Happy.....yes! Most definitely!
Sometimes this past year does seem like a fairytale......kind of......it is certainly a tale....
~filled with sadness and happiness
~filled with loss and gain
~filled with pain and hope
This is a 'tale' of one little girl's brave journey to becoming our daughter.....
(referral picture)
accepting us as her family....
opening up her heart to us.....
trusting us.....
loving us!
Avery 'officially' became our daughter a year ago.....
Recently, she has chosen to become our daughter.
Let me explain......
A year ago, when we first met each other Avery was a frightened and confused almost four year old child.
She had already lost so much....long before I met her.
She was eight months old when she entered her orphanage.
I think her life at her orphanage was just fine.
She was well taken care of...
Well provided for....
(Her orphanage participates in Half the Sky Children's Center program.)
A turning point in our relationship occurred when she explained to us why she doesn't like her Chinese name.....
Simply.....
"No one loved Qing Zu La"
This is a child who rarely discusses anything related to China.....
She has never told us anything about her life in her orphanage...although I have many pictures of her when she lived there.... always smiling....playing happily with her friends....hugging her nannies.....
Maybe she is still processing everything......
Maybe it hurts too much....
Maybe she just wants to move on...
???????
However, she finally told us something.....
We don't use her Chinese name now....
With this revelation, I realized that Avery was starting to understand the fact that we loved her...
that we treasured her...
that she was special...
that she was {is} our "Princess".....forever!
Since, then she has opened up to us more and more...
She started becoming our daughter....emotionally.....
Her choice.
Loving us!
Accepting us!
Giving us her heart!
As I reflect over this year,
I am awed....
humbled....
amazed....
It has been a journey...I celebrate this journey!
We will continue to journey together....there is so much more to come....
This child...
This brave little girl...
Has become our daughter!
Our "Avery Ever After"!
oh i am touched! As my own sweetie rests her head on my shoulder after she fell off her ride-on car. These moments, so little, so ordinary are huge!
ReplyDeleteThanks you so for sharing!
Nancy-or the crazy 8
So sweet! K'Tyo doesn't share much with us either. He just smiles & says "I don't remember". It's so sad to be missing so many pieces, but he seems to be very forward-focused.
ReplyDeleteNow you're going to make me cry! we have to stop doing this.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post...and precious little girl. So glad you stopped by!
ReplyDeleteOh Chris! This made me cry. I love it so much. I love it because it is real. It is not all "Oh, our lives are just a walk on a pile of roses every day because we love our baby so much! Blah, blah, blah. I go to so many sites and I see that stuff and I think WHAT IS WRONG with these people? I know that adoption is a wonderful blessing and many good things come out of it, but it is also hard. And there are sad things too. So thank you for being real and honest. I love it so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting Murphree's Moments! I LOVED this post! How precious and inspiring!! I'm excited to be your newest 'follower'! Wishing you a FaBuLoUs week!! With Love...
ReplyDeleteoh my what a precious story. tears welling up here. reminds me of our relationship with Christ. Blessings Miss Avery!
ReplyDeleteOh so sweet...and such big thoughts for her to process and come to terms with. I so agree that it takes awhile for these children to become our children, and accept us as their parents. It's not on our timetables, but on theirs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! :)
Beautifully written. There is some much we will never know and understand about our children's pasts. I think so often we expect our children to love us immediately because we "chose" them in our hearts but how true it is that at some point, they must chose as well. Beautifully written, thank you for sharing your heart!
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you this week!
What a beautiful post!! So inspiring! Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day!
That sweet, sweet Avery! What a testimony she is to how real LOVE can make a child positively blossom!! How her smile makes ME smile! I can only imagine how it makes her momma smile :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Avery Ever After Day!!
What a great post. It's been so obvious to me over this year of reading your blog that the reason Avery was able to come to the CHOICE to be your daughter and the CHOICE to trust and engage is because you live with such HOPE. You know the end of the story, you know that the battle has been won and you are living that out in front of her. Your balance of truth and honesty no matter the hard or good times you experience together is so helpful and encouraging. Thanks for sharing and being real. AND.... Happy Avery Day!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post!! Happy Avery After Day. May Avery's heart continue to heal and be blessed with those that surround her with love!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! I so appreciate you sharing this!
ReplyDeleteOh wow. This is one of the most beautiful one year stories I've read. Simply because of how you as a mom are reading your precious girl, taking her cues on being a loving family from her.
ReplyDeleteThe line, "Recently, she has chosen to become our daughter." brought tears to my eyes.
Beautiful child, beautiful story, beautifully written by GOD!
ReplyDeletePrecious post and "Avery ever after" is precious too.
ReplyDelete