No Words

There are truly no words to describe our day with Emma yesterday but I will do my best to try.  Emma slept like an angel her first night with us.  Her day was quite busy and scary so I know she was exhausted. Once everyone woke up, we went downstairs for breakfast. She has eaten everything that is not nailed down since joining us and when we fed her a pastry like thing, we got our first smile. I would like to think it was because she was warming up to us, but I feel like it had more to do with the chocolate.

She let J hold her for the first time that morning as well.

We met our guide and went back to the adoption center. We completed all the official documents to make our adoption legal in the eyes of China. She was the 82nd baby adopted from the Hubei Province this  year and she was the very last one that they processed. We had to put our fingerprint on all of our signatures. Emma had to put her handprint too. She was not a fan. Her nannies were there too. She cried when she saw them but was quickly comforted with puffs and juice.  It was hard to see her sad but I'm thankful that the time passed quickly and we were able to leave the office without any more tears.

We came back to the hotel and J went to grab us some lunch. Emma is a fan of Burger King (side note, I don't think I have ever eaten a whooper in my whole life and in the last 2 days, I have had 2.  Familiarity is nice.) We spent the rest of the day playing and everything changed when we pulled out this flashlight. She stared at it for a minute and then smiled!!! A legit smile!!! Then she laughed....and laughed.....and laughed and she hasn't stopped since!!!!  It was seriously like her guard came down and she became comfortable with us.  It was truly beautiful and we are so thankful!!! She tilts her head to the side for pictures just like her brother and sister!! I just love it!!

We so appreciate all the prayers you are pouring over us.  We feel them and we are forever grateful. We can't wait to see what is in store for us today!!

More Gotcha Day Pictures

Here are just a few more pictures from yesterday. We had a great night and she is actually still asleep. This morning (evening in MS), we will be going back to the adoption office to finalize all the legal documents to officially and legally make her ours in the eyes of China.  Please pray for her little heart this morning.  I believe the nannies will be there as well and I can imagine it will be heartbreaking for her to see them.

Emma's Gotcha Day!

Today was incredible. Our guide picked us up around lunch time to take us to the adoption center. We had a few papers to fill out and then it was finally time!

In walked two nannies with a precious little girl that looked like a giant pink marshmallow and she was OURS!!

One of the nannies held her while we asked a few questions and tried to not appear too scary. You could see the fear in her eyes and I don't blame her!  She spent the last 19 months in the same room and today, she traveled 3 hours and was handed off to some strangers. Her world was rocked but she was amazing. I gave her the Baby Be Blessed doll we had made forever ago. She held it so tight and would not let go. The Nannie finally pretty much forced Emma off of her and handed her to me.  She cried for just a minute and then calmed down. I can only imagine how confused she must have felt. Her nannies brought a scrapbook for her with pictures of the city she was born in and the orphanage where she spent the first 19 months of her life.  They also brought her a jade snake necklace since she was born in the year of the snake.  It was so special to see how much these ladies loved her and we will treasure those precious gifts forever.

Just a few minutes after they put her in my arms, it was time to go get her passport picture taken. (Yes, I realize I am holding her in a moving vehicle. They don't have car seats. And trust me, after being here a few days, the lack of car seats is the least of their transportation worries. I have to shut my eyes every time we get on the road. It is insane.) Sister girl was worn out from her busy day and fell asleep in my arms on the way to the office.

We finally made it back to the hotel and things really went very well.  She ate great for supper and played with some toys.  She really loves the doll and the lady bug lovie we got her. We were excited to see that she did receive our care package. She was carrying the photo book we sent when we first saw her today and she was wearing the outfit we sent (underneath 4 other layers of clothing Bc that is how the Chinese roll). The nannies told us that she would kiss our pictures.  So sweet.

Emma has been an angel baby and such a trooper. We are praying that she will begin to trust us and the walls of fear and hurt will come down.  We love her so much already and feel honored to be her parents. The journey to adopt Emma may have come to an end, but the best adventure is yet to come as we get to watch her grow up into the person the Lord desires for her to be.

