Remembering Gotcha Day!

This picture reminds me of how her heart was aching.

Look at her now...God is so good!
So full of joy!

2009

2007 Withing hours of arriving home....I just love her face.

Now

Then

Gotcha Day 2009
Gotcha Day 2007

Gotcha Day 2009

Gotcha Day 2007

Oh she was not happy

Seeing Emily for the first time

My re-entry into the computer world this week has resulted in somewhat of an unproductive week but I have enjoyed catching up. It has been nice to re-connect with my blogging friends and their families as I have loved seeing what you all have been up too as well as soaked up the wisdom of what God is doing in your lives. WOW! God is so good and I am continually amazed at His creativity in revealing Himself to us and thank all of you for sharing about the places He is taking you in your walks as well as all the fun things that you are doing with your families.

Well, before I take a little break from my marathon computer immersion I did want to share more than just a sentence or two about our 2ND year anniversary of Emily's Gotcha Day! For those of us in the adoption world Gotcha Day is so special and significant in the life of our son's and daughters. It is that day when the waiting was over and we held our children for the first time. A day filled with such a myriad of emotions that is often difficult to describe but nonetheless etched so deeply in our hearts that we will never forget the details of it. On Feb. 25 we celebrated 2 years of receiving Emily and how I loved remembering that special day of seeing her for the very first time but more than recalling the details of the day I have loved being awe-struck by seeing how much my little china girl has grown. Not a physical growth but emotional growth that is the result of healing. I have been reminded of how wounded my baby girl was when she came to us and how broken her little heart was when she was stripped of all that she knew. How scary it must have been to lose all that was familiar and be forced into a world that was so strange. She was strong, she was brave and she let us love her. Our love was unconditional even when she didn't know how to love us back. It healed the open wounds of her heart and allowed her to grow into the amazing little girl she is today. Her capacity to now love us back is incredible. 2 years ago I could have never imagined the beauty of what lay inside of a frightened little girl. I couldn't see it but God did and I am humbled today that despite all of my imperfections as a mom He would have enough confidence in me to grant me the joy having Emily as my daughter. As I have thought about her healing and the confidence and security that fills her along with the joy that now springs from her spirit. I am reminded of the fact that we are all broken in some way. We have wounds that are open and festering or we have battle scars from being beaten up by life in a fallen world. Underneath all the hurt and pain that we work so hard to mask is beauty that God sees so clearly. I know we often think that we have to live with the wounds and battle scars but it is through the unconditional love of a God who desperately wants to bind up those wounds we can grown into amazing men and women who display joy for all to see. Healing can transform us in our brokenness just like we have witnessed such a visible change in the life of our daughter through our willingness to let our Father lavish His great love upon us. We can be testimonies of His love and draw others out of their brokenness and into the beautiful life which God has prepared for us.

2 years have passed since I held Emily for the first time and ALL of us Minot's have undergone healing through loving. It has been the most amazing 2 years and I am overwhelmed with gratefulness to a God who called us out of complacency and comfort and changed us through a precious little girl from Kunming, China. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!