Happy Gotcha Day / Forever Family Day on August 13th !!

One year ago Mao Si Dan (18 months old) was placed into a van with her
Nanny for a 4 hour ride from Maoming to Guangzhou to meet her forever
family. I can still remember walking in and seeing her thru a curtain smiling 
and playing with her Nanny. She was then placed into my arms and 
became Ruthie Grace Sidan Boyd. 

What a difference a year makes in a little person's eyes and heart. She has
gone from being in an orphanage with many children to being in a loving
home with a brother, sister, dog, Mom and Dad that love her and adore her
with all of our hearts. We can't imagine life without this fun loving,
spunky, happy, smiling child. What a blessing she is to us and to many.

In the past year, she has been through 3 surgeries, lip repair, palate
repair and replacement of tubes. She has endured lots of blood work, lots
of waiting rooms, lots of strange looking doctors and nurses, lots of
crinkly white paper in the doctors offices to sit on that has become an
annoying sound to her, lots of plastic bracelets on her ankle that
aggravate her and are not so pretty with her new name on them, lots of pain
medicine, tylenol, ibuprofen, band-aids, iron supplement drops and lots of
diapers. We have watched her leave my arms with some stranger to take her
back for surgery...........broke my heart. It broke my heart because in her
eyes she was leaving her Mommy's arms with someone again and again to
endure more pain without knowing that her Mommy and Daddy were doing what
was best for her. I could see the question in her eyes, "Why are you
letting me go?"  This was very hard for me to except, however, I knew that
she was coming back to my arms after the surgery and I could tell her over
and over that I was not leaving her and I loved her very much. That was
impossible to explain to a 2 year old that had been yanked from her Nanny
and placed with a strange family that she has only seen pictures of less
than a year ago. When she came out of surgery, she was placed back into my
arms and looked so different and still so beautiful. In China, she didn't
know any different. She looked this way and thought that was the way of
life. Others looked like her too. She was strong and stayed strong. 

                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
As Christians we should fully understand the vital role of adoption, as we were 
adopted into God’s family through Christ, so that we who were orphans in need 
of rescue now call God, “Father” (Romans 8:15).                                        
                                                                                                                    

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look
after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being.
James 1:27

She received a new family, new name, a new smile, a new palate and her
hearing isn't clogged up from infection any longer. She has a new life! Her
life has forever changed our family!  Ruthie can now blow bubbles, drink
from a straw, chew gum, jump, run, dance and has started forming sentences
and many many other things. To many this is nothing, to Ruthie this is
EVERYTHING! I can remember when she was trying so hard to drink from a
straw a few weeks after her palate surgery and got frustrated and just
quit..............for a minute. Then she picked it back up and did it. The
smile and accomplishment was more than I could stand! A tiny little person
jumping up and down saying "I did it!" was heart warming to watch,
especially with those almond eyes going to a complete slant!

So what fun has she had this year? She has enjoyed all the holidays, wore
fancy dresses, worn new shoes and clothes!! She has enjoyed all new foods,
there is not much this chic doesn't like! She loves to swim, she loves
gummies, dorito's, EOS chapstick, her blanket and toys! She loves
everything about her new life! She loves to immitate and listens very well.
She is a character to say the least! She has been to the College World
Series in Omaha, Nebraska and watched her brother play in a Little League
World Series tournament. To get to Nebraska, we drove through Mississippi,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa. She has recently enjoyed a trip
to Gulf Shores with us and her grandparents where she had a blast in the sand and water. 
She enjoyed ice-cream, putt putt, arcades and much more! We have painted her toe 
nails and fixed her hair. This chic has done more in this past year than I have in my
35 years! She has blessed us and brought so much excitement to our little
family! Through all the fun and excitement, we have been blessed with a
little girl that has adopted us as her parents and family.  She has become
a fan of many!

As today, August 13th, is her "Gotcha Day" or our "Forever Family Day", we will always
set aside this day to remember that this child was given to us by God. May
we always have renewed joy and hope in the remembrance that while we were
orphans, Christ came to save us. We have also been adopted and are now sons
and daughters of the Most High God!

Blessings and Love!!


Ruthie's Forever Momma

Happy Mother's Day China Mommy!

