Understanding Lainey's Life Before Us...

In the 2 1/2 weeks since we have had Lainey, it has been so amazing to see the quick progress she has made. We know that a huge reason why she has done so well is because of the care she received in her orphanage. We were so thankful, before we could bring Lainey home, to learn that she was okay and being well cared for. In the last six months we've seen a lot of babies come home from very very tragic situations.

We've seen 2 year olds so neglected and malnourished that they were still in newborn diapers, and children who spent (and the children who still remain to this day are still spending) 22 hours out of every day in their cribs... for years and years on end. It's really sickening, to be honest. And it's a reality for thousands (if not millions) of innocent children around the world this very minute.

But our Lainey was fed, and she was given a chance to play and grow. We will forever be grateful for this. Still, she came from an orphanage... with way more babies than caregivers. And so, it just wasn't possible for her to have a lot of one-on-one attention, to be rocked to sleep, have someone hold her bottle for her, etc. Just too many babies, and we can't fault the orphanage for this.

We also know that her world was very, very small. Although the overall compound of her orphanage was large, the younger children like Lainey spent all of their time in two rooms. One was a playroom with some mats and toys, and the other was a room full of 30 cribs for all of the little ones. Off the crib room there was a door that went to a small outside area with some play equipment on solid ground, and on warm days this was the third space Lainey was in for her entire life before us.

Lainey in her crib, two weeks before we came to get her.

Anything beyond this small world has now been completely new to Lainey. She never saw carpet or grass, never played with stuffed animals (because they carry germs easier... though she did have one hanging in her crib), had never seen a dog or cat, never been constrained in a car seat or stroller, and possibly had only seen a man maybe once or twice ever. And of course there is so so much more she has never experienced before she was plucked her from this small world and everything changed.

It took her four days to emerge from the trauma of that (which is a beautifully short time), and we are still seeing day by day her adventurous spirit blossom. She is so incredibly brave and amazing.

Just days after we came home... The fear of grass has disappeared, and she wants to play! She wants to swing HIGH (only Daddy does it just right), slide down the big slide alone, and today... jump on a trampoline! She fell over and over, but instead of crying, she laughed. This is a child who would barely lift a finger to pop a bubble two weeks ago... who didn't want to be out of my sight, crawl or walk for four days.

These aren't just any other photos of a child paying, laughing, and eating watermelon like a boss... these moments are a miracle.

God is so good! He is the reason for all of this. He set this all in motion to right the wrongs done to her... through us... so we could find each other and she could have a chance to know a family and life lived to the fullest. So many more children wait... here and around the world. Is God calling you to be totally blessed in this way? :)

(or, if He's not... perhaps you might consider supporting an organization that is doing amazing things to improve the lives of orphans just like Lainey - in her very orphanage... for the children in the crib to her left and right... Red Thread Charities changed our baby girl's life! http://www.redthreadcharities.org).