Lola was born on December 15th, 2005 in the Guizhou Province of China. It is a beautifully mountainous region and home to China’s largest waterfall.

She was found near a farmer’s house in a small village at one month old on January 15th, 2006. When her parents could not be located, she was sent to an orphanage in the provincial capital of Guiyang. She was named Kong YuanYuan, which translates to “satisfactory,” but we think it means “diva extraordinaire!”

At one month of age, Lola weighed only 6 pounds. She was sent to live with a foster care family so that she could receive individualized attention both before and after surgery.

At six months, Lola weighed 10 ½ pounds. At that time, she was eating fruit, eggs, veggie soup, rice cereal, soft noodles, and formula. She was sleeping in bed with her foster mom and loved her pacifier. At 9 months, she loved to take baths, play with other kids, listen to music, and watch cartoons. She will be sure to fit in with this SpongeBob-loving, one-hour-bath-taking, music-at-400-decibal-playing group!

From the pictures we have of Lola, we expect that she is from a minority tribe. Minority groups are not expected to abide by the “one child” policy that the government has imposed. However, Lola was born with a medical condition that required surgery. Our best guess is that Lola’s family could not afford the surgery that she needed in order to live. Her parents probably realized that the only way she would receive medical care was by becoming an orphan, since all wards of the state receive medical attention. Her parents most likely surrendered their daughter out of incredible love, to literally, give her life.

What a courageous yet heart-wrenching act of faith! We hope that Lola will always feel a strong spiritual connection to her family and carry their love in her heart. We are forever grateful that her parents did what no parent should ever have to do, so that she could have life. We promise to teach Lola to celebrate all of her blessings daily and to remember her birthparents in her prayers every night.

We decided to name her Lola Margaret after her Great-Grandma Goebel. Margaret Mary Krebs Goebel is Erin’s maternal grandmother and special friend...

She has lived a life of quiet gracefulness and service to others. She has always been very loving and supportive of her 7 grandchildren and is delighted by her almost 8 great-grandchildren. She celebrates her 90th birthday in January.