Three years ago in Changsha, Hunan we met this little firecracker!
She Xia Chang (Tung Tung) was four months shy of five years old that day. It was an emotional and hard day for all of us. But, especially for a little girl desperate to go back to the foster mother she loved. She lost all she knew that afternoon, and it was heartbreaking.
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I went back to see what I wrote
last year on this anniversary. So much of what I said that day is still true now. Sienna will always be our spicy girl from Hunan. God has wired her so differently than me. God has taught me so much in my three years being her Mama. Some too hard to eloquently describe. Has this been easy? Honestly, no.. Has it been rewarding.. Absolutely! Three years later we still have our battles, she and I. She is strong willed, and so am I.. She wants to control me.. I don't like being controlled.. If I am totally honest, I think God gave me Sienna to refine and sift me, not her! Through her I see my strengths and my weaknesses as a mother, as a teacher, as a role model. Through her I see how much work I personally have to do. Through her I have seen the miracles of God's grace. I have seen His miracles in physical and spiritual healing in her life.. She is a portrait of "
beauty from the ashes". I guess I could summarize her with one word, amazing! Sienna has been forced to make a lot of choices in three years. Ultimately she has chosen to trust. Possibly the hardest thing anyone will ever ask her to do. Remember that Mulan line..
"Theflower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all!" That is our Sienna Grace!
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Hands down this child LOVES me big! I am the one she trusts enough to fall apart on. The one that she whispers, "I missed you today", the one who waits up for me in her bed when I am away. On the days when I feel like I have failed with her, God always takes me back to the beginning.. To the
Journey of Sienna Grace that is a reminder that He called us to her! He practically gave us a road map to her front door. It is this adoption that has stretched me, and allowed me to see clearly that when you obey you are blessed. On the hardest of days, she brings me closer to God. She reminds me that I can not do it alone.. And, when I think I can, something happens to bring me back to my knees. It is this child that has strengthened my relationship with Jeff too.. Mr. Handsome is the strong Daddy that Sienna needs. She respects him like no other... She is at her best when he is near. I am so thankful for the stability we have been able to give her.
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Two days ago I took her out for a little photo shoot... I think these pictures tell their own story. They show the depth and layers of Sienna Grace. The happy, the sad, the silly, the crazy, the funny, and the beautiful. She is my deep thinker. My diary writing girl. She has a journey like no other in our family. While she shares China with Ruby and Emme Jade, she does not share where she came from. She had a family. A foster mother who loved her. I believe her memories are fading now of those days. I know that is hard. Hopefully, my trip back to Hengshan will bless Sienna in an amazing way. She's not ready to go back.. but this Mama is.
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Sienna Grace is more confident today than she was then.. She has come so far! Thanks to her family and a sister and roommate that loves her so unconditionally she has grown. To this day I marvel at how God chose Ruby to be Sienna's virtual twin. That in itself is a beautiful story of God's plan for each one of us. Two little girls, opposite in many ways, who were born to be sisters and best friends! Their truly is a red thread woven around the story of Sienna Grace.
Sienna's eyes have a depth to them.. When we met Sienna in Changsha she was so sick from her Thalassemia.. Her eyes and skin were yellow. Today she has been transfusion free since September, 2010. We celebrate what God has done in her body.
Today I celebrate the milestones we have met since March 1, 2010. We celebrate who Sienna is, and who God is calling her to be. I can't help but to reflect on my role in all of it. I admire the tough and the tender, the sweet and the sassy girl that was chosen to be ours! Happy Forever Sienna Grace. You are SO LOVED!!
"The Flower that blooms in adversity, is the most rare and Beautiful of all!" ~Mulan
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