I am thrilled to share our exciting news with you today! Our second daughter, who we plan to call Marigold June (Goldie), will be joining us sometime in 2019! We were only six months into our second adoption process when we were matched with her last month. In current China adoption timelines this is abnormally quick, and to be honest we are still in shock a little.
We had just begun to settle in for a long wait as our agency had sent an email warning us that the waiting period was extending for many families. We had just had a conversation the week before where we decided we would be fine even if the wait took one to two years. Not only was the speedy match a shock, but I was also blown away by Marigold’s age—she just turned 1. We were fully expecting a child much closer to Nova’s current age (she turns 4 this summer).
This adoption process has been SO dramatically different from our first experience. But I will say the one thing that remains the same is the feeling that everything is working out exactly as it is supposed to. We definitely believe in an element of fate when a child is matched with our family and just as it did with Nova, we feel so strongly that Marigold was destined to be with us. We call her our miracle baby!
And now we wait.
For the next season, it’s just paperwork, more paperwork and bills. Haha! We’ve been told by our agency that summer is likely when we’ll travel to China, but we won’t know officially for several more months.
In the meantime, we’re soaking in every single day with Nova and preparing our home and our hearts for a 1-year-old baby. Wowwww!
Nova is so excited to have a sister. At her age, I wouldn’t say she fully understands what is about to happen, but she says the most loving and adorable things. We just received videos last week and we watch them together with Nova every day.
She has been carrying around her photo and is so proud to show everyone she meets!
To answer a few of the questions most people have asked …
Yes, Marigold has albinism just like Nova. And yes, we requested that intentionally. We believe it will benefit both our daughters to have someone who looks like them and who relates with the unique challenges of albinism in their family. I went into more detail here.
Marigold is 1 year old.
Yes, Nova is traveling to China with us for the adoption trip. At her age, we can not imagine leaving her for such a long trip or such an important bonding time for our family. We’re excited to do a bit of sightseeing and travel with Nova on the front end of the trip.
Many people ask if Nova and Marigold are biological siblings, since they look so much alike. I can see why that seems likely, but since they are different provinces it is highly unlikely. Although only DNA testing could tell us that for sure.
Augh! More than anything, I am just so, so excited to hold our little gal. I probably waste too much of each day envisioning how wonderful it will be to hold her in my arms, but can you blame me? I can’t wait!
We’re so incredibly grateful for a chance to give Nova a sister and become parents to a new, special little girl. Our hearts are already bursting with love!
I wrote a long version of the story of our match here. If you’re curious to learn more about our story or adoption in general, I have an archive of around 20 posts here.
Thanks so much for following along! I’ve felt so much love and support from our blog readers surrounding our adoptions, and it’s honestly the most love I’ve ever felt from the internet. I am so thankful for you! xx – Elsie
P.S. On the advice of our agency, we will not be sharing our little gal’s Chinese name, the province where she is currently living or any other personal details. 🙂 Thank you for understanding.
59 Comments
I can only imagine how hard it has to be to know she is going to be your dauther and still have to wait a few more moths to come get her!!
Anyways, You are such a lovely family, I can’t wait to see Nova and Marigold together and thank you for sharing your story, I have learnt so much from you so far <3
All the best from France 🙂
Thank you so much. We can’t wait!
So excited to meet Goldie! I love that Nova will be joining you on your trip to China as well. Do stop by Hong Kong if you have time! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
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Thank you so much! :)))
I am so happy for your family. So moving to see the happiness in Nova waiting for her sister.
Thank you! xx
Wow! I am so excited for you and your family, and Nova is going to be a great big sister! And I am loving the name Marigold June, so sweet!
Best news ever, Larson family! So excited to see more of little Goldie when you bring her back to the States.
Eeeeee! :))
How absolutely wonderful! I could go on and on about your hearts and goodness. These two precious children are infinitely lucky to have parents like you both.
Ahhh! Nova carries her sister’s photo around?! Soooooo sweet!
She’s SO proud!
An absolutely perfectly beautiful name.
Thank you!!
LOVE THAT NAME!! So excited for you.
