There's a little girl...in my neighborhood

Do you know the rest of this song?  If you do, then you know that we've been just a swingin' with our little Emma Hope for going on 11 years.  This little girl who is getting ready to turn 11 rocked our world--literally--around Thanksgiving of 2002.  We did the usual  Melton adoption shuffle of praying and paperchasing and waiting and waiting and waiting.  The SARS epidemic held us back. but finally, finally we were matched with a sweet little nugget, Wuo Chao Wei (little dancing bird), in  Anhui, China.  And we packed our bags and left her big sister in the loving arms of Mimi and Poppy and were on our way to claim her as our own.  Oh, we did not know that she would claim us first.



She staked her claim with many, many, much tears.  And a binky.  That girl must have cried for 2 weeks straight, except when she was in her mama's arms with said binky.  She was scared of her daddy (took her a while to figure out he was her best ally), and only mommy would do.  The part of our babies' stories that just tears me up is the part about the mommy.  There's a wound, a hole, that only God can fill, and thank you Lord for choosing me as your vessel.

This little spitfire made her way into our hearts with wails and laughter.  She's a firecracker, full of quickfire love and light and just as quick piss and vinegar (I'm not kidding).  She cannot hide her feelings.  One look at her lovely face and you know just what she is thinking.  She's got a will of steel, which I know will serve her well one day, but Lord help me in the meantime.

She's full of ideas--building Lego skyscrapers and filming epic movies with matchbox cars.  She prefers to spend her days in her hand me down camouflage pants from her uncles or dressed to the nines in fancy shoes and skirts.  She's the best kind of contradiction.

I try to inspire her to love learning, and she does, but on her own terms.  Did I mention Lord help me?

This girl who went from baby to middle in the family constellation this year is rallying.  She looks up to her big sister and imitates everything that 14 year old first born does.  She plays trains and dinosaurs and tractors with the baby boy and delights in every moment.  Her loyalty and spunk inspire me.

Happy birthday to my sweet Emma Hope.  You make every day full of adventure.  I never know where we are going to end up.  You light up my life.  I am forever in awe of you, my beautiful, willful girl.  I want to be like you when I grow up!

Love you to infinity (I win!),  Mommy

China: A Retrospective

I had every intention of posting minute-by-minute musings as Mama and I journeyed through China to adopt our boy.  And as soon as I met Levi, those intentions went right out the window.  Because I'm 41 and I realized that these sweet moments of beginnings with babies are fleeting.  And also because getting on the internet in still-communist China is cumbersome.  So instead, here I am, feeling every one of my 41 years, jet lagged beyond words, and reunited with my beloved and Levi's adoring big sisters.  I think it is the best place to reflect on our adoption adventure.

My brain is a bit mushy and the moments of lucidity are short-lived at this point, but I promise to highlight the good, the bad, and the not-so-pretty happenings along our path in China.

Here's a little blurb about Beijing:  Tianamen Square is not written about in Chinese textbooks studied by schoolchildren.  The information that the Chinese people can access is severely limited by the government there.  The Great Wall is truly Great.  Hiking to the top of it, twice in my lifetime, is one of my favorite memories.  Doing it with my mom was thrilling.  I didn't really like the food in Beijing, even though I had a stern pre-trip talk with myself about  relishing the new flavors and cuisine.  I just couldn't stomach the smell of Chinese food for breakfast, but I also couldn't stomach the Western french fries either.  I stuck with croissants, strawberry jam, and the best black tea I've ever tasted.

Our guide, George, has a providential life story (well, we all do really, don't we?), and one of my favorite memories of the two days in China's capital is the time spent learning about him.  More about that later!

The best part of life in a bustling, 14 + million city?  We got an email from our adoption agency that our flight for Zhenzhou (the provincial capital of Henan where Levi lived) had to be moved up from traveling Monday evening to traveling Monday morning.  No explanation was given, but I trusted my instinct that we would be united with our babies on Monday afternoon...

The Beijing blitz portion of our trip was just what it was meant to be:  busy, informative, a settling in to the rhythm of life in China.