Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Jim, Trina, Nick, Jesse, Catherine and Faith!
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November 20, 2006 Gotcha Day!
Well, we’ve got her! Today is the day we’ve been waiting for. Go ahead, scroll down and look at the pictures before reading this.
Now that you’re back... Trina only slept for about four hours last night, anticipating this afternoon. Today is the day we were given Hua Ru Ting, or Faith as she will be known forever after. Boy, were we in for a few surprises. More on that later.
This morning we had the best breakfast yet. The buffet here was incredible. French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, yada, yada, yada. After breakfast Jim exchanged some cash to cover some of the fees, and for supplies. The hotel rate was almost as good as the Bank of China’s. Note to anyone traveling in the future: DO NOT bring traveler’s checks. Some of the people we are here with did, and the hotel will not cash them. They will accept them as payment, but won’t give you RMB for them. When you go to the Bank of China to cash traveler’s checks it takes a while, sometimes up to three hours (we’ve heard) depending on the line. Bring cash or wire the money to the coordinator over here in China.
Once everyone had spending cash we went to Wal-Mart. That’s right, Wal-Mart, it’s two-stories here in Nanning. We picked up some of the last minute stuff for the babies, and then went to lunch at Pizza Hut. Everyone was in a good mood, and getting more nervous as time went on.
We had about two hours to kill after shopping before we left to go to another hotel and meet our babies. Trina took a short nap. She claims she was praying, but I think that the stress, excitement, and lack of sleep got to her. At 3:30 we left for the other hotel. There were so many people in the lobby waiting to receive their children. Apparently, there are several groups in Nanning right now.
At 4:00 we were ushered into the receiving room and one by one the children’s names were called and the new parents stepped forward to receive their baby. We were third in line. Surprise Number 1: Faith went straight to her new mommy without even crying. She was the best behaved baby in the room. While the other babies were crying Faith just clung to her new mommy. Trina kept speaking the little bit of Chinese we were taught on the bus ride there, “Mama inee (sp)” “Mommy loves you.” Faith did NOT want to go to daddy. Surprise Number 2: She was a lot bigger than we expected, almost 19 lbs. We might have to do some shopping soon, as the clothes we brought are almost too small.
We took the children back to the hotel and our rooms. Faith still hasn’t cried, yet, and Trina’s getting concerned. She sat on the bed and let daddy tickle her, and then she let him pick her up. From then on, daddy could hold her, but mommy is still the favorite.
Trina started a bath so we could get Faith ready for family photos, and some preliminary paperwork signing. We have a water fountain in the lobby of our hotel. When we entered Trina let Faith sit down on the edge and the girl tried to jump into the water. Hence the reason she was getting a bath. When Trina undressed her, her diaper wasn’t wet. Well, when Trina carried her into the bathroom to put her in the tub, the dam burst, all over Trina! Surprise #3: Faith loves the water. The only time she cried in the tub was when Trina washed her hair. No bathtub photos, since daddy was next door begging for some larger clothes. Turns out the dress fit pretty well.
Surprise #4: Faith still isn’t crying. We had family photos taken, and then Trina took Faith over to the couch to play while daddy signed papers. Our friend brought their 9 year-old son with them, who had Faith laughing and smiling while most of the other children were still crying.
Surprise #5: Catherine, your baby sister has four teeth, and she bit mommy! She started getting fussy when it was past her dinner time, so once the papers were done we went back to the room for a bottle. Boy, can that girl drink. The orphanage gave us two packages of her formula, and she drank all 8 ounces. She almost fell asleep, until the bottle came out of her mouth.
Now it was mommy and daddy’s turn to eat. We took her downstairs to the buffet. She sat in here highchair and played with a spoon, until she stole on of daddy’s chopsticks. She likes watermelon, congee (of course), and chicken. She had her first BM when we were finishing dinner, so back to the room we went. We were warned this could take up to two days. Oh no, Faith has had two tonight.
After changing diapers and putting on pajamas, the crying started. Heck, it was only two hours after her nap time (scheduled for 7-8:30 pm). Trina rocked her, put her down in the crib (BM #2, still crying), and we walked her. This girl is truly a Blocher. She didn’t fall asleep until we both laid on the bed with her, just like Jesse and Catherine. Once she was asleep for a while we put her in the crib, where she is still sleeping soundly.
Surprise #6: We received her original note found on her when she was left by her mother, NOT a copy. When we received the update last night on the girls, it indicated she was not found with a note. This contradicted the information we received at the time of the referral. Trina asked the facilitator to find out which information was correct. We also will get a copy of her finding ad. This will show pictures of her from when she was found (newborn) for six months. This means we will have some pictures of her when she was younger.
Surprise #7: Our agency sent a disposable camera to the orphanage to take pictures of the girls. Time had gotten away from us so we did not send one ourselves using Blessed Kids. I can not tell you how happy that roll of film made me (Trina). All the families are having the rolls developed and sharing any pictures we may have of each others children.
God is so good. We could not have picked a more perfect little girl for our family. Kids, she loves to cuddle. God has orchestrated this entire journey and now that we have met her, we can see it more clearly. I (Trina) want to tell anyone who is going through the process or is thinking about it, it is worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even after all the hurdles we have had to over come, this little girl is worth it. I am so humbled that God chose us to be her forever family. When I look at these little girls, even when they are morning the lost of their old life, I see a new life filled with love and hope. This hope is in Jesus. They will now be able to receive the message of his love and sacrifice for them. So this journey is not just a earthly journey but also a heavenly journey. I know that as we got our babies today that the angel were singing praises because these little girls will have the opportunity to know Jesus and have a personal relationship with him.
Now it is time to post this so we can get some sleep. It’s after midnight, we still have to decide which pictures to post, and Faith is scheduled to wake up at 6 am.