Yay! So exciting! Congratulations 🙂 we are expecting our first little one later this year and if its a girl, we plan to use the middle name June too (after my mom)!
Can’t not cry every time you post about this. I’m just so happy and grateful for families like yours adopting these sweet souls. Very happy for you elsie!
I love following your family! Definitely gives me hope! I have 3 teens from my husbands 1st marriage and really want to foster and adopt a child together one day! I’m so happy that I get to see you all bloom! So uplifting!
So very happy and excited for your family! I have a friend who is w a I t I n g to be matched with her daughter from China, and can only imagine how hard it is. But as you say, there’s more at play here. Nova was meant to be yours all along, and Marigold is too. Thank you for taking us along on your thrilling (albeit challenging) ride!❤️
Lol I can’t wait to see Nova and Marigold get up to sister hi-jinks! My nephews are 1 and 3 and already the 1-year old loves to copy his older brother and follow him round! So exciting!
Love you already, Goldie girl!
That name is PERFECTION! I’m so thrilled for your family. Thank you for taking us along with you. ????
Your absolute joy shines through all of your adoption posts. You’re little girls are blessed and vice versa. It’s beautiful seeing families come together.
The names you’ve picked are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Makes me wanna try for a girl and steal these LOL! Good luck with the process!
My dad and I were just talking about this name last night! It was his grandma’s name (we are Jewish so his “Goldie” was a Golda,) and I said I was surprised it hadn’t come back into fashion with all the other old names. He agreed. Then I read this today!!?? What are the chances of that?
Congratulations to you three! I just wanted to assure you that you are giving Nova such a wonderful gift and the jealousy won’t last more than a week or two. My daughter was 4.5 when my son was born and she had SOOOOO much love for him…even as she was adjusting to not being the center of attention and would get a bit weepy she always said “I love him so much, but I feel…”. We just always empathized with her and explained that it’s totall ok to feel more than one emotion at the same time and that we felt the same way. I’m sure bringing home a toddler will present different challenges, but hopefully it will be a bit easier than a newborn. Maybe put a gate in front of Nova’s room so that she feels like she has her own space while she adjusts? Sharing ALL the things as well as you & your husband may be tough at first. But it’s really amazing bringing another child into the mix…after a few weeks it’s hard to believe you ever lived without her! Congrats again & safe travels!
I’m not crying, you’re crying! Love the name and can’t wait til Goldie and Nova meet. As I’m sure you can attest, sisters are the best. ♥️
Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! I understand the mixed feelings of waiting but already in love with her. I’m adopting my husband’s children who live with an aunt in Africa, and although we get to face time a lot on our phones, it’s still hard to know they are on the other side of the world. Thank you for sharing your journey!
Wishing your family a continued smooth adoption process to bring sweet Goldie home. (Looove the name!) I enjoy following you on all your social media sites and have gained a better understanding of albinism. Your shared information made me wonder if there’s a higher percentage of children with albinism in China waiting to be adopted. I found this interesting article – perhaps you’ve already seen.
https://abilitymagazine.com/china-love-and-albinism/
All the best,
Sherry
OMG!! I’m so excited for your guys. She’s adorable. xo
Congratulations! I am so happy for your family. And I LOVE the name Marigold. It has always been one of my favourite names. When she is older, you can read her the book “Magic for Marigold” by L.M Montgomery. ❤️
It’s so perfect that nova will have a little sister. The name choice is adorable but I think it’ll also grow with her. Things are turning out as they should be through your hard work and big hearts. Congratulations!
This is so unbelievably exciting and I admire the thought you’ve put in to adopting a sibling with albinism to help the girls to help each other. Fantastic and I hope the wait isn’t to gruelling!
Oh my goodness this is so amazing ♥ I am so happy that the process is going so much quicker than you had anticipated! Not to mention, I love and admire that you requested to adopt another little girl with albinism.
What a lovely name! I love it! Goldie doesn’t even know how lucky she is :)) I’m so truly happy for you and your family, its beautiful to see all the love you have to share with these girls. I hope Goldie and Nova are together soon sharing amazing days of a loving new life <3
Congratulations – and I LOVE the name. Our 5-year-old’s beloved baby doll was named Marigold, and when she was a toddler and we were expecting our second seeing her take care of baby “Meggo” was beyond sweet.
