In the summer of 2013, when we were reviewing Leah's file, I spoke with a doctor who had examined Leah personally. Our adoption agency has a partnership with Leah's orphanage, and they travel periodically to see the specific children available for adoption. The files available to families for review are often brief, out of date, and of course translated from another language, so it is a tremendous help to get updated information from someone who has actually laid eyes and hands on the child. She reviewed all kinds of medical information, but she also told me what she remembered about her personality. I remember her saying, "She's not an easy smile." That piece of information made me sad, but honestly, it mostly scared me. (Of course, this was only one thing on the giant list of things that scared me! God calls us to scary things, and you press on, right?...but I digress...that is a topic for a whole separate post!) By the time Leah's fourth birthday arrived, we were anxiously awaiting travel approval to be able to go to China. We sent a cake to her orphanage so they could have a celebration there. They sent us these pictures back, and I immediately thought of the doctor's comment about her smile.
One year later, we were able to celebrate Leah's birthday with her, and I am thrilled to report that she is a very easy smile!
Not only that, but her smile has also proven to be highly contagious. Happy 5th birthday to our precious treasure.
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| Birthday dinner - this girl loves noodles! |
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| Just before cake and presents, happily interrupted by a birthday FaceTime call |
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| Singing along with the birthday song |
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| Peter's hand - sweet big brother concerned that she is too close to the flame! |
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| Y'all are going to actually put this together for me, right? |
