Four Months Ago Today...

Can you believe it's been 4 months already??? It seems like yesterday that Mom and I walked into BSSK (the orphanage) and saw Nandini for the first time. Oh, how she hated me! Those first few weeks were so hard... she grieved so much. But it shows how much she was loved at BSSK and how much they loved her in return.

Four months have made such a difference. We have finally begun to understand each other. Her little personality (or should I say BIG personality) shines through more and more each day. She is joyful and playful and full of life. She's full of giggles and tickles and and hugs and kisses.


It WAS hard... it was so hard... but I am SO thankful that we put this in God's hands and listened to Him. I know with all my heart and soul that He led us to Nandini. There is no doubt in my mind.


So here are some pictures from that first day that we met Nandini. It took her several weeks before she would fully smile and start to trust us...... but now... well, now.... let the pictures speak for themselves....







The first moment I saw Nandini. She was fascinated by the camera. This was before she realized that I was the woman who was going to take her away...

Here she is sitting at a table picking up playdoh. They wanted her to play with it, but she refused. She just sat there touching it and withdrawing from everything around her. If they put a toy in her hand, she dropped it. They put a crayon in her hand.. she let it fall. She became so withdrawn that it scared me. Later on, I realized that she was protecting herself.


Can you see her staring at us? They hadn't brought in her blanket yet. When they did, she covered her head up and every so often would peek out from under the blanket to see if we were still there. For some unknown reason, that's when I knew that everything would be okay.


Our leaving ceremony. Notice that Mom and I are the only ones smiling.


In the hotel room. This went on for hours and hours until she cried herself to sleep.


So forlorn and soo sad. It broke our hearts.

Wow! Look at her now!!! One of her favorite things to do is play in the dress-up box.

With her beloved dolly (who she actually named, "Dolly").....


Sitting Pretty.


I know I posted this one the other day, but it's one of my favorites. Plus, Nandini is still asleep right now so I don't have any actual pictures from today.


Being silly. So silly.

Let's see.... what can I tell you about Nandini? She loves pomegrantate fruit leathers from Target. She loves to watch Charlie & Lola and Mr. Bean. She loves turnip greens and green beans. She doesn't care for chocolate, but loves peppermints. She loves to wear dresses over jeans and doesn't care for the color pink (although she has a closet full of it). She loves animals and hotwheels. She likes to play with her pretend kitchen... and sometimes sneaks food out from the fridge to "cook" for us. She loves butterflies, ballons, and bubbles. She loves going to "school" each day (homeschool) and loves to color. She adores her brothers and her Nonna and Papa. She loves digging in the dirt and getting dirty. She can't stand hairbows or ponytails and can already spot a garage sale sign two blocks away. She thinks it's funny to pull the dog's tail and blow bubbles in her drink.

And she loves us.

She. Loves. Us.

Yeah!

Leslie



Comments

Cherie said…
Simply precious! What a wonderful gift from God.
11:33 PM
Cherie said…
She is living up to her name for she has brought much joy to your home.
11:56 PM
Amy said…
I love that little girl and I am so proud of you Leslie! You have taught me so much! God knew exactly what He was doing! :0)
4:28 PM
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