Friday, March 1, 2013
Happy 3rd Forever Day, Sienna Grace!
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.
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.. "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all!" That is our Sienna Grace!
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.
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.
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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19 comments:
oh di, this just has me all a mess. knowing you. knowing your family. knowing your spicy sienna. the sweetness of it all...the beauty of what God does in His mighty work of redemption. it is the story of each one of us as we come with little but our sick selves and place our lives into the hands of The Healer. and He transforms. and He IS transforming. and it's all grace. grace for each one of us. sienna grace knows this already and will continue to know it more as she continues to bloom. love you all. xoxo
This is byfar the most touching post I have ever read!! Truly heartfelt.
Sienna Grace is such a beautiful little lady! She looks awesome in that Red/Black against ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL SNOW!!
Happy 3rd Forever Day Sienna Grace!!
In so very many ways, she reminds me of my Hannah. The journeys are deep, the love is big, the apprehension is real (hence the need to remain in control), the losses are profound, the person...well, extraordinary! I got a fortune right about the time Hannah arrived home and it said, "There is no rose without a thorn." So true...and it still makes me smile. Anyway, celebrate the day...you all deserve it! Happy Family Day!
Yours was one on the very first adoption blogs I had ever read. I started following you just before you left to bring Sienna home. Whether you know it or not, your blog played a small role in our call to adopt and a HUGE role in allowing us to be open to our daughter with Thalassemia. Kate is home with us in part because of your journey with this precious girl. I stand amazed, once again, at what love can do to change the life of one who is receiving the love AND most especially in the one who is pouring the love out. God is SO good; all the time!
What an AMAZING journey God has taken you on with Sienna Grace! Thank you so much for sharing her with us, and how He has used her to grow you in every way :)
Happy Third Forever Family Day!!
oxoxo!
Such a beautiful story and little girl!!! God is SO good at weaving our stories and Sienna's is so sweet. Thankful she is doing so well and the photos are gorgeous!!! Thank you for sharing! XO
Oh Di this speaks volumes to me as you know! Just today I was sharing with a friend how difficult this past year has been for me, yet it has made me analyze myself and realize what a sinner I am and that I can only become what God intends me to be with his help.
Love you sweet friend and you know how much I love that precious Sienna seeing as I love a little one here just like her:)
Happy 3rd Forever Day to a very special forever loved Sienna Grace!!!!
Oh my goodness...I loved the photos...and now I love the story...that of life! Beautifully written with a beautiful girl! happy Family Day! Love Teri
oh happy day! so glad sienna has such an amazing family to love her through life :). we returned home from china this past summer with our sweet pearl (juan) and although we were not in hengshan i thought of your sweet daughter each time we passed a gas station. she is the one who initially opened my heart to children with blood disorders, which led us to our own daughter, and the reason today that we give blood regularly for those in need. she most definitely is destined for great things in Him....
...and your post and photographs, well, they are amazing in themselves...
Love all of these pictures!
Oh Diana, She is a Such a Lovely precious sweetie. Sienna sounds a lot like our little Mia so strong willed and such a fighter and I can soooo relate to you about God refining me through Mia. Thanks for your post about Sienna it is an encouragment to me with our walk with Mia. Happy Sienna Day!!!! Blessings and Love from Texas.
It is hard to believe it has been three years. What a special post about a special girl. I know how far you have all come in three years and that my friend is a testament to you! You are exactly the Mom she needed as well as the Mom she was intended to have. As you state, she is the daughter you needed as well. So the way I see it - a perfect fit:). Hard at times but perfect at others! You are raising a wonderful girl who has shed her layers because of your love! Happy Day to one of my favorite families and one very special girl! Can't wait to continue to watch your flower flourish! Miss you!!!
xoxo
B
What a beautiful post Diana. Sienna is such a beautiful little girl and I know we all feel blessed to see who she grows up to be. I'm so glad you will get to spend time with her China mom. What an amazing bond the two of you share...
Sienna's story was one of the very first I read when I started looking for real stories of china waiting child adoptions. As we sit here considering a little boy with thalassemia, it is Sienna's story I tell my husband...
Thank you for sharing her story with all of us.
And the pictures of her are absolutely gorgeous too! :)
Happy Forever Day!
What a beautiful and honest post! It made me think of my life...even though my life is very different than yours, we all struggle to do God's will in this life and to show His glory through all of life. Thanks for your uplifting words. I will keep you and your family in my special prayers as I go to Vespers with my Benedictine community shortly. Thanks again...May God continue to shine through all of you!
What a beautiful post about a special little girl that our family holds near and dear to our hearts. You are a very special Mama, and Sienna is a very special daughter. You are all an inspiration. What beautiful pictures! May God continue to bless your family.
Beautiful daughter and a beautiful post. Our Hannah is also a Hunan "spicey girl" and we met in Changsha 7 years ago when she was 18 months old. Her transition was far easier being younger.
Two years ago we returned to China for Lauren who was a month shy of being 7 and living in the orphanage in Shanghai. Though God has brought incredible physical healing to a myriad of health issues He is refining us all as she grows and heals emotionally. Know from experiences with my oldest daughter who was 8 when she arrived in our home from Russia what the Lord is able to do, but will agree the process can take it's toll as you deal with those ups and downs. Thanks for sharing Sienna Graces story.
Happy Forever Sienna Grace, you are beautiful and such a wonderful blessing to your family.
Happy Forever Day! It has been so rewarding to watch your beautiful girl thrive and grow. She has come so far from the sad, sick girl we saw in Guangzhou 3 years ago.
Thanks for sharing so much about how your journey with Sienna Grace has changed you the past three years! It seems we have had a similar journey with our girls and you said it all so brilliantly.
What a beautiful picture of redemption! I often look at my children and see what the "healer of the broken"can and is doing, thanks for sharing about your precious girl as you celebrate her day.