A Beautiful Family

Let me tell you about the Green family.

They are the most wonderful, unique, and loving family ever. There are nine children, three biological, and six adoptive, and hopefully a seventh within the next year. The two oldest are boys with blonde and red hair and the other biological child is a blonde girl. "She's a quiet, nerdy thing. Not my usual, but nice." (sorry, I just had to make a Dr. Horrible reference...) The other six are all Chinese, adopted from orphanages, despite the fact that they all have a handicap of some kind.

There's Elli who is blind and autistic. I didn't get to spend much time with her, but she is really funny.
Graci has had several open heart surgeries due to a heart murmur she was born with. She was left on the side of the road by her father at a young age because he thought she'd surely die because the family couldn't afford the surgery to help her condition. When the Greens first received her she had blue lips and fingernails due to the lack of oxygen, but she is doing REALLY well now!
Cali was the most recently adopted child and she is still struggling with English because she's only been in America for 11 months. She has Spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair, but she and Gracie are so close in age that they are best friends and often speak in Chinese with each other.
Alexander (or Xander) is the next oldest, I think, and he has some kind of condition in his legs that has his ankles and feet deformed. He has a scar going down his leg from a tumor that was removed, but he is an extremely helpful boy and helps with the younger kids, or acts as a messenger for his mom.
Lexi is really funny, and she is blind. She sees with her hands and is really intelligent. She wants to understand the world so she asks a million questions like "what is a tail?" Just things we usually take for granted because we learn with our eyes.
Last, but definitely not least is sweet little Sophi. She is five and has no arms, but she is just like any other little girl personality wise. She is extremely talented with her toes so she can draw, and feed herself, and has her own way of hugging dogs that are sitting on the ground. She is just loving and appreciative to anyone that comes in contact with her.
The boy that is in the provess of adoption is named Connor and he is also blind. It is taking a long time for this adoption because his paperwork wasn't done before, because the people at the orphange never thought he'd get adopted. This situation is common, but there's nothing for adoptive parents to do but be patient.

Every one of those children are so great, just like the parents. It really takes two special people to adopt a child, especially internationally when the kids have disabilities. You just watch them with the kids and it makes you either want to cry or become a better person...
Each child has had to deal with emotional problems as well when they first came to America. Simply hearing people speak in Chinese or seeing a group of them triggered fear in their brains, as they thought they would be taken back to China to an orphanage, but with help from the rest of the family, they are overcoming these obstacles.

I'm so grateful to have met this family, and that I can call them family... at least through marriage :) (They are my husband's cousin's family)

If you have the desire to read more about the Greens here is their blog! :)  http://www.abeautifulroad.com/