Before we met, we wanted you ... Before we found you, we loved you ... Before we touched your face, we would die for you ...
This is the miracle of love.

One year ago today....

We stepped off the airplane after traveling over 36 hours to greet Henry, a man that we had heard so much about but had never met. A man that would bring us to our daughter. We had never been so far away from home, or so close to our baby girl the day we set foot in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam. We had worked so hard to get to this point. 7 background checks each, 3 home visits by a social worker, 4 sets of fingerprints each, hundreds of papers that had to be stamped, notarized, translated and so much more. And it was all time sensitive (which means we had to repeat the process at least once before we made it to Vietnam!) After the paperwork we waited, which was almost as hard as the paperwork process itself.
All that was a distant memory the day we landed in Vietnam and met Henry.
We gathered our luggage and stepped out of the airport to a huge mob of people that were waiting for relatives and friends, it felt like chaos. We walked wide-eyed to the van and as we got in Henry told us that we would go to the hotel and then go to the orphanage to meet Nguyen. After 30 months of waiting, working, hoping and praying for our daughter we were finally 1 hour away from meeting her! The ride to the hotel was surreal. We had learned so much about Vietnam during the 30 month wait that we felt like we had already been there. Checking into the hotel was pure excitement. Seeing the crib ready and waiting for our baby girl in our hotel sent a shock through our bodies. It was real. It was finally happening!
After quick showers we rushed around finding the bag of diapers, and clothes we had packed and were off again driving through the city on our way to the orphanage.
Although the orphanage and the hotel were in the same city the drive was about 45 minutes long. During that time we all just looked out the van windows with amazement. There were so many things we had never seen before! A funeral procession going by on the street looked more like a colorful parade, and we never knew motorbikes could hold so much stuff! The traffic in Vietnam is indescribable. Henry called the orphanage and told them we were coming and to prepare Nguyen to meet her new parents.


We arrived at the orphanage and got out of the van and were taken into the orphanage directors office. There she poured tea, had us sign a thank you note to the orphanage, and gave us Nguyen's medical information. All I could think about was the tea sitting in front of me. Is it safe to drink? Is it rude to not drink it?
As I was pondering the tea, Henry looked up and said "There she is, get ready mom!"
And...
There she was.

Our gorgeous baby girl was entering the room with her caretaker. She was dressed in a beautiful red dress, pink princess slippers, and a pink headband that we had sent her in one of her many care packages over the 6 months that we waited for her government paperwork to be approved. We took her picture and reached out to hold her. She was so tiny. She was the size of a 3-6 month old baby but so beautiful, healthy looking, alert, and active. She was serious, taking it all in, but seemed comfortable. I think she knew that it was her day, that this is what she had been waiting for. I think she saw us in her dreams, just like I had seen her- the little toddler girl with short black hair dressed in red, in my dreams so many months ago.

On this day Nguyen Thi Hanh officially became Elia Nguyen Thi Hanh. We made a promise to love and cherish her forever as we attending the official giving and receiving ceremony with the orphanage director. Elia carefully looked over the paperwork as if to say "what are we agreeing to now?". She was so curious about everything around her.
The next couple of weeks went by in the blink of an eye. We spent time exploring the beautiful country of Vietnam, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. We even tasted a bit of the food! This is an accomplishment for us if you knew how paranoid we were about getting sick in Vietnam- thanks to a few of our friends that had horrible stomach issues in Vietnam. We shopped like crazy and bought a few very cherished items from Elia's birth city. We visited a Buddhist Temple, The Notre Dame Cathedral, The Vietnamese History Museum. The most stunning site of all, the Vietnamese countryside and Ha Long Bay with the floating fish market and village, islands, mountains and caves to explore. We spent time bonding as a family and getting to know our daughter. We learned that she loved baths and splashing in the pool (something she had never experienced.) She loved to be touched, held, sung to and massaged. We also learned that she loved to eat. She ate all the time. She was still on a bottle and ate every two hours, just like a tiny newborn. She wore 3-6 month clothes, and 0-6 month socks (for another 6 months after coming home!). She crawled! Which was unbelievable considering she had never left her crib. She was social and talked to everyone! She was always telling long stories in baby language. She responded to Vietnamese, but looked at us speaking English like we were crazy people. She loved plastic bags, electrical cords, and plastic bottles. She hated clothes that covered up her knees, and didn't understand sweaters and sweatshirts. She loved shoes and sandals though and examined them very closely. Nobody in the infant room ever wore shoes so she had really never seen shoes before on anyone!
She was sweet and easy going but if you made her mad she would let you know! She loved being out in the city but also loved playing in the hotel. She especially loved working on standing up. Her leg muscles became stronger everyday along with her eye hand coordination. Every single thing she experienced was a great learning experience for her. Everyday her personality emerged a little more and her heart opened to us. She began to smile and laugh and fall asleep peacefully.
When I look at Elia now, one year later I see the same little girl -with the spunky attitude and fighting spirit. She's different now though. Now she knows that she won't go to bed hungry, or alone. She knows that when she is hurt or sick she will be held, loved and cared for. She will never again be left in a crib all day and all night, alone. She trusts people. She knows joy. She is still the spunky girl with the sassy little voice we met 1 year ago, but she is living to her full potential and ENJOYING life. She is an amazing little girl. So full of love, so full of life, and so loved by all.



We love you Elia!
Happy 1 year Gotcha Day Anniversary!
You'll never be alone again.


This is a video of some of Elia's memorable moments this year. The photos are in order from Elia's orphanage, to our first moments with our baby, to traveling around Vietnam and then fun at home. Enjoy!