Six months ago today we were in China, Chongqing to be exact. We were anxious, excited, scared and nervous. Our 4 lives were about to become 5 in just a matter of seconds. It really was much like actual childbirth. There was a lot of anticipation. There were a lot of plans for our daughter yet uncertainty in how it would all come to be. We have two biological children, two wonderful, happy, and handsome boys. In the delivery room, I heard each of their cries before I ever laid eyes on their sweet faces. With MK, it was no different. As we stepped off the elevator to meet her for the first time ever, we heard her cries first. She was crying (or at least babbling loud enough for us to hear her) and crying is good, right, especially in the delivery room! It was all good. We have come a long way in six months. I remember Gotcha Day just like I remember the birthdays (or nights rather) of the boys. We were so relieved to have her, so excited to finally hold her, we took a gazillion pictures with everyone holding her yet I was a bit overwhelmed with the sudden realization that I (we) had the responsibility to take care of this child. She was no longer just a beautiful face in a picture that we had looked at for months, she was REAL. Since that day, I find myself thinking of her past, the past we will never know the answers to. I think of the woman that gave birth to her and the person that placed her ever so carefully (and intentionally) in front of the orphanage, just hours after she entered this world, so that she would quickly be found and cared for. I think of the questions that MK will have about this whole scenario and the answers that she will expect me to have for her. I think of her birth country, the traditions and the conditions of the Chinese society. I wonder what parts of her heritage will be important to her, what part she will wish to feel closer to. While thinking of her future, I have also realized just how important it is to me that she know how much she was wanted. We wanted her. We planned for her (Pryce saw to it that we prepared for her to arrive....every visit to Target he would ask me to get her some diapers. I would tell him that we didn't know what size to buy. He would matter-of-factly tell me to just "call the China man and ask him what size!") We waited for her. We prayed for her. We loved her before we knew her and we fell in love with her the day we met her. She is our "baby girl", our sister who calls for her "bro-bers" all day because she can't get enough of them and, most importantly, she is our family, one of us. No, she will never look like us on the outside but our hearts are all one on the inside. Happy Six Month Gotcha Day, Mason-Kate!
