Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Danny, Sally, Daniel and Carmen!
February 23, 2009 Gotcha Day!
First of all, I’m sorry for the late post. This was one awesome but exhausting day. It started at 4 a.m. with an almost 4 hour flight (smooth flight, thank you for the prayers!) to Nanning City in Guangxi Province. We went from freezing in Beijing to an instant sweat in the humid 85 degree weather in Nanning. By the time we got our luggage and took the bus to The Majestic Hotel where we are staying, we had one hour until we left for the Civil Affairs Office where we would receive our babies. It was the most calm, scared and excited feeling you can imagine. As soon as we entered the building, we could hear at least one baby crying…..and guess who it was?? Yep, it was ours.
We went immediately into an official waiting room area and before Danny & I even got in there, some of our friends saw a toddler being chased around and thought it was Carmen (it was). Very soon a lady came in and announced the babies were there and she would begin. She called us first and honestly I don’t remember much after that. I have to tell you that it was heartbreaking. With Carmen being the oldest and having been not in an orphanage but foster care, she was attached to her foster mother just like any 18 month old would be attached to their mom. She was literally wailing and inconsolable as I believe she had only been removed from the foster home that morning. I took her and held her trying to soothe but it broke my heart because of what was happening to her. It is for the best but she doesn’t understand that. She just kept calling for her “Mama” and crying pitifully. I know this is not the joyous news you would like to be reading or that I would like to be typing but this little girl feels like her world has been torn apart. She continued like this throughout the ceremony, all the way back on the bus and even when back at the room. She wants me to hold her or she pulls me to the door and says the Chinese word for “go”. She wants to go to her foster mom. This is literally gut-wrenching. We love her so much already and want to comfort her but it wasn’t happening. This type of behavior is honestly to be expected and we knew this ahead of time but the reality is different. Also, you’ll notice two packages of bread that she had in her hands when we got her. She wouldn’t turn loose of it all night.
A few hours later, we took her downstairs to the restaurant hoping she would eat and to our surprise, she PIGGED OUT! She truly is going to fit into this family perfectly :o) I have to say though that she eats much healthier than we do --- she was eating noodles, rice, and vegetables. Once her belly was full, she put on a show ----- laughing and truly being the center of attention. Sooooo then we cried again because we saw her eat and got her first laugh for us. As she was eating, I was saying “Ummmm, good stuff” and once she even copied me and said “good stuff”. I’m telling you – she was putting on a show! So for a couple of hours, we started to see her personality come out but once she got sleepy, it was back to the sad wailing and calling for ‘mama’. We came back to the room, gave her a little bath and she fell asleep on the bed lying next to me. We have a crib in our room and for the most part she slept there all night.
Well, at least Carmen slept…. While in the restaurant, Danny was excited to find a “steak” and devoured it! (Did I mention we are finally losing weight the hard way??? We just needed to go to China!) Anyway, within 30 minutes of eating, Danny became violently ill and I’ll just say it --- I never knew anyone could vomit that much. It was all night and still going on the next day but he’s a little better. How’s that for blog news??! Sorry.
So while this has been one of the truly happiest days, it has also been one of the hardest in many ways. Please, please keep praying for our bonding with Carmen and for Danny’s health. She is such a beautiful baby and we knew her as soon as we saw her ---- even kicking and screaming. It will get better…
Thanks again for all the e-mails. I sat down today to write this in a very stressful room and just cried as I read your e-mails. Eventually, I’ll reply to them but for now just know how much you all mean to us!
Note to Daniel: Hi Angel, you are officially a big brother now and Mama & Daddy could really use your help. Your little sister is probably going to want to be with you A LOT so you’ll get to teach her all those things you’ve been talking about. We can’t wait for you to see her but mostly we can’t wait to SEE YOU!
We love you and miss you!! Mama & Daddy
So happy yet heartbreaking -- I had just gotten her here.
Danny gave it a try too....
We finally made quiet progress with a sucker thanks to our friend, Jen!
