Thank You Oprah and Lisa Ling

Lilly and I getting ready to climb some very steep steps at a local State Park.

She may be more ready for this than I am!

How hard is it to move around when you weigh 34 pounds with zero fat?!?!

It looks like Lilly but it is actually a squirrel.

See what I was saying....wayyyy ahead of me!

Learning how to fly

First thought when I see this...she needs her bangs trimmed.

I really need to be better about that.

Second thought....could she be any prettier????

I think not.
After writing that just now I realize that my second thought
should have been my first thought.
Why do we do that?
Why do we see what needs to be fixed or what is wrong.
I need to work on that.

There are so many things about Lilly that I adore but this picture makes me think how she is always up for anything. She loves adventures and loves to go places and loves to stay home. She loves to take walks in the woods with the dog and she loves to come home and cozy up on the couch and have tea parties. Sometimes she wants to watch Nick Jr. for what she calls her 'kids shows' but there are times that she actually ASKS to watch Oprah. I kid you not. I love this because it shows me how deep and wise she is but also because it was one of Oprah's shows that prompted our decision to adopt Lilly. My reason for wanting to meet Oprah is not because she is famous or rich but to say Thank you.

Thank you to her and to Lisa Ling because it was Lisa's investigative report that was on Oprah that day. Those are the two people I would most like to meet. Sometimes I think back to Lisa Ling being on a plane to China with her film crew. Did she realize the full impact of what could happen as a result of doing this show? Does she have any idea the decision to do that changed the course of so many lives? I would just love to sit down with her and tell her our story and thank her.

Lilly joining our family is beyond any blessing

I could have ever imagined.

Oprah often says that God dreams a bigger dream for us than we could ever dream for ourselves.

She is so very right.

Lilly.....I love you. Being your mother is such a great joy. You bring happiness wherever you go. People are taken in by your beauty but when they take the time to talk with you they realize that your beauty radiates from the inside to the outside. You are not a surface beauty. You are deep and kind and smart and compassionate and generous and thoughtful and so funny.

Thank you Oprah.

Thank you Lisa Ling.

Thank you Children's Hope International

and thank you to Lilly's first family

and thank you to the aunties at her orphanage that cared for her before we came to China.

I keep all of you close to my heart and in my prayers.