You will never regret the present, you live to its fullest.

We are the Seeliger Family. Matt and I have been together for eleven years. We have endured tough times but our continued love and dedication to one another and passion for life has allowed us to grow and nurture a lovely relationship and begin a wonderful family. We have required the support of friends and family over the years and have never been disappointed. A day does not go by that we are not thankful for those of you who make our lives richer. Our two young sons fill every day with sunshine and laughter as we grow prouder of them by the day. Kierik Sage is seven and I am continuously amazed at the sensitivity and wisdom with which he looks at and learns about the world around him. He is extremely athletic and the idea that he is only about a foot and a half shorter than I am is dizzying! Kaden is my sprite. He sings and dances endlessly, teases and tells stories. He is a creative thinker, always designing something. I would have to say that markers, cardboard and duct tape are his favorite playthings. He makes his dad laugh harder than anyone in the world.

Last year Matt and I began talking about expanding our family. Heck, life was just getting too easy (Ha!) There is no denying that as much as we adore our sons we had hoped to have the opportunity to love and raise a daughter. As we are quite sure that three children is our max, we talked about our options. One, of course was to get pregnant and take our 50/50 chances. Here is where I digress....

When I was pregnant with Kierik, I had vivid dreams, unlike any other time in my life. Many of you who will read this know that Kierik's name was given to me in one of those very vivid dreams. Things that I saw in those dreams also tended to come true in their way. So, one night I had a dream that woke me in a sweat and I have never forgotten. In this particular dream I was giving birth. The child was born and the midwife pronounced it a son. Matt and I rejoiced and cried and carried on until suddenly I was bearing down again and gave birth to a twin son! We were shocked of course but not nearly as shocked as the urge to push decended once more. To make a very long and distressing dream just a bit shorter, when all was said an done I had given birth to a litter of children; the first 12 of which were boys. It was not until the thirteenth and final child was born that they handed me my daughter.

People...I have never forgotten that dream. I am certain, without a doubt, that my next pregnancy would deliver me a third son. So, with that option out of the way, we began discussing adoption. For me, it felt right. Not right...perfect! I am adopted and eternally grateful for the twist of fate that landed me in the arms of Dennis and Joyce Wussow. A more loving, generous, and amazing family does not exist. I was lucky. There are millions of children in this world who want for a family. Why not us? For Matt, there were very logical questions, things to consider. He is my Yang and for that I am eternally grateful. But, in his supportive way, he never detererred this dream. After much thought, research, consideration and meetings, we decided together as a family to pursue this wild dream. And our collective excitement to bring this little girl into out lives grows every passing day.

The feelings are so much like the feelings I had when I carried the boys in my belly. I think about her, wonder about her, wonder what her birthdate will be, what she will look like and yearn to hold her in my arms, just as I did with my sons. She already feels like such a part of our lives. Grandparents have already bought dresses, hats and matching bloomers with coordinating shoes for goodness sakes. OK, she will be the first female child or grandchild on my husbands side of the family so I guess we can cut them some slack - smile. Yet the wait will be long and arduous I am sure. We have already been working toward this adoption since February of 2005 and we have about a year left to wait (longer than the gestation period of an elephant!).

So, I am new at this blogging thing but I see it fulfilling two major purposes;
1) To chronicle our families story and journey to bring a little girl, born in China, into our home for she has already entered our hearts and our lives
2) To facilitate a way for friends and family to learn about the process, and participate in our journey. You have been there for us and with us on so many previous adventures, we figured it is only right to have you along on this one.

So, I will leave you with this statement as it encapsulates our approach to this journey......You will never regret the present which you live to its fullest. - tuesday nights fortune cookie