Happy Mother's Day, China Mom. I am not sure if they celebrate Mother's Day in China.But there is a Mom somewhere in Maoming, China that I will be honoring this Mother's Day. It is impossible not to think about her every day when I dress Ruthie, comb her beautiful silky hair or watch her run up and down the hallways. Oh and stand in front of the refrigerator for a while deciding which color popsicle she would like next. I wonder if she looks like her Mommy or has the spunky personality like her. If she does, I would so want to be her friend!! What a blast she would be! :)        

                                                                                                                       

We received her Alabama birth certificate in the mail this week and it states my name, Julie Lynn Bates Boyd as her mother. The joy that brought to my heart. Just knowing that she is forever mine and I can call her my daughter is overwhelmingly wonderful. Part of me knows that before I claimed the title of "Mommy".....she had a Mommy that I believedeep in my heart wanted better for her. I wonder if she thinks of us and Ruthie? I have come to learn the importance that it is for many adoptees to know that at some point in their lives they can, if they choose, have a reunion with those who share their genetic makeup. But because of the reality of Chinese adoptions, Ruthie will never have this opportunity.  So, with each passing Mother's Day, she will have to face with how to deal with and try to understand that she will never be able to meet the woman that was her first Mommy. We must remember China Mommy every year. I wish I could tell her that the little girl she gave birth to has a smile as broad and beautiful as a field of daisies, that she is vibrant and energetic, and that she is a child with a joyful heart. Better yet, I wish she could see that for herself and that I could tell her that her sacrifice gave me the gift of mothering this sweet angel.                        

                                                                                                                       

I know in my heart that my daughter, Ruthie, is the child I was meant to have, even though she was not born from me. That’s why, as I send my own mother a card this Mother’s Day, I write this to honor my daughter’s birth-mother, and every other woman who has made the difficult decision not to parent a child she has brought into this world. Without China Mommy and others like her, thousands of women like me would not be celebrating Mother's Day with our China babies and to provide a better life for them.                                                                                

                                                                                                                       

I love my Ruthie! 

Blessings & Love!

Julie

Christmas in Ruthie's Eyes

Ruthie had such a great Christmas! She would get so excited and loved the decorations and going different places to look at lights. She would stand in front of the tree and stare. It was precious!! We had lots of time to make ornaments, decorate and make lots of cookies and other goodies! She probably tasted more sweets this month than she has in her entire lifetime. Her favorite is still the OREO cookies. It doesn't surprise me, that has been the cookie of the house since Carson was a baby. 

First we made Salt Ornaments! We enjoyed making these........however, Ruthie was a little skeptical..:) 

Wrapping presents was alot of fun! As you can see below, Ruthie enjoyed it as well. Little does she know that God gave us our Christmas present in August and she did not have to be wrapped. What a beautiful gift!

Before we move on to the Christmas parties and visiting every one's home, I wanted to stop and reflect on Ruthie and just how much she has healed from her surgery on her lip in October. She has done wonderfully with it and has not let it slow her down not one bit. I am so thankful! As we "doctor" it every night with cocoa butter Vaseline, it just reminds me of how much she had endured over the past 23 months (18 in China and 5 in United States). She is one strong little girl! She is very independent and wants to only do for herself. What I mean by that is she wants to feed herself, apply her ointment, carry her diaper bag.......you name it, she wants to do it. I just love this little firecracker! Here are a few pics that actually reveal her personality a little more too!!

As we enjoyed spending time with our familes, I was able to capture these moments of Ruthie and all the excitement. She did so well and enjoyed being with our family. She loved opening gifts and loved eating.....well grazing. She would eat a little bit, then play and come back for more. I just can't help but think of where she was this time last year and how far she has come. God is gracious and his light definitely shines through her almond eyes. 

Oh what fun! Christmas Day was a bit more overwhelming for her. She had fun, but the decision of which toy to choose from was too exciting! :)

While we enjoyed the opening of presents and yummy food, we thanked Jesus. After all it is His day. We are thankful to him for our little Ruthie Grace. I am also so very thankful to be able to capture these pictures and share with others. I love her hugs, her kissses and sweet eyes! I love her personality......I love that she loves her siblings.......I love that she loves her Daddy...............Lately, I love that after 4 months she now calls me "Muma" (Mommy). I am so thankful for her little voice and big big smile!

Blessings and Love!

Julie