We thought we would be in China together, but the Lord has decided to send her ahead of us.
Stacy has quite the streamlined packing list. Her luggage is dialed down to essentials, and extra space is precious.
This dear woman, has, nonetheless, offered to take a little package to Emma Kate for us; delivered directly into the hands of the orphanage staff from Solomon and Emma Kate's orphanage. Her exact words were, "You send me whatever you want to and I will take it to her!".
I will not take advantage of her thoughtfulness! What a gracious offer and such an act of thoughtfulness. We are blessed by the kindheartedness of friends we have met along the adoption journey. Kindred hearts who know the meaning of a letter for a much-beloved child a world away.
So off our letter went to Ladybugs n Love From Above. More pictures, more words conveying (we hope!) our love. Some of it reiterates things we have said before. Somehow I don't think you can say these things too many times. I pray they become etched on sweet Emma's heart in a way that eases meeting us.
Here is what we wrote (the numbers correspond to pictures):
Dear YuXiao,
Hello! We are coming to meet you and become a family very soon. We are so happy to know you and be your family, YuXiao! Your Mom, your Dad and two of your big brothers, Cooper and Jeb, will come all the way to China to meet you and bring you home to Minnesota to live with us forever and ever. Cooper and Jeb go to school, but they want to see China where you live and meet you right away, so we are bringing them with us! Luke and Anna, who will also be your brother and sister, are going to wait at home with your new grandparents because they are too little to come. Everyone is so excited to have you come home.
Waiting to meet you is hard! We love you already and are so grateful you will be our treasured daughter and sister.
We wanted to send you some pictures so you know what we look like and where you will live. We thought you might also like to show your friends where you live now. I know Miss Susie and your other teachers love you very much, and will want to know what your life will be like when you live with us. We hope that these pictures make you feel good, YuXiao, and that they fill your nannies hearts with joy, too.
1. This is your room! You will share it with your sister, Anna. She is from China, too! Here is a picture of your beds. The pillow on your bed has your American name on it, which will be Emma. We will call you Emma YuXiao! Isn't that pretty?
2. This doll is for you! These are also pictures of us holding the doll. We will bring the doll to China with us when we meet you, and she will be yours! The doll has your name written on her, and your sister, Anna, has a dolly just like yours that she sleeps with each night. Every night when we tuck her in, we pray for you and look at your bed and ask God to keep you safe and help you feel loved and protected and special. Anna is 7 years old, so you will be very good friends and sisters. She is so glad you are her little sister!
3. This is a picture of Cooper and Jeb, who are coming with us to meet you! We will all spend two weeks together in China before we go home to Minnesota. It will be special time for us to all get to know each other and for you to feel comfortable with us.
4. This is your Daddy and me, your Mommy. We love you so much! We have pictures of you hanging all over the house. We have made them into a book, so that when you are living with us you can always remember your life in China and the people who you love, too!
5. This is a picture of our house! Your brother, Luke, is standing on the front steps! It is your house, too!
6. Here is our dog, Swede. Swede is a very quiet, kind and old dog. She likes to lay down and nap. Swede never barks and she is very sweet and nice. You will like her very much, we think.
7. Here we all are, holding a picture of you! We love you, YuXiao!
I know you don't know us yet, and this might all feel a little bit scary, or you might have many questions and wonderings about us. We promise we will always take the very best care of you, and will be gentle and kind to you. It is okay if you are afraid or sad. We know this might be part of how you are feeling, and those feelings are not bad ones, YuXiao. Those are natural ways to feel, and we want you to know we will take care of you and love you even when you are sad or scared. We are your family, and we will always love you! We know that in time you will learn to trust us and love us, too.
We will see you very soon, YuXiao!
Love from your family,
Mom, Dad, Cooper, Jeb, Luke and Anna
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