On To Wuhan

We left early this morning to fly to Emma's province of Hubei.  We will complete the first round of adoption paperwork in the provincial capital city of Wuhan.  Our guide for this city told us on the way to our hotel that this was a smallish city with only 10 million people.  Yeah, that's what I consider to be a smallish town.  Anyway, we got settled in our hotel and grabbed some lunch at the nearby Burger King.  We were not sure if we would get Emma today (Sunday) or if we would have to wait until tomorrow. Her orphanage is over 3 hours away, so we were told that she would be leaving in the morning (6pm on Sunday in Mississippi ) which would put her here around lunch time (9-10pm MS time) and then we would get to see her.  If I'm being honest, it is such a surreal feeling to be here. After talking and praying about something for so long, it is so bizarre and exciting to actually be living it out. There have been several times that J and I have looked at each other and been like "we are in China. CHINA?!?!?!!!"  We are hoping for a good nights rest tonight since we know tomorrow could be a difficult day.  Please say a pray for Emma. We love her deeply but she does not know us and for a child who has never been outside of her orphanage walls, there will be an overwhelming amount of experiences to take in for her all of which will seem so scary. We pray that she will learn to trust us and feel more and more comfortable with us as we pour out love on her. The next few days are uncharted territory for us. With our biological children, they are born with an attachment to us.  Adoption is different. Attachment is a process that takes time and it is honestly scary as we attempt to get things "right."  We know that The Lord has a heart for adoption and He will carry us as we bring Emma officially in to our family. 

Day 2 In Beijing

Today we did some more exploring in Beijing.  We started our morning at Tiananmen Square before heading into the Forbidden City.

Here we are outside the gates with a little photo bomb by Chairman Mao. He is everywhere...including watches and fans and any other souvenir item you can imagine.

This is our travel group right before we went in the first of several gates.

The Forbidden City was enormous. We got a brief history lesson from our guide as we moved through each section. It was really interesting and I learned a lot....but I couldn't get the Mulan soundtrack out of my head as we came to these steps leading up to the emperors throne room.

Once our tour was complete, we jumped in to these bad boys.

I had to close my eyes because our driver had that rickshaw weaving in and out of traffic like crazy.  I'm thankful we survived!

Our driver dropped us off at this little alley way so we could go have a traditional meal in the home of a family who lives "under the shadow of the emperor" because it is located so close to the palace.  These homes may not look like much but they have been around for 600 years and would cost $10 million to purchase!  Only 10% of the people living in this area own their homes.  The rest are owned by the government.

They had a man painting with the traditional calligraphy so we had him paint Emma's name. Beautiful.

After lunch and another thrilling rickshaw ride, we went to a tea room for a Chinese tea ceremony.  We are not tea drinkers but we enjoyed tasting and learning about different teas.

This was my favorite tea because it didn't have any tea leaves and was just hot water and dried fruit.  It would have been super yummy cold!

We learned the proper way to drink our tea.  I'm so fancy.

After our tea ceremony, we got to watch an acrobatic show.  It was amazing! The performers were 10-18 years old and it was unbelievable to see the things they could do.  We were not allowed to take pictures which was a bummer but it was awesome!!! We are off to bed now because we have a flight to catch at 8:30 am (6:30 pm in Mississippi) as we head to Emma's province.  We are not sure if we will get her tomorrow afternoon or the next morning, but we are so excited to be this close to her! It is almost (FINALLY) time to meet our girl!!!

Our First Day In Beijing

We have had an incredible day exploring Beijing today.  Our organization arranges for the travel group to have two days to adjust to the time change, and see a bit of China before meeting our child.  So today, we went to a jade factory, a Cloisonné factory, the Great Wall and to the Olympic Village.  The factories were both really interesting to see the craftsmanship used and the patience needed to make each unique piece.  We had an authentic Chinese meal and spent a good part of our day on the Great Wall. It was amazing to see how blue and clear the sky was while we were there as opposed to the sky in the city.  The smog is no joke but it is nice to be here in the winter when it is not quite as horrible.

We put a lock on the wall for our Emma. There were thousands of these love locks lining the wall and I was excited to add one for our little girl.  Maybe one day, she will want to come back to China and we can show it to her.

I should have done some training to get in shape to hike up the part that we climbed.  It was brutal but it was truly spectacular.  I can not even imagine what it must have been like to build this 3,000 mile wall brick by brick. 

We love the Olympics, so it was great to see the Bird's Nest and the rest of the Olympic Village. They spared no expense in the construction.  We were bummed that they had the area blocked off so we couldn't actually get inside. I really wanted to run a lap.

We have had a fun day getting to know the other families traveling with us.  Adoption creates a special bond and I'm thankful for the conversations we have already shared together.  We are all about to grab dinner now and head off to bed.  We have another day of touring tomorrow before heading out to the province where we will meet Emma!  

We Made It!

We are in Beijing....in the same country as Emma!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!  Our flight got in a couple of hours ago to the biggest airport I could ever imagine. It was seriously huge.  We met up with our guide and 2 other families that are traveling with us.  We are meeting in the morning at 8 to do some sightseeing around the city.  We are excited to take it all in, but for now, it is bed time! It has been a long 26 hours!!!