Elle's Week

This week is Elle's birthday - She will turn five on Friday, at least we think so. None of us will ever be 100% certain that March 12th is the actual date she was born. According to the few pieces of information we have, she was found on March 12th, left on the steps of an apartment building for employees of an oil refinery. Based on her umbilical cord, they determined that she was also born that same day.

Again this year, as in years past, I have wondered about her other family in China. Elle has not yet started asking the tough questions, but she does know that she lived in the orphanage before we came to pick her up, and as she says, "bring her home to her family". I have to wonder if her birth mother or another family member watched her from afar until someone picked her up from the steps that day. I wonder if they gave her a name, even a nick name, during the pregnancy. Did her birth father know that she existed? Did her other grandparents ever get to hold her? Was her birth mother alone and frightened or gritty and determined? Did the plan already exist prior to her being born, or was it developed quickly once the recognized her medical condition would require resources that they likely didn't have?

I ponder these questions, but recognize that in the future, Elle will likely have them too. I hope and pray that when it happens, the person she asks can be honest, but gentle with her. These won't be easy responses, but they must be truthful - We don't know all the circumstances surrounding her birth mother's experience, but we do know that she must have cared enough to be sure that Elle was wrapped in a warm quilt and placed somewhere that she would be found quickly. Elle went to an orphanage where she was cared for until we could bring her home. She most certainly is loved! She has made a huge impact on many people already in her little life. "God has heard your prayers" is a very suiting meaning for her name, don't you agree? He heard Elle's birth mother's wishes and he also blessed our prayers by sending her to us.

Happy Birthday, ElleAnna!
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