Introducing...Feng Lin

As we wait for the ever-anticipated LOA (China's seal of approval to adopt), it is about time I introduce our newest addition.  We were first introduced to her as Lindsey, then learned her real name, Feng Lin.  She was born October 6, 2010 in Beijing. She has been in orphanage care in Beijing's Fengtai District since she was two months old.  She has a condition called congenital scoliosis, meaning some of her vertebrae did not form correctly in utero.  She had surgery to place stabilizing rods in her spine at age 2 and 1/2.  She will face numerous surgeries to lengthen the rods as she grows. 
It is a blessing to live in the US where we can have multiple children, where medical care is within reach for even the most complex conditions, where relinquishing a child for adoption is not only legal, but supported in some circumstances.  Feng Lin's birth mother did not have any of these luxuries.  She knew at age two months that something was wrong with her daughter's back and made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her daughter in the hospital where I can only assume she had gone for a diagnosis.  I will think about her and her sacrifice my entire life and I hope that she can sense that her child is being loved and cared for.
When we were first introduced to Lindsey, I searched for information about her orphanage.  There was no glorious website like Quinn's orphanage had set up so I turned to social media.  On a Facebook site for China adoptive families, I asked if anyone had heard of Fengtai SWI.  To my shock, I received a private message from a mother in Sweden who had adopted her daughter from there and had a picture and video of Feng Lin to share!  Not only that, she linked me with a preschool teacher at the orphanage who was Feng Lin's teacher!  Since March, we have had the blessing of receiving multiple photos of Feng Lin as well as in depth information about her personality.  Here are a few recent photos...

The fantastic, amazing, selfless, beautiful woman holding Feng Lin in the last photo is our guardian angel and Feng Lin's teacher, Jennifer.  Waiting, with so many unknowns about your child's care and development is utterly terrifiying!  We received only two updates about Quinn during our 11 month wait to bring her home.  This time around, we have been able to see how our daughter is growing and learning!  We have been told that she is "quite bright," outgoing, talkative, curious, and brave.  Sounds just like her sister!

We also know that she is a girly-girl.  She loves princesses, dress-up, and jewelry.  Don't quite know how she will handle the endless games of mass destruction that the boys and Quinn like to play, but I do know that she and Quinn (my tomboy) will never fight over toys or clothes:)

We debated giving Feng Lin and American name because, at age 4, she certainly knows her name and it is her identity.  However, after hearing from adult adoptees who were grateful for American names so they would "fit in", we decided to give Feng Lin the name Marin. 

 It means "wished-for child."

We hope her name helps her remember all of the people in her life who have wished for her.