Manna

Sara,
Hello from China!
I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet your daughter several times over the past 2 days.  What a smart and charming little girl she is.  She loves to sing, and sang a song for me when I evaluated her.  She loved the play jewelry we gave her as a gift and came back in to see me today so that I could tie the necklace she made back togther!  I was able to take some pictures of her, some of them with my daughter playing together.  She is quite an amazing little girl - you are one lucky family!!




THAT note is what I woke up to in my inbox yesterday morning.  Oh, thank you, Lord!  The woman who wrote it is an American woman who is a physical therapist.  They are doing service work at Emma Kate's orphanage.  


Updates like this, in care you are wondering, are NOT the usual.  At. all.  Jim and I have been, really, in complete shock at all the photos and information we have about Emma Kate.  It is so reassuring, so helps a waiting parents heart, and brings us such joy.  


So onward to my day which was a mad scramble of activity, and then late last night when I should have been tucked away asleep (but Jim was traveling and I tend to be up late when he is gone) THIS came in my inbox:

AND this:

and if that were not enough, THIS TOO!:

Say it with me, "God's lavish love".
Here's more!  YES, more!:

The kiddos were PILED up in my bed now (it was really only 10:10- don't be mean at me for that!).  


Jeb, to this photo says, "Mom.  This is total proof she is meant to be a Silburn. You have to love legos to be in our family and look at her!"  He's a funny boy.  But speaks truth!  There's the black olive test, too, but we won't go into that now (especially since half the family has now failed that test and are still part of the family).  And I won't even start on the cheese test.  That is how we know that while we LIKE Ian Achterkirch, he will never really truly be a part of the inner circle.  :)  


Okay, so we have sliding criteria.  


Her lego-loving ways, however, brought such an endearment to her siblings who already have plans to make sure the box is out when she arrives home.


Included in the email was the following information.  Gird yourself, this is SO fun to read!:


She is a happy girl !!

1. Yu Xiao does not have a nickname ,she is called as Yu Xiao !
2. Her personality is quite gentle ,outgoing,friendly,she loves to learn new things,does not scare strangers ,she is very kind and patient  , love to help her little friends and love to share her stuff with her little friends too.
3.Her best friend is Jiang Yu Jun (江玉君),these two girls are roommate too,jiang yu jun is a very lovely girl !
4.She loves to sing ,play outdoors ,loves to play games and dolls .
5.update measurements below :
height :105cm
weight :19.5kg
head :49cm
chest :57cm
feet :15cm
teeth:14




Luke snuggled up as I was tucking him in and looked at me with those sparkly brown eyes of his and whispered, "Mom, I can tell from those photos that Emma Kate is really kind.  I think we are going to be really good friends".  


Oh.  Manna.


So JIm and I then translated (via phone and internet since he is in Seattle) all her measurements into inches and pounds...I, of course, couldn't really decide what 42.5 pounds meant, so where do I go?  Gap Kids.  Sad and true, but BRILLIANT!  


Emma Kate is only 3 pounds lighter than Anna!  And they are close height, too.  So fun!  And yet perhaps being weighed in 5 layers of clothes influenced the weight, so I will hold that information lightly.


I went to sleep last night with a smile on my lips, a song in my heart, and a profound gratefulness.  I woke up that way, too!  


Great is His faithfulness and lovingkindness.  Look at this sweet girl He's held all these years, so far far away in China.  


I cannot wait to meet her!  And as both emails indicate: WE are the blessed ones.  Blessed to have Emma Kate as our beloved daughter.  Our treasured sister.