It's hard to believe it's been five years since Clara came into our lives! But on September 4, 2006, in a room in the civil affairs building in Guangzhou, China we were handed Xin Xiao Huan for the first time. She was already Clara Ruth Huan Pierce in our hearts, she'd been born in our hearts a long time. In fact, we actually decided to adopt about the time Clara was conceived. So, we had prayed for that sweet girl since her first moments of existence.
On "Gotcha Day" (as we call it....because that's the day we "gotcha") one of the officials from the orphanage handed Clara to me. She was a big, chunky, football player of a baby girl! And we fell head over heels in love!!! We were watching videos from Gotcha Day and our trip to China the other day. I had kind of forgotten just how chubby our girl was. She was so serious, sticking her jaw out and furrowing her brow, taking it all in. When she cried for the first time, it was a deep, throaty cry. And she did the sweetest thing...she would pat her face really gently to comfort herself. Oh, it was so sweet and feminine. One of my favorite pictures is of Clara asleep in my arms on the bus in China with her little hand to her face. My other favorite is our first picture of Harrison and Clara together. Oh my goodness, he was so crazy about her! It's about the happiest face I've ever seen in my life.
It only took a few days and Clara opened up and we saw her real personality. She was silly and funny, sweet and affectionate, content and adaptable. And she's pretty much the same way today. She is our creative one. On a pretty regular basis Harrison finds something Clara has done and asks me "WHY would she do that?" My answer is always "she's creative." She will literally walk into a wall because she is off in Clara's world somewhere. She draws and colors all the time. Lately, she will draw all the shapes and inside them she writes the letter that they start with. She can count by 5's and 10's to 100. And she can count to 30 by 2's. The other day she told us she was going to count by 1's.....1...3...5...7... You get the gist! She cracks me up! You never quite know what you're going to find in her bed, or under her bed, or behind her bed. The other night she crashed into something because she had her panties on her head. And a few days before that Harrison found her stuck between the head board and the wall...she was trying to reach a sock she had dropped so she figured if she put her legs down there she could pick it up with her toes. I do have to give it to her, she is a pretty good problem solver most of the time. She comes up with solutions from a whole other direction than the rest of us. I love it!
Ahhhh, five years! I cannot imagine our life without Clara! What a blessing she is and we thank God for her everyday. I still love to think back to the day we landed in Oklahoma City coming home from China. About 40 friends were gathered at the airport to greet us and meet Clara. It is one of my all-time favorite days! And I have to admit, everytime we get off the plane in Oklahoma City now it is pretty much a letdown after that wonderful homecoming!!!
(If you've not seen our story...please feel free to look at http://www.journeytoclara.com/)
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