Mia Grace Huff is like any typical two-year-old south Mississippi girl. She loves pretty pink dresses, wearing flip flops, putting her dolls to bed in her playhouse and listening to music.

Just like other parents of a precious little girl, Jim and Samantha Huff of Hebron shoot photos of their diminutive tot every chance they get, even posting an Internet blog called, “Mia Grace Moments.”

But when the camera is pointed her way, Mia Grace turns solemn, staring intently at the lens. With downy black hair and almond-brown eyes, she wears an expression that’s a cross between a smile and a puzzled look; almost as if she’s thinking about her next move.

It’s that contemplative look that Jim Huff hopes will soon be a thing of the past as Mia Grace becomes more secure of the enormous amount of love surrounding her.

It’s his primary wish as he celebrates Father’s Day today with Mia Grace and sons Ben, 19, and 13-year-old twin Miles and Matthew. Mia Grace was born in China and spent the first 11 months of her life in a crowded orphanage before meeting her new parents on March, 16, 2008.

The Huffs are part of a growing trend of American families adopting infants from China. They felt “a real tug on our hearts,” Huff says, after learning about the hundreds of unwanted female babies born annually in a land that places more value on males.

However, for this couple already raising three active boys, the circle of love in their family was made complete with the adoption of Mia Grace, they say.

After making the decision to adopt a baby girl from China, Huff says the next steps happened quickly and in some ways, appeared to drag by as the family became excited about bringing their new daughter home to Jones County.

A wide network of support that includes Jim’s parents, James and Marilyn Huff of Hebron, and his sister Melanie Hubbard and her husband Timmy, also of Hebron, provided encouragement and helped plan for the new arrival.

Samantha’s parents, Garland and Bobbie Miles, who live in the Indian Springs community, were perhaps the most excited of the extended group, Jim says, and for obvious reasons. The arrival of Mia Grace meant they would finally have a long-awaited granddaughter.

Months of gathering paperwork, such as medical examinations, reference letters, financial statements, background checks and a home study stalled the process of obtaining Mia Grace. Everything had to be notarized and then submitted first to the State Department and finally to other international agencies.

After everything was completed, the Huffs and oldest son Ben flew to China in March, 2008. Along with a group of U.S. families, the Huffs waited in line at the orphanage for their name to be called. Finally, the moment they had been waiting for arrived and their daughter was brought out to them.

Eleven-month-old “Xian-Li,” whose solemn face they had glimpsed just one month prior in a photograph, was placed in their arms. When the baby was passed to her father, she gazed up at his face for a moment. Tiny fingers then reached out and touched his mustache. It was at that moment that Xian-Li became “Mia Grace” and took a firm grasp on his heart, Huff says.

“It was an emotional moment for all of us, but as babies do, they know how to break the tension,” he says. “She had never seen a mustache before, as that’s not something Chinese men wear. It made us laugh and from that moment on, she has been my little girl.”

The Huffs has envisioned the first meeting with Mia Grace hundreds of times and had always felt, “this will be the greatest moment.” However, sending the first photos of Mia Grace via the Internet to an excited group of friends and family waiting in their living room back in Hebron was “almost as good,” Huff says.

“We had so many people praying for us and supporting us, so it was wonderful to get to share our new daughter with them just minutes after we first held her,” Huff says.

Taking their new daughter home to a China hotel room was not the perfect scenario, but a necessary one as final paperwork had to be completed.

Mia Grace immediately began to roll around on the room’s big bed, a special treat after spending her life confined to a small crib. Ben instinctively knew how to make Mia Grace feel at home, his father says. He lay down by his new sister and began to tickle her, causing her to giggle for the first time.

Arriving at the Jackson Airport, a large group of family and friends was waiting to greet the newly-expanded family. Grace didn’t officially become an American citizen until the plane touched down on U. S. soil, so hearing the flight attendant announce “a new American citizen is on board” was another unforgettable moment.

After the excitement of the arrival, the Huffs set about acclimating Mia Grace to her new surroundings. Brothers Miles and Matthew were “thrilled to death” with their new sister and have been a big help in helping her settle in to family life, Huff says.

Although she rarely cried or laughed, Mia Grace adapted quickly to life in America. According to her adoring father, her first word was “Da-Da.” While she seemed happy and content, it took awhile for her to return the hugs and kisses bestowed on her by an adoring group of relatives.

When receiving a hug from her daddy, Mia Grace would allow the embrace, but wouldn’t rest her hands on his shoulders. This continued for several months, until the momentous day that Mia Grace finally rested her head and tiny hands on her daddy’s shoulders. It’s a moment Huff will never forget.

“It was a very moving experience that’s hard to describe,” Huff said. “I thought the first time I saw her face would be the greatest, but that moment when she laid her head on my shoulder – that was one of the best.”

Today, the Huffs will attend church at Hebron Baptist Church and gather afterwards at the Hubbard’s for Father’s Day lunch. The food, family and presents will undoubtedly be special. But for Jim Huff, the faces around the table will be the most meaningful.

“Today is Father’s Day, but I'm thankful every day I wake up that I have three children who call me Daddy,'” he said. “I can’t imagine life without Ben, Miles, Matthew and Mia Grace.”