Metcha Day One Year Later

One year ago today on December 10, 2007 our family was forever changed! It was a change for the good. It was the day we met our Twink. I'm not sure I can put into words what this past year has been like with Twink. So many emotions, highs and lows. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was a strong little girl in so many ways. It might have been the fight she put on to get away from me on Metcha Day or the fact that she was walking that day. I was floored by her strength and to this day I am in awe of her.

Looking back over the last year I've seen this child who could barely sit up, not eat solid food, looked and acted very autistic grow into a beautiful little girl. We were going to doctors every other week if not weekly for awhile. I probably could have taken things slower but then I don't think we would be as far as we are right now. We have been blessed to have such a great developmental doctor who helps line up different doctors and therapies.

Twink joined our family and since that beautiful day none of our lives have been the same. Her siblings look forward to coming home from school and seeing her. You should see her sweet face when they walk through the door. She gets very excited and lets out a squeel.

At times I get overwhelmed with emotions. What if we had turned down this beautiful child out of fear of the unknown? I mean a brain cyst is pretty heavy stuff. I'm so thankful to our Lord who pointed us in all the right directions and who gave us faith to accept her as our daughter. I also am thankful that it was not until we returned home that we found out that she had a stroke in utero which caused her to have cerebral palsy. When one hears CP generally they think the worst case. Not knowing really how or what CP was I'm not sure how things would have turned out. Knowing me, I'm sure I would have done a ton of research and been OK with it but I don't know. I just think things worked out the way they did because HE knew. Thank you Lord, we could not have done any of this without you!

Look how far Twink has come! Oh and if you'd like to view our adoption video here you go.

This is the that I posted one year ago (a day Late)
December 11, 2007 (Day 5 and another summery of Day 4 from Cheri)

Wow, is all I can say. I sit here and watch this beautiful little girl sleep and she is just so precious! Yesterday was an amazing day! I thank God for answered prayers in so many ways! We walked into that civil affairs building with so much knowledge, thanks to so many friends on-line. We knew that Twink would not be thrilled to see us. When we walked in and saw her walking it was all I could do to keep from sobbing. I'm not sure how many of you reading know but Twink has an Arachnoid Brian Cyst that will need to be drained (surgery) when we return home. We were told she was not walking but knew that after the cyst was drained she may start. We planned on giving her the best home no matter what. We loved her from the beginning. Trust in the Lord! She does have weakness in her right arm but that too will come around after surgery with some physical therapy!

Twink reacted much like I had expected her to. She tried to push me away, threw herself backwards, hit me and pulled my hair. You could see how mad and confused she was. Her whole world was changing. Here she was in a room full of different looking people, speaking a totally different language who smelled different too. We were taking her from everything and everyone she's ever known. Imagine your two year old and how they might react if a stranger came and took them. When she cried you can hear how sad she is. It is so heart breaking.

She had two directors drive her to the Civil Affairs building in Kunming. What wonderful men they were. They were so excited and so grateful she now has a forever family. We have a physical address for her foster family so we can send pictures of her to them. I'm not sure if we can write to them or not but we'll see. They brought a gift for me to give to Twink for when she is older. It is a purse and their part of minority outfit. It is beautiful. They also returned the items we sent in Lia's care package. I'm not sure if she received them but they did take about 12 pictures or so. I think we are going to try and do the one hour photo place here so we can see what is on it.

Last night was very tough. She cried for a long time. I'm sure she is mourning all that she has lost. First her foster family now the orphanage, but things are getting better. The Count had some great bonding time with her last night. He had her laughing and giggling. Today has been really good until this evening. She loves to throw her self back. I can tell you my arms are pretty sore. We are not sure when she has a headache so I did give her Motrin. I also started her on her antibiotic because she was tugging at her ears pretty good. She is taking a "nap" right now. I think we'll have to do something about that! I would love it if she slept from now until morning. Yesterday she woke back up from her nap at 8pm just like the director said she would. She is sleeping a bit longer tonight. She hates the crib so I will probably take that down and split the bunk beds up.

We have some beautiful pictures of her from today! She loves her daddy! Some times he can't even leave the room or she gets really upset. She really has taken to both of us. She'll pick which one she wants when. We went to a Buhdist Temple today. It was beautiful! After that we went to a tea ceremony and tasted different tea. Some tea from this area, some tea from other parts of China. I LOVE tea. Even The Count liked some of the tea. Lunch was AMAZING!!! We went to Pizza Hut! Hahaha It tasted so good and just like it does at home.

I've been fighting migraines since we've been in China. They are starting to get pretty bad and I have all of my meds with me. One of my travel buddies Kathy is also having problems with them so if you could keep us in your prayers that would be great. Please keep the babies in your prayers for their adjustments to their new strange ;) parents.

I must add, Twink is much bigger than I expected her to be. She fits in to some of her 24 month clothes but they are big in the waist and a little long. The 18 months will probably fit great in the pants but not in the shirt. I think she may even have the same size foot as Spitfire. My guess on her weight is that she is between 28-30lbs. She is beautiful and we are so blessed to be her parents! China is such a beautiful country!

Tomorrow we will be going to the Stone Forest. It is suppose to be amazing! I can hardly wait. Well she is up so I must go!

Cheri~