Better than Christmas.

I have to say, aside from my wedding day and the births of my three biological children, this has been one of the best days of my life. I cannot describe the feelings I had when we opened that package and finally saw our daughter's face. I am so thankful, so in awe of a God who knew from the start who our daughter was and specifically placed her in our hearts so long ago. We found out today that her Chinese middle name means 'graceful' (we named her Leila Grace near the time of her birth). We also learned that my great-grandmother Leila Ross (our daughter's namesake) was born just one day earlier than our daughter (August 20, 1899). We have no doubt that this child was meant to be ours. We know there will be challenges and some difficult times ahead, but we also know that there will be so much joy. My day started with flowers from Jason with one pretend flower that said "It's a Toddler!" After receiving the package and showing the boys the pictures, I was able to share the pictures and news with everyone at my Bible study. What a great start to the day. I then surprised Madison by showing up at school during her lunch hour to show her (and all awaiting teachers) the pictures. The kids are SO excited! We finished out the evening with dinner at Fortuna Wok with some close friends who came to congratulate us (and many employees of the restaurant who were excited for us as well! They even translated a little bit of her paperwork for me!). All in all, an amazing day. Hopefully one we will never forget.