She got our care package!

We were beyond thrilled last week to receive new video and pictures of our incredible daughter-to-be, Caroline!! (As a reminder, she has the choice to keep her Chinese name but I am not supposed to put it on the blog until we have her home...so we call her Caroline.) The video was taken of her opening the care package from us, and of the man (who will be our guide when we're there) translating our letter to her. I am not going to post the video here, but some sweet moments are when she sounds out "Al-a-bam-a" and smiles sweetly at the colored drawings from Carter and Grace. She spent more time looking at their pictures than looking over the other gifts we included in the package. We fall in love with her more and more every time we see her. She seems to have such a sweet nature. She is very attentive and interested in the video as if she wants to know all about her new family. And her foster parents seem wonderful. We are so grateful for how they've cared for her. Here are a few pictures...in several, she is looking at the photo book we sent her with pictures of our family, our home, etc. We are just aching to know her and love her more!

As a sidenote, I'm sure many people wonder why she cannot stay with this foster family and continue living in her own country and culture. There's a great article I am going to post next week that explains all the details, but in short, orphans age out at 14 and are forced to leave orphanges or foster homes and live on their own. This family even mentioned in the first video to us that they aren't able to take care of her anymore. Without the stipends from the government to cover expenses of an additional child, and with the enforcement of the one-child policy, most foster families cannot continue caring for a foster son or daughter long-term. Also, in China, a country big on tradition, heritage, and superstitions, many consider it a curse to employ or marry an orphan. Therefore, many orphans do not have a hope or future because of their history and background. While it will be a dramatic and challenging transition for Caroline, we believe she will have more opportunities to thrive (physically, emotionally, mentally, academically, professionally, and most importantly...spiritually) in our family here in America. And we feel incredibly blessed to have her want to join our family, as she has expressed.