"Look At Us!"

Less than one week ago Piper celebrated her 14th birthday in the safety and the comfort of our home. This birthday had more significance for her and us than just another passing year. In China, when an orphan hits their 14th year of birth, they (what is commonly known in adoption circles) "age-out". This means that they're no longer eligible for adoption and are now under the guardianship of the Civil Affairs Office of China for the remainder of their childhood. The government grants no grace or latitude here - the date is the date and that's it. Where they do grant grace is for those older children who are in the queue for adoption (like Piper); in these cases they actually expedite the process to ensure they're adopted before their 14th birthday is "celebrated". And for Piper this means that she shifted her guardian(s) just in the nick of time. Or should I rather say that the Lord orchestrated all of this to transpire just in the nick of time? Most orphaned children in China know that the closer they come to the age of 14, time is running out for them. Sadly, there are literally thousands of children in their pre-teen and early teen years that are desperately pleading in their own hearts, and in their own ways, that a mother and a father might bring them into their fold. We know this to be the case, and we also know that those over the age of 14 that have not been adopted often ask themselves, "Why? Why wasn't I chosen?" These are profound questions that have much deeper meaning than the simplicity of just the words themselves. While in China on our last trip to lasso Piper into our bosom, we heard an older child in just this state ask such a question behind a sorrowful face of tears and a brokenhearted soul. When face to face with these children (rather than just reading about them or thinking of them in terms of one among millions), your heart melts and you just want to bring them all home with you if you could. I believe most people would feel this way, which is why we need to place ourselves in the midst of hardship and heartache to propel that God given instinct into high gear in order do what He would do.

While celebrating Piper's 14th birthday around the kitchen table, we asked her what her past birthdays were like when in China. She said they were either rarely celebrated, or if so only remotely acknowledged in passing and with little fanfare. I believe this is partly because birthdays don't have as much celebratory significance in China as they do here in America, but also because during most of her life she didn't have anyone to draw attention to her special day. But in her mind she had built this one up for herself, and you could see it in her eyes. Earlier in the day she asked Victoria what we were going to do throughout the day. Victoria told her that the first thing we needed to do was to get cleaned up and then get dressed. This is the common of order of things. But when she heard the word "dressed", she thought this meant that she could wear a dress, so she immediately went to her closet and picked out one that Annie and Victoria had recently bought for her. She also assumed that Victoria was going to wear a dress and wanted to make sure that she put one on too. After Piper groomed herself and put on that dress she especially picked out, she came out of the room, found us, and then stood in front of our full gaze with a cock in her head and a smile on her face. We knew exactly what she was thinking - "Look at me, MaMa and BaBa! I'm beautiful." And you know what? She was... she was indeed. Both Victoria and Piper were beautiful that day. That moment almost brought me to tears.

Later in the evening, before we opened gifts, things had settled down a bit in our household (the decibel level has risen dramatically around our home since Piper came into it). Poppy and Willow had decided to paint with water colors while I barbecued some chicken and Victoria prepared other portions of our special meal. Piper, who has already admittedly stated that she's not the artistic type (in so many words), decided to grab a blank piece of paper and freehand paint something of her own with the same watercolors the little girls were using. She delicately chose specific colors and rinsed her brush after each stroke, clearly having a vision in mind of what she wanted to craft. After about 15 to 20 minutes she had finished what she began, and with her affect demonstratively exhibiting pride in her handiwork. Holding up was was now a colorful piece of what was once a blank piece of paper, she said, "Look!" She then described the green tree with it's brown trunk (like something you'd see in a childhood picture book) and all of its inhabitants - birds within and fluttering around it. She especially pointed out that there were ten birds in the painting, and then she said they were all "our family". Baba (me) was highest in the tree, with the three Chinese girls nestled into their nest just below (Piper, Willow and Poppy). Meagan and Austin were flying underneath the tree, and Barret, Annie and Brian (Annie's boyfriend) were on the other side of it. Mama was below finding food to bring back up to the three chicks in the nest. As she carefully described each member of the flock, we saw the look on her face - it was the same one she had when she put on that dress in the morning and non-verbally said, "Look at me." She was now saying, "Look at us." Victoria and I were stunned by the imagery, and our hearts were warmed. This is her first birthday where the nest in which shall will roost will be her nest for the rest of her life. There's no more wondering, no more waiting, no more fretting about whether she's been left behind. She's nestled, safe and secure.

Framing this picture,