Nothing brings more joy to a waiting adoptive Momma like pictures and video of her sweet baby girl who's waiting in an orphanage. Oh to scoop her up and draw into our family with loving arms!
We received an answer to 10 of our questions that we asked about her back in May, right after China gave us pre-approval to adopt her.
In those questions, we learned she:
loves bunny rabbits,
can crawl around using the strength in her arms,
likes to:
paint
sing
handcraft (we have a precious video of her creating an intricate origami boat--all from memory!)
cook
and serve tea!!
She :
is very active and outgoing
loves to play with other children
and is really excited to have so many brothers and sisters!!!
And does anyone remember that I sent her a very special necklace while we were in China adopting Toby? (If not, you can read about it here.) Well, here's what was said about it:
"She keeps that necklace for herself all the time. She doesn't wear it during the daytime though as she doesn't want to break it. She cherishes it very much."
"She cherishes it very much..."
These words stick in my heart...and catch in my throat. Just like the words from her original update I read when we fell in love with her. The question was asked, "Does she want a large family or a small family?"
The answer from Esty, "I just want a family."
Those words pounded through my heart for days.
A sweet, most precious little girl, just longing for ANY FAMILY.
Oh. It makes me teary even still.
And then, to be in China and be able to send her the necklace...for it said on the back "Jeremiah 29:11"
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
God Almighty has an incredible plan for our Esty. I believe this because for the first time EVER in my life, God told me something directly in a dream.
Our first night in Hong Kong, on the way to adopt Toby (this is even BEFORE Brian was on board to adopt her!!) I dreamt that God came to me and told me to name HanHan (her current Chinese name) Esther because He wanted her in place for the special job He has for her. I knew in the dream that that placement was in our family, in America. Not in an orphanage.
If you are not familiar with the amazing biblical story of Esther, you should really go read it.
The clincher line that has always stayed with me is when Mordecai says to Esther, "who knows if perhaps you were made queen for a time such as this?" when he bolsters her with courage to do a very important job to save her people.
Similarly, our daughter must no longer be an orphan in order to do the job she must do.
Hence, the name "Esty." (Yes, we know it's like Etsy...and even though we adore art and all things crafty, we are not naming her after that website!) hee hee
As I watched the 3 minute and 44 second video of her silently, carefully folding the paper into a paper boat I realized many things:
she is patient,
she is intelligent,
she sees things through to the end,
she is good with her hands,
she loves to create,
she takes pride in a job well done.
You might note that those are all things really necessary for a doctor.
In her original video, shot two years ago now, she said that when she grows up she wants to become a doctor!
I don't know if that is the job the Lord has for her or not, but one thing is for sure: she won't get there sitting in an orphanage in China!
OH! We are sooooo thrilled to become her family!
I couldn't help creating this photo montage when I realized I had an image of her pointing to something else she had made:
Will you join us in praying Esty HOME???
We received an answer to 10 of our questions that we asked about her back in May, right after China gave us pre-approval to adopt her.
In those questions, we learned she:
loves bunny rabbits,
can crawl around using the strength in her arms,
likes to:
paint
sing
handcraft (we have a precious video of her creating an intricate origami boat--all from memory!)
cook
and serve tea!!
She :
is very active and outgoing
loves to play with other children
and is really excited to have so many brothers and sisters!!!
And does anyone remember that I sent her a very special necklace while we were in China adopting Toby? (If not, you can read about it here.) Well, here's what was said about it:
"She keeps that necklace for herself all the time. She doesn't wear it during the daytime though as she doesn't want to break it. She cherishes it very much."
"She cherishes it very much..."
These words stick in my heart...and catch in my throat. Just like the words from her original update I read when we fell in love with her. The question was asked, "Does she want a large family or a small family?"
The answer from Esty, "I just want a family."
Those words pounded through my heart for days.
A sweet, most precious little girl, just longing for ANY FAMILY.
Oh. It makes me teary even still.
And then, to be in China and be able to send her the necklace...for it said on the back "Jeremiah 29:11"
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
God Almighty has an incredible plan for our Esty. I believe this because for the first time EVER in my life, God told me something directly in a dream.
Our first night in Hong Kong, on the way to adopt Toby (this is even BEFORE Brian was on board to adopt her!!) I dreamt that God came to me and told me to name HanHan (her current Chinese name) Esther because He wanted her in place for the special job He has for her. I knew in the dream that that placement was in our family, in America. Not in an orphanage.
If you are not familiar with the amazing biblical story of Esther, you should really go read it.
The clincher line that has always stayed with me is when Mordecai says to Esther, "who knows if perhaps you were made queen for a time such as this?" when he bolsters her with courage to do a very important job to save her people.
Similarly, our daughter must no longer be an orphan in order to do the job she must do.
Hence, the name "Esty." (Yes, we know it's like Etsy...and even though we adore art and all things crafty, we are not naming her after that website!) hee hee
As I watched the 3 minute and 44 second video of her silently, carefully folding the paper into a paper boat I realized many things:
she is patient,
she is intelligent,
she sees things through to the end,
she is good with her hands,
she loves to create,
she takes pride in a job well done.
You might note that those are all things really necessary for a doctor.
In her original video, shot two years ago now, she said that when she grows up she wants to become a doctor!
I don't know if that is the job the Lord has for her or not, but one thing is for sure: she won't get there sitting in an orphanage in China!
OH! We are sooooo thrilled to become her family!
I couldn't help creating this photo montage when I realized I had an image of her pointing to something else she had made:
Will you join us in praying Esty HOME???
