This picture was taken for me two weeks ago by a family whose daughter came home from  Josephine's orphanage.

 The family was not able to get close to Josephine because she is afraid of strangers...which tells me our first few days together will likely be difficult for her.  In China, you meet in a room, and they hand the child off in a matter of moments.  I pray she can sense our love for her and her fears and grief will not last too long.  This day is often called "family day" because it is when the child joins her own family.  And for us, it is March 19th.   However, at the tender age of 1 1/2 she does not know that her caregivers are not her forever family....and it will hurt her as much as it would hurt any child taken from their family.  This is the hard part of adoption.  Also, she is not used to seeing people with blue eyes and lighter hair....I imagine we will be quite scary to her at first.  Here's hoping our Madalyn can offer some consolation as she gets to know her mom, grandma, aunt, and big sister.

The family that took this picture for me came home last week with their beautiful and oh-so-sweet daughter.   Please pray for their new daughter as their team of doctors plans for open heart surgery to heal her heart and free her from oxygen deprivation and fatigue she has faced all of her short life.  Their daughter is the same age as Josephine.