. When I looked at her picture on the website, my eyes always jumped from those words up to her face. If I could make those conditions go away... yet, if those conditions didn't exist, we wouldn't have this opportunity. She wouldn't even be on the special needs list, and her picture wouldn't greet me every time that I turned on the computer...

I truly praise God for our friends and for Jen's words of wisdom. I praise God for Roger allowing us to even entertain the idea of adopting this little girl that he agreed to take the meeting at the hospital. I praise God for putting Ellie-Kate on that list and for placing her in my heart from the start. He ordained her to be part of our family, and I am so grateful for His work in our lives that enabled us all to become a family.

Now, five years since that critical conversation, we trick or treated together. She laughed up our street as she ran from house to house with her friend, Jack. Outsiders would never have any reason to guess that she was once on a special needs list with medical conditions that sounded ominous. Most can never imagine Ellie-Kate anywhere but right where she is-- with her very own mommy and daddy and sisters.

Truly, thank you, Lord! Praising you for our precious baby girl!!

Christie