The day I became a mom

Incredible is all I can say to describe yesterday. We got to her city and to the hotel sometime before noon.  I am not really to sure what the exact time was. We have a translator with us named Missy. She got a call and said our gal was down stairs and they were bringing her up in 10 minutes. (We had not even put our suitcases down yet.  So we quick sprang into action, digging through suitcases to find anything we could for her. The Pink monkey my aunt had gotten her was the only thing that we could find.

Then she walked in. I can’t really put into words the feeling. For 30 months we have been working on bringing her home.  Praying and waiting and praying and waiting some more, and finally the moment was here. GOTCHA DAY had arrived.

She walked in with these sweet rosy cheeks.  A cute wool dress, with sweat pants that have bunnies on the knees. Pink shoes. And under all of that was an entire layer of more clothes. (the Chinese bundle their kids). The orphanage also brought a bag of snacks and her little backpack.

She looked at us with huge eyes, you could see the wonder but also the fear. Her Auntie has been taking care of her since she arrived at the orphanage, the bond there was very evident.  Her Auntie did a great job of explaining to her who we were. We were able to ask questions about her. There was also a social worker here to make sure the transition went well. We signed some documents and they all left.  And there we were a family. In room 1019 we became a family. In a hotel in China, we bonded over a pink monkey and became a family. 

She took to Michael right away, which was such a huge praise for us. That has been a prayer request of ours knowing the culture here. She was all about her Baba very quickly. This mama on the other hand took a little bit. I was not prepared for that. It broke my heart but was a gentle reminder of how my heavenly papa was so patient in waiting for me. It will come was being whispered in my ear over and over.

We spent the rest of the day playing, bonding and playing some more.  Exploring and playing again. We have been gifted with this gal that has an incredible amount of joy.

What we know about our girl:

She loves clothes!!!!

She has an incredible amount of spunk and personality

She likes music

She is a mover and shaker

She LOVES food, so much so you have to watch how much she eats, or she will not stop.

She is testing the limits like any two year would. Yesterday she pulled the suitcase over to climb off the bed in order to jump off to be caught by Michael. Sister has no fear. She has some wicked gas

She likes to sleep with a blanket over her head.

Last was the first time we saw the grief that she will experience. Once she realized it was night night time, she grabbed her shoes and headed for the door and began to sob. She knew that she was not going back. She cried calling out for her caretaker. Michael and I both cried with her. The grief is real. Real to us and very real to her. Her heart will need time to heal and learn that this is good.  For the first time as a family we were all broken together. There is more to come as Thursday we head to her orphanage to say goodbye and have a celebration ceremony.

So there you have it, the day we became parents. I do not have a lot of pictures from that moment, mainly because they are on Cathy’s camera, but I will leave you with a few. Hopefully the internet connection will hold and we can update some more tomorrow.

Thank you all!!!! We feel as though we have this great army behind us and our gal. Thank you for letting us share and coming into our family. You each have such a part in it.

From a humble heart,

Jennifer

This is what happened when we met her

Noodle eating