Karlee's Gotcha Day Anniversary!

Three years ago today, we landed in Taiwan, drove 3 hours to a little house in Taichung, walked in and watched a little girl walk down the hall and into our hearts. Seeing her, knowing she was created to be our daughter from the beginning of time- what a beautiful of example of how God works things for our good. And while, the beginning was not as we had dreamed or could have ever comprehended, God has truly worked a miracle in all of our lives making us a family. I cannot believe that three years have passed and how much she has changed. We celebrated tonight eating at the same Chinese restaurant where we ate the day we got her referral pictures! She was in a daddy mood as you can see by the picture- ha! (The addition to our family is Bhagyashri- one of my students who is going to spend Christmas with us. )

Karlee has been very excited about her Gotcha Day and as we talked about when we got her, Drew shared with her how she had slept with him and would not let me give her a bottle or anything. I laughed and said, yeah, you were scared of mommy. She laughed at that and said, well I wasn't scared of daddy? I said, well I guess not. But you didn't know what a mommy was, what a family was and it was a scary time for you. She laughed and said, I am not scared anymore! I told her I was glad. She said she knew we were her mommy and daddy and that we were a family. You know, I think back to those first days and even the last 3 years and how hard the first two were and to be completely honest, I would not change it. It hurt, it still does at times, and it was the most difficult thing we have ever experienced, but we also get to see God work in all of our lives, healing each of us and it is amazing at how much He has done over the past 3 years. Every smile I get to witness, I say a prayer of thanks. Every giggle, every hug, every time her eyes twinkle, I am grateful because I remember when those things were not present in her life. I watch her play, interact, learn and even struggle and remind myself how much she has progressed. So, I write this post tonight amazed, humbled, and so thankful for our daughter, Karlee. This is the first video I have blogged. Check it out.