A young Filipino girl who once lived in an orphanage in Iloilo has found a new life with an American family.

To pursue their dream of having a daughter and completing the “half a dozen Roses,” Illinois couple Mandy and Jeff Rose traveled to the Philippines in June 2016 to adopt Janella in Cabatuan, Iloilo.

“We received the call on a Friday, that we could travel, and then we booked everything like a 24-hour period. It was the craziest 24-hours of my entire life,” Mandy recalled in their video blog posted on their family Facebook page House of Rose.

Upon receiving that call, the couple right away booked their flight to the Philippines and stay in local hostels, completing the whole task in a span of one day. “We’re willing to have that 24 hours of craziness to get here, to be with her. I don’t think there is any question that God didn’t purposely have us wait five years so that we could be her parents,” she said.

Mandy, who already has three sons with Jeff, added, “Also probably, I’m most excited to see the relationship that she’d have with Jeff. Just to see him with a girl, I feel like it’s gonna melt my heart. Just from the beginning, we love her, we will love her forever and she will always be at home with us.”

Meanwhile, Jeff felt that being a doting father to their little princess was a challenge and a worthwhile experience. “She would fall, I will be right there to pick her up, to hold her and comfort her. I’m looking forward to being her protector,” he said in the clip.

READ: US couple recounts joy of rearing Filipino orphan girl without arms, legs

Apart from blogging about their family activities, Mandy works as an online marketer and a co-founder of Marriage More while Jeff owns an investment firm. As Janella’s adoptive parents, the couple chronicles her day-by-day adventures in their blog and Facebook page.  Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra