Today's Tales: 9 Years

9 years ago today I totally missed the moment. I missed the moment when they called out Jade's Chinese name so her family could take her from the arms of the orphanage director. I missed it because the restaurant at the Dolton Hotel in Changsha was full of tears as baby after baby was placed in the arms of their mothers and fathers. I couldn't stop watching. I couldn't stop crying. It was one of the most emotional moments of my life. Every family had a story and to see them finally, after years of waiting, receive their daughters did me right in. I did not hear them even call my daughters name (which, even if I did hear it, I wouldn't have recognized it because they pronounced it totally different than the way we had been for 6 weeks) I didn't even know she was in the ROOM until Mike brought her over to us. HE heard them call her name. HE went and got her.

Oh well. She loves me more.

Maybe.

No, not really....

If I let her eat chips she does.

But in China she did only want me and her grandpa to hold her though :)

She would only go to Mike if he fed her Cheerios.

Now she's a daddy's girl. She knows to go to him because he never says no. She had a t-shirt a couple of years ago that said "Daddy's little princess" and he would say to her when she wore it "Yes, you are...daddy's little princess, yes you are" *in a sugary sweet baby talk voice* Mark and I teased him, and still do to this day, about that!!

I remember that I could not stop looking at her. It was so hard to believe she was finally right in front of my eyes and I could actually touch her and smell her anytime I wanted. She was such a good baby. She acts more like a baby now then she did then! Ha ha...she will mad if she reads that :0