Mia's 2 year adoption anniversary

Well, today is 2 years since our adoption of Mia became official and I can't believe it.

2 years ago, today, we were in a Vietnam government office, signing papers and swearing to something I couldn't quite understand, but assumed it meant that we would take care of Mia forever and bring her into our family as our own.

Now, 2 years later, it's as if she were always here. I can't even remember our lives without her. The only thing I can remember is a feeling of emptiness and a feeling like there was something missing in our family. Little did I know it was a tiny, 25 lb. ball of energy named Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan!

I still remember the first time I saw her picture on our adoption agency's website 2 1/2 years ago. It was December and the whole adoption process had worn me down. But, my wonderful friend Missy suggested that I look on the website, just to see...and lo and behold...there was my little girl...sucking her thumb and looking at me with those big brown eyes. I knew it right away...and get goosebumps when I think about it. I still get that feeling when I look at that picture.

Then, 7 months later, we were on a plane to Vietnam, not believing what we were actually doing! We had never been out of the country and to be honest, I was quite surprised at how calm I felt about it all. But, now I know it was meant to be all along and God gave me the strength and peace I needed when I needed it.

Our time in Vietnam was wonderful, scary, fun,heartbreaking,HOT,exciting, confusing and a blessing from God, all at the same time. All of us (Eric, Helayna and I) fell in love with the country and the people and definitely plan to go back one day...either to visit or maybe to adopt a little boy?????

The heartbreaking part was spending the day at the orphanage and having to say goodbye to all the kids that were left behind. I remember them blowing me kisses and me, breaking down because I wanted to take them all home.

But the wonderful blessing from God was finally having our family of four together, at last. And although it was a big transition and very tiring at times, it now was like it never happened and Mia has always been in our family.

She is the sweetest, craziest, funniest, most stubborn, smartest,most curious child I know and I thank God for her every single day. She has brought our family so much joy and laughter and I hope that she will know, one day, how much we were missing before she came to us.

I try and explain, in a 4 yr old's language, how she came to be in our family and about the country she left, but for now, I think she just wants to know that we are her mommy, daddy and sister and we love her and will never leave her. The difficult stuff will come later, I'm sure. And although it scares me a little, to have to tell her of a painful past, I know that God will bring us through that too. I have complete faith and confidence in that.

So, on this wonderful day, I am beyond thankful for my family and also for all of you, who have supported us through this crazy thing called adoption. There were times I don't think I could've survived without you all.

Now we're off to eat a Vietnamese meal for dinner!

Happy 2 year adoption day, Mia Kim Elizabeth Schweig!!!

We love you beyond words....

xoxoxo

p.s. Here are some pictures of Mia in her "au doi" from Vietnam. (traditional Vietnamese outift that we actually bought in Vietnam)

7/14/08

Hi everyone,

I thought, since the Haiti blog has been going so well, that I would create one for our family. Since a lot of you live far away, it's a good way for us to keep in touch, let you know what's going on with us and show you pictures and videos.

So, check back often for updates. I think there's a way to sign up to get an email when I post something new, but I'm not sure how to do it yet.

Eric is in Haiti right now, he'll be home this Wednesday. He's been having an amazing time and I can't wait to hear all about everything they've done and experienced and see his pictures and video. I will put some on here when I can.

Things have been pretty calm here since he's been gone.

Helayna was at church camp, so Mia and I were home alone for 3 days. We missed them, but we survived. She's been really good so that's been a blessing. She's been sleeping on a mattress in my room,too. I get lonely, ya know!

Mia had swim class today and is doing so well! Her teacher says that not many kids catch on so fast and can hold their breath for so long! She stays under so long that we start to get worried!

She loves it, though, and is such a little fish! I think she may be on the swim team in the future.

Helayna had a great time at church camp with Parkway. They were gone from Sunday-Friday. They did all kinds of fun and crazy things, like a zip line,canoes, playing bumper soccer, etc...It was a good bonding time for her and her friends, too. They get into small groups after the message and talk about some serious things. It's good for her.

Eric just started a new position at Sprint so he'll be going into the office a couple days a week, unlike the other position where he worked at home most of the time. His office is an hour and 1/2 away, so the gas was killing us but he traded in his Jeep Wrangler for a small car that gets much better gas mileage, so that should help.

As for me, I'm just enjoying having the girls home for the summer and not having too many commitments. With Helayna starting school in the fall for the first time since kindergarten, I'm trying to get used to the idea. it's going to be so different for all of us! Hopefully, it'll be a good experience. I think she's ready and I have to trust that I've given her a good foundation with our homeschooling. i will miss her, though:(

Well, that's it for now...more later.