Happy Gotcha Day Eden

Four years ago today, Brandon and I boarded a plan from Beijing to Chengdu, China.  We went to a small hotel room and unloaded our belongings, then headed to a local bank.  We sat there forever and almost missed a very important appointment!  Our guide spoke with someone and miraculously we were moved to the front of the line.  Next we traveled about 20 minutes in a van to the outskirts of Chengdu.  It was at this destination our lives would forever be changed.  We drove through a big, black metal gate and the van came to a stop at a building that resembled a hospital.  We walked inside and up a flight of stairs.  As we began to walk down the hall, we heard the sounds of little ones crying. We were led to a small conference room with a big table in the center of the room.  My eyes scanned the room looking for a tiny, familiar face.  There were two families in the room with their new little boys in their arms and they were the source of the cries we had first heard.  We sat down and were handed a gift I never dream we would get....Eden's baby photo album!!!  I thought I would never get a glimpse at the beginnings of her precious life, but God chose to give us that extra little gift!! As we turned the pages, we saw pictures of her with her lip repaired. (palate was repaired too!) Before we finished looking at the book, we looked up to see the most beautiful baby in the world!! As her China momma held her for the last time, she had tears in her eyes and told us " She just needs love."  She placed her in my arms and I knew life would never be the same.  She was perfect.  She was 17 months old and weighed a whopping 14lbs and was 21inches.  She was still on a bottle and took it every 4 hours...yes..even at night!!!! One week later, she was eating pizza and chicken alfredo!

Four years ago today, Brandon and I walking in the orphanage together as a family of 2.   We walked out of there as first time parents to Eden Ann Yarbrough.  We were a family of three.  Our lives were forever changed.  God placed a deep love in our hearts for the children of China.  I praise Him that He has allowed us to grow our family through adoption.  

This was the first time we saw Eden's face as we reviewed her file on June 6th of 2009! She is 9 months old in these first 2 pictures and weighed 9.5lbs.  

             
 This picture is her finding/intake picture at about 1month old.  She weighed about 5lbs.

This woman is very special to our family although we do not know her name.  She is Eden's China Momma.  She took care of Eden for 16 months .  She wrote progress reports every 3-4 months that we now have.  She also visited my little girl in the hospital while she was there for 17 days after her surgery.  May God bless this woman!!!!