100 ...

That's how many times we have posted to this blog, beginning in June 2006 before Connie, Austin, and I traveled half way around the world to meet God's little addition to our family. That, of course, would be Lily Grace. Since then, we have been writing to this blog so that one day, Lily would be able to immerse herself in the beginnings of her life, such as they were, and have something to reflect on. We are very thankful to a wonderful friend who encouraged us (demanded?) to write this blog - Lori, get some coffee, this'll take awhile. With such a void of information available to her about the first two years of her life, we felt it was important to document as much as possible for Lily the events of her life beyond her days as an orphaned angel in Jiangxi Province, China. We don't know much about her birth parents, her first 22 months, or her Chinese family, but we can be assured of a few things.

First, her biological mother must have been an amazingly beautiful lady, because Lily Grace is simply and stunningly beautiful in her own regard. We are so grateful to this lady that she cared enough for Xing Xing to bring her to an orphanage filled with God's own nannys so that one day she would be ready for us. We pray for her that she has found solace and is comforted by the knowledge that Xing Xing, now Lily Grace, is safe and full of life. Lily can look like the beautiful baby she is in one moment and an elegant, but dainty, grownup model in the next. I suppose she could get some of her physical traits from her biological father, but she doesn't really exhibit any of the features that one might see in the Asian male. Her features are 100% soft, very lady-like, but best described as very girly. Her skin, her eyes, and her hair work with almost anything she wears, so even I can sometimes pick out something from her wardrobe that goes well with her. And her wardrobe is extensive, mind you! It is sometimes awkward when someone points out to us that she is beautiful. We say thank you, but that seems a bit presumptuous on our part since God, and God alone, created her beauty - we had nothing to do with it. God had everything to do with it. Lately, however, something else has started to emerge. There is an old saying that the longer you live with a person, the more you begin to look like them. Thankfully, Connie hasn't started to look like me, but rather there are some similarities between Connie and Lily that appear to be emerging. Sometimes I see looks on Lily's face that remind me of Connie and vice versa. Lily has a way of creating beauty, not just on her own face, but on the face of others as she causes them to smile. This is very evident with Connie.

Second, there must have been some real smarts in Lily Grace's Chinese background, because she does seem to be blessed with a sharp mind, very perceptive, and very intelligent. She learns things very quickly and can make connections and assimilate ideas really well. I'm obviously no expert in the matter and probably more than a little bit biased in the subject matter, but it just seems that she is advanced well beyond what her birth age would suggest. She appears to be developmentally on track and well positioned for learning. In that regard, we say that she takes after her big brother, Austin, who maintains excellent performance in his studies. Lily attends school two days a week now and learns something new every day. One of our early posts described how Lily's English vocabulary was emerging. Well, let me say that if it was "emerging" then, today it is "exploding." She is way beyond simple sentences, telling stories about things that require several paragraphs! She sings songs, mostly in English of course but there is one that she calls "China" that she sings and it is beautiful. She will explain things to us and ask if we like certain things, usually to see if she should also like them.

If Lily's beauty is beginning to compliment that of her mother, Connie, and if her smarts are reflective of her time spent with Austin, then maybe I can lay claim to at least one trait - her sense of humor. She is such a card, especially at the dinner table, keeping us in stitches with her looks, her eyebrow exercises, and her silliness. I think my sense of humor was once a source of frustration for Connie, so bless her heart, now she has to put up with both of us! Throw in Austin's witty sense of humor and oh, poor Connie! Recently, Lily has learned to snarl her lip in the manner of the late Elvis Presley. It's hilarious. I don't know where she learned it, but she definitely associates it with Elvis. She likes to kid around, too. One evening on the way home from Steak and Shake, she donned the hat the waitress had given her and pronounced "I'm a cowboy, ye -- haa (or was that Ne - how). She was born in the year of the Monkey and will quickly remind you that that makes her silly!

