The Eve of China

Dear Family and Friends,

We have arrived on the eve of what we have pursued for well over a year now.  On the morning of July 16, we will depart for China to bring our little girl home.  As we go, we know that we are not alone.  We have been overwhelmed by all the people who have joined us on this journey, and continue to walk with us in following God's heart.  We can't say thank you enough!

Earlier this week, we spent an hour talking with our friend, Pat Marcus, who was able to spend some time with Selah a couple of weeks ago.  It was wonderful to hear first hand from someone who spent time with her.  Yet there is so much we don't know.  We did find out that she has been in foster care in a home as well as living at the orphanage at different times.  She has kind of gone back and forth a bit to give other children the opportunity to be in foster care.  So there has been a lot of transition for her heart already leading up to the huge change that is about to take place.  Pat says that she is a quiet and shy little girl, and they were not able to coax a smile from her.  She is going to take some time to warm up, she is a bit like a turtle in her shell.  But she appears to be doing well, and Pat was very confident that she is going to do great with us.  A fellow adoptive mama and friend told me, "you will find each other".  It's just going to take time.  We will help her find her smile :)  Oh how we look forward to the moment of seeing her smile for the first time!

Now that the moment of being able to actually bring her into our family is here, we look to discover what life will look like now.  This is a big unknown still.  Upon our return to Dayton, we will be entering a time of "cocooning".  This is simply a time for her to get to know her new mom and dad and brothers, and for us to get to know her.  Her entire life is changing; the sights, the smells, the sounds, the tastes, the relationships, everything.  So she will be adjusting to her new world.  During this time as a family, we are going to be very low key, and keep things simple and quiet.  We will be keeping her at home most of the time, and we will be avoiding anything busy or loud for a while.  It has been suggested that we do this for 2-3 months, and then slowly venture out.  So if you don't see us for a while, please understand that we are just going through the bonding process.  We will have a few visitors over here and there as we feel like she can handle it.  Especially given what we have been told about her personality, we are just going to take a pace that she is comfortable with.  We just wanted to make everyone aware of this, so that no one would be hurt or offended.  As she becomes more comfortable, we will venture out more!  We look forward to introducing her to all the wonderful people in our lives.

We will be returning to Dayton on August 1.  We will be greeted by a few close family and friends at the airport, but we won't be holding a big "welcome home" celebration just so we don't overwhelm her.  We will be posting updates and photos to the Facebook group and our blog.  A Meal Baby account has been set up if people would like to bring a meal.  Ben will be off work until August 13, and during that time we will be bonding as a family, recovering from jet lag, and we have a couple of post adoption appointments that we will need to take care of.

Thank you all so much for being a part of our journey.  Selah Grace is going from having no family to having a huge family, and that includes all of you.  Thank you for being a part of it!  We are excited to share some pictures from May of Selah receiving our care package as well as some new pictures taken by the Superkids Team just a few weeks ago!  Here is a little slideshow to hold you over until she's in our arms in less than two weeks!  At that point, you all know we will be taking lots of pictures. :) 

Slideshow of Selah's final months in China

Love, 
Ben, Julie, Bryson, Selah Grace, and Lincoln