Two years ago we were on our way to China to meet Annie Kate. We were so scared. Would she like us, would she be totally terrified, would we be able to comfort her and make her realize we would take care of her and love her forever, would she accept us? This tiny little girl was ripped away from the only life she had ever known. Little did we know at the time...she was ready. Upon leaving the orphanage after having only met us two days earlier, she took my hand, looked over her should once to wave goodbye and lead me out the door never looking back. We were family! I have literally each day thanked God for the gift of being this beautiful child's mother. I don't know what I ever did to deserve the gifts in my life but I have so many.
At 5 years old Annie Kate is healthy, smart, loving and oh so funny. We are not the best parents because we actually try not to correct her when she pronounces a word incorrectly because it is so cute, funny and as the youngest of six, we know it is short lived. She has picked up the inflection and tone of words she hears us say, like: "sears-is-lee", "oh yah", "yous gots to be kid-in me", "we needs ta goes to Weg-a-minnies". Annie loves to sing, she makes up songs and words. Others she sings well...sort of. From the play
Annie: "Yous may wear-d yous best, butts you'd neb-er fullied dressed ...wif out a...BOW!" Annie Kate always wears a bow...the bigger the better! Her version of
Grand Old Flag is priceless. " Is a gand olds flag is a high flying flag in peas mayyous never eber waves, your da envelope of da land I lubs, da home of da freeze and da braid. Ebery hart beats true for da red and da whites and da blues wif neber a boat or a drags. If olds con-quaint-ence be fergot, keeps you eye on da gand olds flag!"
Annie Kate has travel a fair amount which may account for the fact that she does not have a shy bone in her body...nature vs nurture? I don't know but there isn't a shy Myers in the family so who knows. She will talk to anyone and everyone. Often asking: "Do you speak Chinese?" This is regardless of the ethnic appearance of the person, black, white, Asian doesn't matter. When they say no, she announces that she does( not). " I cans speak Chinese and eng-leash a cause I was born-d in China and I gots dopted by my mom, my name is Annie Kate, Annie is mys fist name and Kaf-rin in my middle name and My-ers is my last name, XinTian is my Chinese name, dos yous hab a Chinese name. I dos a cause I camed from China dat is berry far aways."
Before we left for FL for Thanksgiving we had a few days of snow. On the third day the temperature rose to 50. On the way to school Annie observed: "Oh No...da snow is getting all melt-s-ed....dat sure was a berry fast winter."
