A Long Way....

Nothing makes me happier than to see the huge progress Quinn has made since she has been home! A few short months ago, the sight of this play structure evoked a raw, emotional tantrum from Quinn. At the time, I thought she would love playing on this structure. Her report from the orphanage stated that it was by far her favorite past time. I remember feeling SO bad that the sight of this made her so upset. It's so hard to predict what will be a negative "trigger" for her. The next few times we went to the Zoo, we avoided this area...until the other day. I had met my friends at the Zoo for Wren's birthday. As we walked by the children's area, Quinn popped right out of the stroller and ran right up the steps of the play structure.

And she was SO excited. And SO happy. She was smiling from ear to ear.

And I had to choke back the tears!

She has come so far! I am starting to see this little girl come into her own. She has come a long way from the fiercely quite and reserved girl we saw when around other kids. I am happy to see that she is starting to feel much more confident and secure now.

We love seeing that beautiful smile!

Oh to see the world through her eyes right now! She takes it all in with such wonder!

And lately, not a day goes by without her telling me, "Quinn Lian is happy...Quinn Lian stay here".

If she only knew how incredibly happy she makes others. She has truly touched the lives of so many people already. Just the other day, one of my friends said to me, "I'm so glad you adopted Quinn. She is such a special little girl". Nearly everywhere we go, Quinn captures the attention of someone. Her incredible spirit is that strong!