Finally, Lily is an adopted child, a fact that is obvious to even the least observant among us. But we want her to know that God chose her for our family, just like He chose us for His family, and that no other reason exists that she is with us. For we are told in Ephesians 1:5 that "In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His children through Jesus Christ." What may not be so evident to the casual observer, is the emotional blueprint of this little angel. She can be sad or happy, subdued or overbearing, ambivalent or thoroughly engaged. She can scream and cry or sit quietly engaged in play with one of us. She has a range of emotions, and a surprising degree of control over those emotions, that many do not possess. She knows what it means to say I love you. In fact, she will often catch us off guard with a simple profession of love - "I love you a whole much!" - and imaginary hugs, complete with "Umm, Umm!" She knows exactly how to be a sibling sister to Austin (you know, the competition for Mom and Dad's attention), but also tells us often how much she loves him. Tonight, she went through the entire list of our family, including grandparents, to make sure that we loved all of them.

Oftentimes, I think of Lily reading this, maybe even after we've gone on to be with the Lord, and wondering what our feelings were at the time. Were we excited, scared, happy, sad, worried. And when I see pictures of Lily and Austin together like this one, it brings out some emotions that I didn't know were there. Tears quickly create a stream of simultaneous joy and sadness along my face. Conflicting, yet complimentary emotions, understood only by those who have experienced them firsthand. And so I thank God for revealing these things to me. We know that Lily Grace was loved by her nannys as much as humanly possible. God let us see firsthand during a visit to Lily's orphanage how deeply she was loved. But we also saw other children, not yet blessed to have a forever family and who waited patiently for their turn to smile. And when we departed her orphanage that day and Lily had logged her last memories of her existence there, God sent rivers of tears to every eye of every nanny (not to mention our own) and made sure that we saw that Love, His Love, brought to life by His very breadth. It will be a day that we will never forget and a day that changed our outlook on our world. We cannot get back there quick enough, yet like so many others, now we wait.

Some of the pictures we have posted over the past year and a half bring tears to our eyes because of thoughts of what those left behind in China, and other places, do not have. A loving family, a big brother, or a little sister. Grannys and Memaws. Papaws and Grandads. The comfort of being loved and needed. The joy of loving and needing. A day in the park filled with laughter. Contrast this with a day in the life of a child who does not know what tomorrow holds. Will someone come and take me away? Will my best friend disappear? Think about that for a moment... If you have looked into the eyes of a child alone in the world and seen the emotional abyss that lies within, you know what I'm talking about. If not, I pray that someday you too will get to experience, up close and personal, the beauty and sadness of emotions in their most original, uncloaked, unmodified state. And I pray that as a result you are moved to bring hope to these children in one way or another. And if it doesn't move you to tears, please let me know and we will pray together.

If you are considering adoption, or perhaps have already adopted your own little angel, then you are the second reason that we have kept this blog. Hopefully, the things that we have posted will have been a blessing and an encouragement to you. In case you didn't know, we are in the process of adopting again. We recently completed our homestudy and the paperwork associated with that and have begun working on a dossier. Lily and Austin will have a sister one day, Lia Faith, with whom they can share their lives. She will come home on God's time. Meanwhile, we wait and pray. Soon, to celebrate the blessing that will be Lia, it seems appropriate to begin a new blog, Green, Party of Five.

Some of the pictures in this post were taken by CJ Patterson, Angel Eyes Photography. Doesn't she do wonderful work. She is working on a portfolio for us (Connie says I'm going to have to work overtime to pay for this one!) Check out a few more of the pictures on her blog at http://www.angeleyesbycj.com. Look for an entry on 15 November 2007. CJ has a special heart for adopted children and goes way beyond the typical photo shoot when she has an opportunity to capture images such as these.

The Lord has shown no greater love than by sacrificing His Son so that He could adopt us. And for that we are eternally grateful. And we are grateful that He has shared the joy of adoption with us through Lily Grace.

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace (and Lia Faith)
Green, Party of Five