Lainey's Sweet Face

A few days after meeting Lainey, BJ and I visited her orphanage, the Hangzhou Children's Welfare Institute (CWI). There are also Social Welfare Institutes (SWI) in China, which have children, adults with disables, and the elderly. Children's Welfare Institutes are usually much better environments for the children because the CWIs are focused solely on children. We are so thankful that Lainey was in a CWI, and such a nice one with such loving nannes.

Lainey had been at the CWI since she was just a few days old. One of the first things that the orphanage staff gave us when we visited was a CD of photos from Lainey's life there. It's such a treasure to have these photos of our sweet girl! We have no specific information about when each photo was taken, so we make our guesses about how old she might have been in each of them.

Because we applied to adopt just a few short weeks after she was born (though we didn't know it then), it's amazing to think that as each of these photos were taken we were somewhere in our adoption process... and already on our way to her! It was a long (15 month) journey, but worth it ALL, and God. knew. THIS little one, half a world away, was meant to be a part of our family. I can't even imagine us now without her.

Here are a few of our favorites!

I wonder what I was doing when this photo was taken.
Well, probably sleeping... so I wonder what I was dreaming about. :)

A battle over a toy! Haha! Oh the battles yet to be fought with her guh guhs. She was in preparation.

The little grin I now know so well.