Here we go, finally getting to the end (the end!) of editing and cataloguing my favorite pictures from our time in China with Clementine. No, not Magnolia… Clementine.
I’m just going to get this out there, y’all. This little corner of cyberspace has been sorely neglected. Lots of things have resulted in this sad state of affairs: homeschooling nine, a hard-drive-losing computer crash, a trip to China and an open-heart surgery. And two little girls that are busy, busy, busy. (And irresistible.)
But I keep coming back to the fact that this is were we chart our family memories, where I’ve written down the stories that God is weaving into the fabric of our family. And I really want to keep the virtual home fires burning. And so, for today, I’m humbly marching forward, trying to be diligent in not leaving things out, and faithful to finishing what I started when I began editing and revisiting the pictures of our trip to China for Clementine. 
So, despite the fact that I started this post over one year ago, and the pictures were taken just a few months short of two years ago, I’m going back to our last day in China.
The day we dressed our girls up in their silks and ventured over to Shamian Island to try to capture a few photos that encapsulated all that this trip represented… 
An opportunity for our oldest from China to see her birth country again.
But, even more, the grafting of our newest little love into our family forever.
When I took these pictures almost two years ago, I had absolutely no clue how very fragile and uniquely created she was. Or how long and difficult her journey to full healing would be.
I also had no idea how very much she would change the very fabric of our family – taking us from future-focused bystanders to engaging in life with a here-and-nowness that we’d completely missed.
And I had no idea of the joy.
So. Much. Joy.
While I initially started working on this post begrudgingly (during the few relatively quiet afternoon hours when my littlest are napping) I’m now so very grateful for the chance to look back and dust off these old pictures. And to be reminded of His goodness in truly granting the desires of this weary but joyful mama’s heart. Desires my head had never dreamed of but, to my heart, feel just like home.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4