I will put one thing I wrote 2 years ago here for all my waiting mommy friends. This is what I wrote about looking at our referral packet after it arrived. I just want you all to know it WILL happen for you : )
He got home and with shaking hands and anxious hearts we tore it open and there you were!!! We stared at your face because it was absolutely beautiful. In that sweet moment all the paperwork, struggles and months of waiting disappeared. We were getting the first glimpse of our precious baby girl : )There was also a lot of paperwork in the package with details about you! Most of it was in Mandarin so I knew I would need to take it to our neighbor Jenny to translate. I grabbed the Acceptance document and Daddy and I signed it immediately. There was no question on that one..you were OURS and we were one step closer to bringing you home.
As many other parents do, we take a photo of Annslee on our referral anniversary holding her referral photo (she was 6 months old in her referral pic)
Here she is on the one year anniversary. If you click on this link it will take you to all the pictures in last year's photo session : )
September 1, 2006
Here is our photo session from today....she is growing up so fast!
Seeing her face for the first time was so incredible and then having to wait 10 weeks to travel was torture. It seems like she has been with us forever and we cannot even remember what we did before having her in our arms. She is everything we wished, hoped and prayed for in a daughter.
We love you baby girl!!
36 comments:
Hey Just got chills. I've been thinking about posting about 2 years ago but haven't got there yet. They have grown so much. Annslee looks so big!! I will never forget trying to call Joe (he was in Florida) and not being able to get the words out:)
Laura,
I got the bibs this week, and they are soooo cute. Thank you so much. I will post a thank you when I get a chance this weekend.
Wow, it is amzing to me how big she is in only two short years. That is a great idea to take a yearly photo. I missed our referral day but maybe we'll make it a G&R day tradition here!
It is amazing how all of the waiting just melts away with one glance at your sweet girl's face...I will forever remember our referral day as one of the best days EVER!
Annslee is such a gorgeous girl and she has grown up so much in 2 years...
Awww, that brings out the happy in me. She's growing up right before your eyes.
Two years has flown by hasn't it? They change so much it makes you wonder what they will be like in two more years! Praying about your referral Laura!
What a FAB idea - I wonder if it is too late to start that with molly?
I just LOVE to hear these stories!!
Annslee is growing so beautifully!
Our 2 year referral anniversary is Monday, the 3rd...that sure was some CRAZY ride back then!! Our LID was 2/26/05 & we really didn't think we'd make that batch! Now...here we are almost 2 years home already & these girls are just so AMAZING!!
Thanks so much for sharing your story!
The pictures are great!
We were chatting about that tonight in the car, and when I told me hubby "can you believe it will be already 3 years in a week!" he said he could not believe it was "only" 3 years because for him she has been with us all the time...
Happy 2 years!
I love the idea of her with the referral picture each year. That is a great idea and one that we will remember. She is such an amazing little girl.
Wow - way to get me crying! I love that idea of the pics each year too. Hope you are writing soon about another certain referral!
I just wrote a 2 year post as well...will take pics tomorrow. Can you believe it's been 2 years, it has just flown by!! Can't believe how big our babies are now!
Julie
I remember missing that referral period by 4 stinking days, I was so upset because you and Jenny were included and I wasn't....now I can't even imagine having it any other way...Amelia was worth the extra months wait. I'm glad I watch your site so much because I totally forgot it was referal time this year...man who would have thought that would happen?
Tracy
Aaw... and two years ago today we were thinking we were mere days from seeing our EFP - how wrong we were! But how grateful 3 months later when we finally did see our darling...
It is amazing isn't it? How everything is right with the world when you are finally with the love of your life... across the miles and years... I think we are so lucky to have these moments.. where everything disappears for love of one very amazing baby!
Happy 2nd referral day anniversary!
Missy -- EFP's Mom
Isn't it amazing what two years has done! Our anniversay referral date is today (the 2nd) and I'll never forget that feeling!
Annslee sure has come a long way since that referral photo! She is truly (as I said before) one beautiful little girl!
Tears!
Looking back now I bet the 2 years have flown by. (Im jealous... you got to travel 2 months after ref... I was 6 months!) Love to see how much Annslee's grown!
*Oh & thanks for tagging me:) LOL! Im working on a come-back. Hehehe... (JUST KIDDING!)
I love the way you've taken her picture each year with the referral photo. What a great way to really see how much she's changed.
And of course she's as gorgeous as ever :).
I can't believe how much she's grown up! She is just adorable...
I have loved watching Annslee grow, she is so cute, it is hard to believe we have only had them in our lives for 2 years because I think they have always been in our hearts,I feel like Lauren has always been mine from birth:)
Happy Day!! I love the pictures of her holding her picture.
BTW, I think we have the same name, and my nickname is LaLa. My cousin called me that when she was little, so it's been with me a long time.
So beautiful, I love the pic of her peeping from behind her picture.
She is so precious.
What a happy two years! You know, I just told Rick yesterday that I feel like we'll never make it to China. I feel so far removed from everything adoption right now. Another numb moment, I guess. So, thanks for the encouragement! Although, just seeing all the pictures of precious Annslee is encouragement enough sometimes. Hope the wait for your precious Malia is almost over. It will be fantastic when both our Malia's are home!
oh I did not realize we got our referrals at the same time! Its our referral anniversary too.
I love the pics!
I'm waiting for my referral now, and that post made me VERY teary. Thank you for sharing. You gave me some great ideas on how to document some of the special days to come.
What a wonderful post. She is growing up so fast. I wish they could stay little for a bit longer.
Thank you so much for all of your support. It really means a lot. One day I hope you and Annslee will show Tori and I around the zoo. ;o)
Wonderful post....she is just precious....
Beautiful post! Thank you, I n eeded to read this.
I can't believe it was 2 years ago. glad we got to take the journey with you and all the other Hubei family.
What a sweet post.....those anniversaries are so special! They are still so vivid with us too....never to be forgotten how those moments changed our lives forever! Thanks for sharing!
Deb
Laura,
Thank you for reminding all of us that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. This brought back memories of when we were waiting. Each batch of referrals felt like a life time. But, when we finally received our referral and we sat and looked at our cute darling fat babies (4 1/2 months old in their referral picture) I knew everything was going to be ok. You who are waiting will see. Once they place your precious child in your arms you will know the wait was so worth it. Trust me. I know this does not make it any easier but I do want to re-assure you.
A beautiful post about a very beautiful ittle girl!
awesome!!
Love the referral pics being held!
I remember... we were all on the yahoo groups - posting such crazy comments as we waited to hear ... to hear ANYTHING!
Were we really that Nutso!?!?! Yeah, I think we were!
Happy Two Year Referral Anniversary!
She's so grown up. What a sweetheart. It must have been an outrageously wonderful two years. And I agree that it's a great idea for the yearly referral photo. Really cute.
Sweet, beautiful, true love. Clearly meant to be.
BTW I got a beautiful gift in the mail today. thank you so much for those thoughtful items. the pink outfit and Dr. Seuss wil be loved and await my Grace to arive.
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