We received a phone call that would change our lives forever...
and finally saw the very first photo of our adorable Jessa Li Hope.
Just remembering the excitement of that day, the anxiousness David and I felt for the phone to finally ring, and when it did - the way I froze and my mind could hardly comprehend the information our adoption director was giving us LOL! The emails flying back and forth between my other waiting friends, the confirmation of her birthday and the way God was so faithful to give us the answers we longed for about our daughter even while she was in China, finally learning where our daughter was born and all about her first year without us...
and the overwhelming feeling of God's goodness in finally answering our prayers - it is such a beautiful memory and one that I can't wait to share with Jessa! She was the cutest little thing! I remember thinking when I first saw her photo come up through our email..."she is adorable! look at those little cheeks - I prayed for those cheeks!" :) So incredible how much difference a year makes! This is our spunky, lil' 2 yr. old, Guizhou sweetie now!
There really are so many wonderful memories to cherish about that day. From Andrew helping me to create the little Chinese take-out boxes to share our news with all of our family,
to my heart racing to find out more about this sweet baby in the tiny photo, 
to David's permanent smile that radiated pure joy!
to this very special family photo of us celebrating that day!
It was thrilling and exhilarating and terrifying all rolled together. It has almost been a full year for our family since bringing our little girl home from China, and to think it all started with a single phone call. Last year we celebrated the 4th of July knowing that any day we would finally see the long awaited photo and anxious....soooo anxious...to hear the news of our referral! This year over the holiday as I held Jessa in my lap and watched the fireworks, I remembered that feeling of wondering if this little girl so far away would ever come to love me as her Mommy. With her sleeping in my arms, then riding back to the van perched on my shoulders, holding my hands, and snuggling into my neck...It occurred to me that I now know the answer to that question. The little girl in the photo that I fell in love with is finally home and I am blessed that she calls me her Momma! :)
2 comments:
Oh my gosh! I remember that day... like it was yesterday. Little Miss Jessa is still just as beautiful as she was back then. Well, maybe even more so. I cannot believe it has been a year already.
Your entire family is beautiful. So sweet to see how much your kids love each other. Glad you guys had a wonderful 4th.
She's one of the cutest girls I know! So glad she is home.
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