beautiful and unexpected part 2...

the story continues... (I think I'm going to share this in snippets instead of one long post.)

From what I understand, it is rare to get even a handful of pictures of your child during the adoption process. Some orphanages will not allow any information or pictures to leave the orphanage unless they are sending it directly to the family's adoption agency, and those updates are few and far between. Knowing that makes all of this even more precious.

I knew when Chris had left for China, and I knew when she was heading back home, but I didn't know exactly when she would be at Ivy-Ann's orphanage. I kept checking the Facebook page that's associated with the orphanage, because I knew the team would be posting some pictures there. I was filled with such anticipation! But each time I checked...no new pictures.

Then last Monday morning, July 8, I received an email from Chris. Their team had arrived at the orphanage and she found our sweet Ivy-Ann. This photo was tucked inside the message...

You can only imagine how seeing this warmed my heart. There was my sweet girls in the loving arms of the precious woman I'd been emailing. To see them together undid me. Chris said she planned on waiting a few days until Ivy-Ann was more settled and used to her, and then she would give her our things. That spoke volumes to me.

The next morning, I awoke to another email. Chris had spent part of her day having each girl come in and choose a dress from the dresses made by her and the women in her church. When it was Ivy-Ann's turn, Chris gave her the little dress we had sent her. She told Ivy-Ann that the dress was from her mama. Ivy-Ann put it on and started whirling and twirling, and she loved the softness and texture of the ribbon.

I could hardly contain myself when I saw this picture. That dress had draped over the rocking chair in our bedroom for quite some time, and there it was on my precious girl! Chris also mentioned that she would be giving Ivy-Ann our things the following day. We had dear friends in town during all of this, but my heart was with Chris in China and my thoughts were full of Ivy-Ann.