I've had some experiences lately that have shown me how the internet has really made the world a much smaller place. A couple months after returning from China I joined a Yahoo group for people who have adopted from Libby's province. I was hoping to find other people who had adopted children from her orphanage and right away I heard from someone who had. We looked at each other's pictures, but our girls weren't together in any of them. Soon after this I connected with another woman, Ruby, who is in the process of adopting a beautiful girl from the orphanage. I looked at pictures of her daughter, Eva, online, but she didn't look familiar to me either. A few weeks ago Ruby posted a more recent photo of Eva on Facebook and suddenly I realized that I did have pictures of her! Quite a few in fact. I just didn't recognize the older pictures of her when her hair was shorter. A few days ago I was looking at the blog of yet another couple who are adopting from Libby's orphanage and I recognized another girl who was in the photos with Libby. Her family will be leaving to adopt her in less than 3 weeks. I find all of this so exciting! I think I have 13 pictures of Libby with Eva and Yu Ping and from the time I got the pictures developed I had wondered about these girls. They are both a little older and I wondered if they already had families or were at least available for adoption. I'm so glad to know they will both be with their forever families soon! It's also cool to know that Libby has at least 3 other little girls from her orphanage who are or will be here in the states. I know she won't remember them, but it's still fun to know that she has "sisters" on this side of the ocean.
Libby with Yu Ping and Eva
In other news, I'm amazed by how quickly Libby's language skills are developing. In the last couple weeks she's started pointing at everything and asking "what's this?". She's also starting to enjoy having me read to her. For a long time whenever I'd try to read to her she wasn't interested. I think that now as her language is expanding she's able to understand a lot more and so she's more interested. This is great for me because I love books and reading. She's also becoming more and more expressive. She's certainly not afraid to express her opinion! I think it's funny when one of her brothers picks up one of her toys and she yells "hey"! in an angry voice. Despite her unwillingness to share sometimes, she really is a sweet little girl. She loves to help and she's usually very obedient. She's becoming more affectionate all the time and there's nothing better than having her give me a hug.
The Internet is an amazing thing! Imagine if we had done this even 15 years ago. We might eventually have found one another, but by then it's possible that none of us would have recognized anyone in the photos.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing, too, how fast the kids learn their new language. Libby must be especially quick since she's so young. I love your description of her behavior with her brothers. That is a typical little sister right there :-)
Ruby
The internet is wonderful, We have been in contact with some of Erin's orphanage friends that have been adopted too. Hopefully you will be able to see these other girls, eventhough she won't remember them, having pictures of them together will always have a bond. and she soundslike a typical sister too.
ReplyDeleteHi April, Congratulations on winning the giveaway over at Pink & Polka Dot - I didn't see an email for you to get in touch with you -- send me your mailing address and which product you would like to ckoehmstedt at gmail.com
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