So sweet. Makes me think of the Dave Grohl song, and that ups your girl’s coolness factor by a million <3
Congratulations! I have to say- such great name choices! My 5yo is named Marigold and her little sister is Juniper!
One of my favorite books as a child was Magic for Marigold by LM Montgomery. It’s a little hard to find in print now, but such a sweet story to read with her when she is a little older.
Oh my! Nova is so sweet holding/loving her new sister’s picture. So happy and excited for your family!! 🙂
Congratulations to you all! What exciting and happy news. Is Piggy also making the trip?
LOL 100% yes.
You’re gonna have a lovely family! You are adorable! Nova will be so happy to have a sister! (and don’t worry if she feels jealous sometimes, or even fight with her… these things happen in families! 🙂 ) keep up! may your new baby comes quickly in your arms!
kiss from greece!
This is so precious! I hope everything goes smoothly. Such a cute name too!
How positively wonderful! She is beautiful & has such a lovely name. Congratulations to you & your family!
I had a childhood friend named Marigold, she was part latino and her grandmother called her Maravilla, which is spanish for marigold. We mostly called her Mara. It is a beautiful name and I know your daughter will bloom under your sunny care!
SO thrilled for you! We brought our daughters with us to China on our adoption trips. It was the BEST decision for all! It’s not easy to travel with kids, but it was soooo worth it to bond as a family.
We’re cheering for you! Congrats again!
I have tears in my eyes reading this. Congratulation on your new addition, Goldie! Love that Nova carries her picture around. Make my heart melt. So adorable. I hope your wait is as short as possible
So happy for you! You have a beautiful family and now it will be even more so! Sending you lots of love!
Goldie (of blessed memory) was my mother in laws name. Your Goldie should be so wonderful <3 Much love to your growing family!
Congratulations! I’m very happy for you- how exciting!
AMAZING NAME CHOICE. Slightly jealous that I didn’t think of it first. So excited for your family!
Looking at your website for the first time today. Excited to hear about your adoption! My family actually lives in China – my husband owns a tour agency – and our third child is Chinese. We adopted him in Xi’an about 3 years ago when we were living there. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family. Many blessings as you wait!
This story is so heartwarming. Love this!!!!
Congratulations! We have 2 from China. There’s nothing like getting the call and seeing those precious referral photos! It’s second only to wrapping that sweet thing up in your arms! Our second adoption (from Henan) was shockingly fast for us as well.
I have a Marigold Frances who goes by “Goldie”. She is almost 2. I have never met or heard of another one (beyond elderly Goldies) but on your Instagram post about it, it seemed like every other comment included someone using that name. I was shocked.
I had never heard Nova for a name (awesome/gorgeous btw) and see now that it’s in the top 100 currently on social security baby names website. That’s surprising too!
This is the first of me reading about your lovely family. Nova and Goldie are both so beautiful and It has really touched my heart to read your adoption story. I would love to adopt myself at some point and change a child’s life. Your family is really inspiring and I’m so proud that there are people like you in the world.
I used to read your blog consistently, years ago. Then life happened and I dropped off the radar. I was reading an old blog post of mine where I referenced your blog made me wonder what you had been up to, and so I popped over. This is a BEAUTIFUL story to have found upon coming back! I am so happy for you and your family and have bookmarked the blog so I don’t lose you guys again! 🙂
I can’t wait to read all about your new adventure with Goldie. Your writing is so beautiful and what a amazing parents you and Jeremy have become. Thank you for sharing your story, I know it probably wasn’t the easiest decision. If I didn’t have 7 kids already I swear I would adopt. For me the positive and real exposure you are providing on the adoption process is such a gift. I went to China a few years ago, such a wonderful experience. The great wall is such a bucket list item. As Nova and Goldie get older you should consider letting them do a school tour to China where they get to hang out with other high schoolers. I took a bunch of students to do that and it was so amazing.
Congratulations! What lucky little girls your two little ones are. Best wishes to you all.