Three Years Ago Today

Charlie, Annie and I, along with our guide Bob, were sitting in the Guangzhou Civil Affairs office. I have seen this room so many times in other families' Family Day videos and pictures. The red couches with black and white pillows are very distinctive. Each time I see pictures of those pillows, it makes me think of this day.

This office also has a nice playroom and Annie occupied herself with the bouncing balls and other toys while we waited. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress and there was a matching one in a slightly smaller size waiting on the couch, along with a little purple backpack full of small toys and treats. Finally the elevator doors opened and a woman walked out, holding the hand of a small girl in an orange-flowered dress and little white sandals. She looked a little dazed - and no wonder. As we later found out, she had just been told a few hours before that she was meeting her new family that day.

Annie went into action immediately, offering crackers and treats. As we filled out paperwork, I watched them interact. It was if they had known each other forever. Bethany seemed to have an instinctual trust in Annie and Annie, for her part, seemed to take on the big sister persona immediately.




Soon, there was a need for a trip to the restroom. Bethany likes to share the memory of a little accident with the orange dress ("Mommy, remember when I peed on my dress??!") and she got to put on her new pink dress. This is one of my favorite pictures ever of the girls, taken as we left the government office. What amazing bravery she shows, taking her new sister's hand to go off with people she just met, who don't look like her or even speak her language.




Bethany's easy-going personality was evident immediately. She was happy no matter what we were doing. Everything was new, and interesting and down right fun. She and Annie spent hours jumping on the hotel bed, playing in the playground and watching Dora the Explorer videos. They dressed in matching outfits and played dress up.
We were lucky enough to be able to visit Bethany's orphanage and she was so excited and proud to show off her new family. While you could tell she was attached to her caregivers and her friends, it was equally evident she was ready for her new life. One night we had pizza with another adoptive family and while we were there, a third family came to the hotel room to visit. One of the best moments of the whole trip happened for me then. As soon as the new people came through the door, Bethany ran to them, grabbed their arms and dragged them over to where I was sitting. "Mama!!" she said, then took them over to Charlie and said "Baba!!" Remembering the look on her face still brings tears to my eyes.




Bethany settled into her new life easily. Of course she had her big sister with her and that made all the difference. Four months after we came home, Annie went off to kindergarten, and Bethany stayed in preschool. We thought she might struggle with the separation, but she had made many friends and settled in so well that it was a smooth transition.







One of our favorite memories of Bethany happened during preschool graduation. There were just 6 kids in her class and most of them were very shy on stage and you could not hear them sing. Not Miss Bethany. She belted out the song at the top of her lungs and quickly won over the entire church full of people. By the end of the song, she was the only one singing and she got huge round of applause and cheers, along with much laughter.





She breezed happily through kindergarten and is just about to graduate from first grade. She has received award for her hard work in school and in her speech therapy. She is known as a hugger and as everyone's friend. She is always kind and thoughtful. She does have her moments, but they are actually few and far between. She wasn't all that thrilled to have a little brother at first and there are still times when she is not so sure about it, but most of the time she plays with him like they have known each other forever. She loves to eat just about everything, but will would rather eat a tomato than most anything else.



Tonight we went out to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Before we had pie to celebrate her special day, she had to show me something - she learned this week to ride her new, big girl bike. Her face was glowing as she pedaled down the sidewalk and I thought again how blessed we, and so many others, are to have this girl in our life.