Finding Our Daughter:
April 2009 we found our daughter on an adoption photo-listing online. I showed her picture to Chris, not because I wanted to adopt her, but because she reminded me of someone I knew. She was familiar to me in a way that I hadn't felt before. Upon showing Chris her picture, he immediately said, “Christina, that’s our daughter.” I sat in silence—shocked. After all, I was expecting a newborn!
(This was her glamour shot that was used for her adoption photo-listing.)
I read Chris her adoption profile and before I was even half way through I got that feeling that only an adoptive parent can understand---that "this is your child" feeling. Tears filled my eyes and at that moment, I knew she was ours. She wasn't the newborn I had planned on, but I learned something that day:
Let Go and Let God
I read Chris her adoption profile and before I was even half way through I got that feeling that only an adoptive parent can understand---that "this is your child" feeling. Tears filled my eyes and at that moment, I knew she was ours. She wasn't the newborn I had planned on, but I learned something that day:
Let Go and Let God
Meeting
Our Daughter:
Four years ago yesterday, August 16, 2009, we met our daughter for the first time. I will never forget pulling up to her foster home and seeing this little face peer out of this huge glass window. I was like, “Oh my gosh!! There she is!!” She was adorable with her little glasses, thick bangs, chapped lips, and crooked smile.
Four years ago yesterday, August 16, 2009, we met our daughter for the first time. I will never forget pulling up to her foster home and seeing this little face peer out of this huge glass window. I was like, “Oh my gosh!! There she is!!” She was adorable with her little glasses, thick bangs, chapped lips, and crooked smile.
(This was an accurate picture of Maylee, at time of adoption.)
We spent a few
days in Oregon, where she is from, getting to know her. We took her to Sunset Beach near Coos Bay, Maylee’s
hometown. Maylee, who was named Kayla, at the
time, always said it was "her beach". She went there as a young
child and remembers making sandcastles with her biological siblings. We began referring to the beach as
"Kayla's Beach".
(This is our first family photo ever. It as taken on Kayla's Beach.)
While we were walking along Kayla's beach, 4 years ago today, Chris stopped in his tracks and whispered to me, "Do you remember that dream I told you about a few years ago? We had two little boys and a daughter? Remember? I told you we were on a beach." I nodded. He replied, "This is it Christina. My dream was on Kayla's beach and Kayla is our daughter from the dream.” At that moment any doubts I had diminished. I knew she was ours.
The Exciting First Year:
The first year with Maylee was exciting!! You can’t imagine the excitement when your daughter stops calling you “Chris and Christina” and calls you “Mom and Dad”. You will never forget that first time she says, “I love you.” Or even the simple things like pulling over on the top of Monte Cristo to show her snow for the first time in her life, watching her throw it up into the air, and giggle when it lands on her face! These moments of bliss, when the world just stops and my husband and children are the only ones in it with me, are what makes all of what I do worth-while.
(This was Maylee's first time seeing snow.)
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