BaBa

BaBa was allowed two more days off, Monday and Tuesday, so he was able to come and sit the whole day with Chloe. Oh, the smiles on Chloe's angelic little face. The whole 6th floor loves Chloe and her sweet smiles. Chloe made great advances with Baba. No different than when we were in China!

Chloe has been daddy's little girl from the very beginning. We found Chloe on the waiting child list 3 days before Greg was to deploy to Afghanistan. It was a whirlwind of getting Greg ready to leave as well as handling all the initial paperwork, consulting with doctors, but most importantly securing our knowledge that we were the family God had prepared for this little girl. Looking back on that time with the myriad of obstacles thrown in our path, I know evil was at work to divert us from the path God had shown us. Oh, the growing and lessons we have learned. Our faith is stronger and we are better people today.

We traveled to China in September to bring Chloe home. Chloe was brought into the hotel where we were staying. We were to wait in our room until they called us. We got the call and were so thankful we were only one floor down from the meeting room. We could not wait to meet our daughter. She was in her ayi's arms, with a handful of peanuts crying for her best friend. We were told she had gained about 5 pounds the month before we arrived because of her happiness that she was getting a family. Indeed she looked a lot different from the photos we had received of her. At that moment when she saw us in person for the first time, I think she would have given back all that extra food she had eaten if only she could go back to the orphanage to the safety of her three friends arms. In protest to being taken from "her original family", she decided she would not smile or talk to us. Well, not to me. It seemed whenever I left the room Chloe would become an entirely different little girl for her Baba. She would smile, giggle and tease her father relentlessly. That bond and mode of relating has remained to this day. Chloe and her Baba share many things, of which I am so thankful. They share the same birthday, love of football, love of motorcycles, teasing, and a need to be outside in God's beautiful creation. That is pretty much how they spent the day together yesterday and of that I am so grateful.

We were able to disconnect two different tubes of the seven she had initially and allow her to start taking 25ml an hour of water by mouth. Baby steps but steps in the right direction.