On October 21, 2009 we received a call from our agency informing us that they had a file for us to review. We received the file and immediately contacted our pediatrician, Dr. Adams, for a medical review. He has been our pediatrician for the past nine years, and we really wanted his medical opinion. He gave us his thumbs-up, and that was all we needed. We were already in love with her as soon as we saw her picture.

According to her file, her estimated birth date was February 2, 2008. She arrived at the Social Welfare Center of Longgang District, Shenzhen City on May 24, 2008. There were no details about how she came to the orphanage. At one year old she was reported to be 75.5 cm tall and weighed 8.7 kg with eight teeth. She is closest to her caretaker and is said to be quiet, active and restless, fond of imitating, and is a deep sleeper (thank goodness). Her favorite activity is to walk freely in the baby walker and her favorite toy is a bell. She imitates words, responds to others asking for objects and knows what “NO” means. She has a good appetite and her favorite food is milk and crackers.

Her Chinese name is: Long Di Huan. One of Mike’s colleagues (thanks Dr. Li) was kind enough to translate her name for us. According to Dr. Li, Di is a beautiful girl’s name that is not very common. It means to inspire or direct. Huan translates to brilliant. Sophie means wisdom. We plan to make Di Huan her middle name.

Quote by Kristi Larson:
“We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life. But those who make their journey home across time and miles, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God’s very own hands.”