Then and now

A year ago today, on a Thursday, I was sitting at my desk at Successful Farming magazine watching the snow softly falling when the phone rang at 3:24 p.m. It was Monique from Gift of Love. She said "I have good news for you. Check your email." She and Beth stayed on the line while I opened the email she had sent with our long-awaited and much-anticipated first introduction to our daughter. Monique giggled when all I could manage to get out between tears of joy was, "Thank you thank you thank you." I'm crying now just remembering the moment I first saw her little face.

I made phone calls, sent emails and typed a post on the blog. "I'm a Mom. I'm a Mom. I'm a Mom" was all I could think. Somehow I finished the day's work at the office and went home. Jon, by then had picked up more photos and more information from GOL. We went out to supper to celebrate at the Mandarin restaurant in Beaverdale. Mostly we stared at our daughter's face and started rehearsing the details of what little we knew about her. Friday was a blur of calls and emails and documents to be signed. Saturday we went to the GOL holiday party and felt like minor celebrities with Mark and Sarah, they clutching Phoebe Chujia's picture, we clutching Molly Chuheng's, and repeating over and over where she was from, what her name was, what she liked to do while we tried to hold back our tears.



Our lives have changed so much this year. And our beautiful miraculous daughter has grown so much! We are truly blessed and lucky and the three of us will be celebrating again tonight at the Mandarin and tomorrow at the GOL party.

When we play chase and I catch Molly and scoop her up I say, "I got you. I got you. Lucky Mommy, I've got you." Recently, Molly has taken to giving me big hugs and saying "Lucky Mommy" as she cuddles into my neck. She is so right. I hope she never stops knowing that's how I feel.

Wo ai ni, Molly. Wo ai ni!

C