One Year Ago - June 18, 2007

Last year, on Monday, June 18, 2007.... We got a reply to the e-mail that we sent on Friday the 15th, when I requested a copy of "Samantha's File". In it, our agency sent an attachment with three photos of a very sad, frightened looking little girl. There was another attachment with eight pages of information about this sweet child, whose Chinese name was PanSuo. It talked about her height, weight, daily routine, favorite activities (playing outside, singing songs, and also listening to music), eating habits, favorite foods (fruits and milk), and favorite toys (barbie doll). It briefly discussed her medical issues and health concerns. It talked about her height and weight each month while at the orphanage. The photos and documents were already out of date - done in October and November of 2006. Above are the photos that we received that day. I was told by our agency that no other families had requested information about this child, so we were "first".

Our agency's system was that families who were already LID had the first opportunity to review files on the special needs children list they recieved each quarter. Families who were interested were then prioritized based on the LID. Those who had been LID the longest were first, etc. We'd been through this process many times since we'd logged in on July 12, 2006 and this was the first time we'd been first. Often, we were second or third, but always, the families in line before us proceeded with the adoption. We had prayed that God would guide and lead us to the child He had chosen for our family. It was our wish that He would make the decisions for us so that we didn't make the wrong one as human's often do. When our agency told me that we were the first family for her, it seemed as if God had spoken.

That evening, as a family, we reviewed this file and talked about this little girl. The boys, Ken, and I all agreed that we would move ahead - and proceed with bringing "E" home by making PanSuo our sister/daughter. It was a decision guided by God - and one that we have never regretted.

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