The Beauty of a Family

 (Note: this post was written by LeighAnn, who worked at one of our orphan care projects 2019-2020)

When I first met Qi Yu, she was 2 years old. She was living in an orphanage in Northern China. One of the first things I was told about her was that she was matched with a family back in the US!

She was a very playful little girl. She loved running around outside with her friends. 

She was always happy go sit and get her hair done. One of her favorite things was helping the ayis fold laundry. She would fold the items smaller and smaller until they fit in the size of her tiny hand.

We had the joy of celebrating her 3rd birthday with the knowledge that her family day was coming soon! She had the most beautiful, delicious cake topped with cherries. She spent the rest of the day snacking on those cherries.

Fast forward 5 years and Qi Yu, now Antonella, just celebrated her 8th birthday at home with her family in Texas!

This year, Antonella requested a tiramisu cake and hot dogs, one of her favorite foods! She spent the afternoon swimming with her siblings and cousin.

Hot dogs! 

As I watched and played with Antonella, I kept thinking back to that birthday in China. While she had a happy day that day, there is always a bittersweet quality to a birthday in the orphanage. Watching her spend her day within the context of family reminded me of the beauty of adoption! While things can be hard, especially for families with medically complex children, there are so many simple joys.

On this day, there was the joy of Antonella jumping in the pool over and over, giggling each time! She got to pick out her own outfit and do her favorite thing- makeup! She was prayed over by her family. There was cake!

Antonella and LeighAnn

There is so much beauty in family and these special days make it so clear!