Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl in the village of Tongling, China. Her birth parents loved her very much. But they were unable to take care of her. We don’t know if they were poor or if they already had a child and the Chinese government would not let them have another. We do know that her birth parents had a special plan for her. The special plan was that they would allow someone to find their daughter and take good care of her. The mother and father wrapped their beautiful daughter in warm clothes and a blanket. They decided to take her to a train station where there were many people going to and from the station. They had a positive outlook on that someone would see their daughter and take care of her. The night before the mom wrote a note saying when their baby girl was born on January 16, 1992. It was so hard for the mother to write the note. The note had become a tear stained note. A stranger soon found the baby; he swept her up and took to a nearby orphanage where there were other children. In the orphanage there were crying babies and there nannies that would bathe her, feed her, and most of all love her. After a couple of days the people at the orphanage decided to name her Fan Lian Lian. In Chinese this mean “Lotus flower”. There is this famous story which is said the Lotus flower begins its life in murky water, but with time, love, and nurturing it grows into a lovely flower. She began her life with a bit of a rocky start, with love from her birth parents and her nurturing nannies at the orphanage; she was soon to grow in to a beautiful little girl. My name is Fan Lian Lian and this is my story.

Little did I know that there was a family half way across the world waiting to adopt a child for their own. My family couldn’t wait until they could hold their little girl. It wasn’t just the parents that were excited but the whole entire family. This was because they have never adopted a girl from China. After a 10 hour train ride from Tongling the little girl and her nanny arrived in Hefei on February 16 1993. When my new adoptee parents saw me I was bundled in many layers of clothing. We met in a building at the Civil Affair Bureau and it was very cold in there. My new mom was so eager to hold me for the first time. Her eyes started to swell up and couldn’t believe this would be her daughter now. Her hands lay gently around me as she carries me around the room. Noises amplifies a little more as other families are seeing there babies for the first time. Finally my mom walks over to my dad who is in a conversation with another family. She gently hands me over to my dad for the first time. His face beams with excitement and he can’t wait to take her home. While my parents were here they had to sign many papers. For the first night in Tongling my parents were allowed to take me home. That night was a lot of fun as they played with me, fed me, and even sang me a lullaby.

Then the next day me and my new parents were finally homeward bound. Our trip to Beijing to Omaha took 21 hours!!! After many hours on the flight of watching a movie with my dad and getting fed my parents had realized I had a fever. We finally arrived in Minneapolis where my grandma and grandpa were awaiting us and was very delightful to see me. They greeted us with a balloon and gorgeous flowers and a stuff animal bunny named Whiskers. At that moment in time many tears were shared through my parents and grandparents. Finally we heard flight 29 ready to board on the microphone. My grandparents got onto the airplane who were very impatient because they wanted to get to Omaha to share the great news with the rest of the family.

After just a couple of hours on the flight we finally arrive in the big O! We arrived and we looked out the window from the airplane and we saw snow. As the plane comes to a complete stop my parents get our luggage together. We enter the airport where it is nice and warm and as we enter the whole family surrounds me. Many balloons and signs await us saying “welcome home”. Everyone was so excited…me? I was just plain tired. Within 2 hours of arriving in Omaha I was rushed to Children’s Hospital with a 104 degree temperature and a perforated ear drum and an ear infection in the others. After spending a night at one of my mom’s friends house it was a well needed rest for my parents. My new parents gave me a loving new home and many memories are still being made to this day. I also wonder what my life would have been like if I was not adopted. What a miracle it was when I got adopted.