Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Is This Lily?

I recently joined a Yahoo group of families who have adopted or are adopting from the same orphanage where Lily lived for the first 11 months of her life. I found these pictures someone had posted. They where taken in June, 2007...one month before we got her. When I opened this picture, it took my breath away. Could this be our baby Lily? I don't know if I am thinking it's her because I really want it to be her, or if it really is her. I'd love to know what you think.



Look at that sweet face and all that hair. If it isn't her, it sure looks a lot like her!

Here she is again on the left. My heart just breaks seeing these precious babies looking so lost. I wonder if the other ones have found their forever families. Seeing them all sitting in those walkers, it sure makes it clear why Lily just hated sitting in hers; it also explains why she couldn't even crawl when we got her and why she had had no muscle tone at all. I am so thankful to have this sweet little girl home!


There are also several pictures posted of her orphanage (Yujiang Social Welfare Institute). It is such a blessing to see where she lived since we were not able to see it while we were in China. While we were there I really didn't want to see it...partly because I was afraid of what I would see and partly because I didn't want to travel there with Lily and give her any inclination that she would be going back there. Seeing these pictures, it gives me comfort knowing it is not at all as bad as what I had pictured. There are play rooms with brightly colored foam floor pieces and the cribs are all full of soft looking bedding. We had seen pictures of just horrbile places with only wood inside of the cribs and no blankets. There was also an air conditioning unit pictured, which I know a lot of orphanages don't have. Even if that isn't her in those pictures, I am grateful to know she was taken care of as best as could be expected for the situation she was in.

2 comments:

Melissa said...

I'm glad for you that you were able to see where Lily spend her time before you adopted her...and that it was not so bad. I was actually surprised to see them in walkers...not a lot of orphanages would have them I'm guessing. My mother spent some time volunteering in a orphanage in Morocco...and it almost broke her heart to see the little ones laying all day in their beds, only having human contact a couple times a day to be changed and fed. There was just no time for the workers to hold them or play with them, so the volunteers took time to do just that.

It's lovely to see one such child find a home like yours...and to see your family so blessed by her :)

Brenda said...

That just has to be her. It's too big of a coincidence with the timing and all.