10 years ago today . . .

. . . a precious baby girl was born in Vietnam.  We didn’t know until 6 weeks later about this miracle, or what an impact it would have on our lives and our family. 

Needless to say, I’m feeling rather nostalgic today, and have a lot of people to thank ---

To the woman who gave birth to Gracie and realized the precious miracle that was her life, who made the difficult decision to give her baby up for adoption so that we might have her in our family.

To the caregivers at the Bac Ninh Nurturing Center in Vietnam, who cared for our sweet Gracie for the first four months of her life.

To our social worker at La Vida International – Sue – for her kindness and willingness to help us through the adoption process and field all our many questions; and who, eventually, made the referral call, telling us about a sweet 6 week old baby who would become our daughter.

To our adoption facilitator – Rose Marie – and her Vietnam staff – Thuy, Hoa, and Chau – who made our time in Vietnam pleasant and memorable (enough so that I was sure we’d be going back and doing it all over again in a few years!)

To three special people who wrote letters of recommendation for us – Brian’s sister Sue, my best friend Sue (who is no longer with us), and our pastor (at the time) Ken (who has also passed away). 

To our family, who supported us in the adoption process – to my parents who chose the path of adoption and set an example for me, and to my Korean-born adopted brothers who made enough of an impression on me to make adoption a means of growing my own family.

And especially to God – who is a Father to the fatherless and places orphans in families.  We’re so glad He saw fit to place Gracie into ours.  I cannot imagine our lives without her!

Happy 10th Birthday  Gracie!
We love you!