Two Years Ago Today...

"The daughters of China, they fly across the seas,
Off to unseen places and possibilities.
They are gifts to those who cherish them.
By those who just could not.
Acts of hope and faith and love.
We never will forget."
-- Tim Chauvin

Two years ago today, a woman in China made (what I'm guessing was) the most difficult decision of her life. She wrapped her tiny newborn baby up in blankets, walked down this road...


... and laid her baby down in front of these gates ...


... and walked away.

And in that act, that little 5 pound baby began a journey that would eventually end in our arms.

Our daughter's story will always begin with her birth mother ... the woman who chose life for her and set her on the path to find her forever family. Lia Kate came into this world and (most likely) spent her first 12 or so days with her birth parents, she then spent 16 months in an orphanage, and, now, a lifetime with us. It is truly a broken road that has led our family to this place of joy.

I don't know the circumstances of Lia Kate's Chinese mother, and I don't want to romanticize her story. But I do believe she was doing the only thing she could to give her daughter a hope and a future. I have found comfort in the fact that Lia Kate was found abandoned at the Nursing School ... a sign to me that her birth parents did not have the means to treat Lia Kate's medical needs.

So, on today, I am thinking of a woman in China who gave us one of the greatest gifts of our lives. I hope she has peace in her heart today. I just wish she could glimpse what an amazing little person her girl is turning out to be.