China day 5 {Gotcha Day}

I am writing this at 1:00 am on August 21st, one hour after our special, special Gotcha Day has wound down. I'm awake mostly because my right arm is killing me - but that's just a testament and sweet reminder of the events that took place today. Lucy Hope was given to me around 2:30 pm and I did not put her down for a good 3 hours (and that was only to use the restroom). Then I think I held her for most of the rest of the night! 

Anyway, here's how it all happened. I want to record as much as I can for her to see one day as well as for me to never forget the miraculous events of this day.

We slept really well the night before. Somehow, as Andy mentioned, we were both so unbelievably calm. I was almost nervous about how calm I was! But I know it was because SO MANY of you were praying for us and for her. I know I asked for prayer for a calm heart for the flight but I truly believe you all prayed that for the entire trip. So thanks for being a step ahead of me.

Andy and I woke up around 7:00 am, got ready and headed downstairs for the hotel's incredible breakfast buffet. Really, it was the most impressive breakfast buffet I have ever seen - anything you could ever want. Thinking back on it now, that's how lavishly God has blessed us through this adoption journey and was just a taste of what was to come for the rest of the day.

We came back to the room and skyped with both sets of grandparents, working out the kinks and making sure they were ready to take the call when Lucy was finally back and settled (which we still haven't done yet - the timing was off and it was busy, busy after we got her but we're hoping to take care of that first thing in the morning).

Next, was our meeting with the guide and the other 4 families who are in our group. We were given details on the day, checked and rechecked the paperwork needed, prayed together and made our way down to the copy center to finish up some last minute paperwork. Yep, we were doing that until the very end and have more to do tomorrow :) 

Then Rebecca, our guide, talked to us one by one about a questionnaire our children's orphanages were given. They had responded and given her the information about each of our children to go over with us. This was extremely helpful and Rebecca was able to find out some things that we were already wondering (pertaining to Lucy's daily routine, eating likes/dislikes, health, etc). Basically, we continued to get the impression we had one healthy, happy girl. The one thing they did say was that she was afraid of being in a car! Oh, my. That one was going to be interesting. But more on that in a few...

Andy and I finished getting our things together, headed out for some Subway and to get some juice for Lucy (apparently she liked sugary drinks so we wanted to be prepared, you know, get on her good side!).

We met our guides and the other families in the lobby at 2:00 pm, loaded onto a bus and headed out for a 20 minute ride to the Civil Affairs building, where Lucy would most-likely already be waiting.

We walked into a room I have seen in so many other blogs, so many other Gotcha Days. It's surreal to see it in person, realizing it's finally your turn. Some paperwork (yep) was give to us to review really quickly and sign (like we have coherent minds at this point!) and we waited our turns.

We were second. There she was, standing outside of the playroom in a frilly, bright orange dress with stripes up top, ruffles and sequence at the bottom and a picture of and the word "GOAT" on the front! And orange Angry Bird sandals. I always wondered what she would be wearing the day we met her and this never crossed my mind. But she was precious. Andy saw her first and recognized her immediately. She looks just like the pictures we've been given. For some reason, I wasn't expecting that.

She was handed to me. I tried to contain myself, so as not to frighten her further, and waited for her tears and fear to come. She was serious and concerned, I think - very much the same look in her birthday party pictures. But no tears. She looked at my shirt, looked at my hair and then looked deep into my eyes and, I'm convinced, my heart and soul. I have never seen a look like it and I honestly believe she knew. We locked eyes for what felt like forever, especially for a little one, and a little one who's never seen me. It was one of the most special things I have ever witnessed. And finally, she won the tears game :) I couldn't help it any more. She was mine and I was holding her. Finally. I felt for the first time, her little light-weight body in my arms. Andy was so patient to give me this time with our daughter, all-the-while standing right there taking in every inch of her too and falling even more in love.

We embraced her together and cried tears of joy for the gift we'd been given. I don't know what she was thinking but she just let us do what we needed and wanted to do. I was beginning to realize this girl was something even more special than I ever imagined. Your prayers for her heart were right there with us.

We were asked to split up shortly after - one of us needed to talk to the orphanage staff about any remaining questions we had. Since she was content with me and a little unsure of Andy at this point, we decided it would be best for him to go and me to stay behind with her. I will treasure this time with my daughter forever. She sat on my lap and continued to stare into my eyes, looking around the room occasionally at all the other families, and then back at me. I went through her goody bag, pulling out things I thought she'd be interested in. First, a ball that rattles, then some Cheerios. I scored major points with these as she held onto the snack trap full for the rest of the day and into the evening. It took her a minute to figure out how to get her little hand in there and dig out a cheerio but once she got it, she was hooked. They told us she will eat anything and so far, it's true (we found her Goat outfit even funnier after we learned this). She worked on a few dumdums too but after the third time of eating more of the stick than the sucker itself, we decided to move on to other things.

Andy spent probably a good hour with the orphanage staff, going over the list of questions we had prepared. We've not had time to go over it together so I'm anxious to hear what they had to say about my baby. He said it was all positive and that they were extremely helpful, patient and seemed to know a lot about her. What a blessing! They are allowing us to visit the orphanage this Friday and we are grateful. They do not have to give us this privilege and we are so happy for the opportunity to see first hand where Lucy spent the first 2 years of her life.

Andy will have to fill me in later on who is who in this photo. I believe the man is the assistant director. I'm not 100% sure who these ladies are yet but will get the info tomorrow!

We spent some time together, just the three of us on the couch there in the waiting area. With 4 other families, it took some time for everyone to get through everything. We finally left Civil Affairs around 5:00 pm to head to the local supermarket store, similar to Walmart.

I think Andy has some photos of the shopping trip. He did most of the work there, as I was just enamored with holding Lucy and getting some of her first smiles out of her. She has barely made a peep, has been so incredible laid back and still has not shed one tear. Oh, back to the fear of riding in a car - The first sign of anything sad was when we walked onto the bus. Her little bottom lip poked out and I thought "oh boy, here we go!". I told her "it's okay", took a seat and gave her a sucker. This is when she snuggled up to me for the first time, laying her little head on my chest. She's been doing it ever since and I cannot get enough! Still, she never cried but was definitely fearful.

Back at the room, we decided to start working on her and Baba a little. She was becoming more interested in him, looking for him when he was out of sight at the grocery store, but still unwilling to go to him. We eased our way into it and finally, she decided it was okay for him to pick her up. A juice box goes a long way with this one :) Right after he held her for awhile, he had to meet the rest of the group to do some more....paperwork. They only wanted one parent to come while the other stayed with the child, so it made since for him to go at this point.

I finally put her down on the floor to play with a few things. I pulled out a photo book of her birthday party as well as the same pictures we had sent her of us in a care package back in March. I was able to get her to say "mama" and "baba", pointing to the pictures. She also seemed to be saying the name of the little happy boy that shared her birthday cake. This was the first time I had heard her make a sound all day! It wasn't much and she hasn't said much since but it was so cute.

We snuggled on the bed some more while she played with a few toys. Baba came back about an hour later, we headed out for dinner (of which she ate fried rice and congee) and then came in for a bath. She was so precious in that tub and we loved every minute of caring for her in this way. She played a little but seemed a bit confused by it. I doubt she'd ever been given a bath in a tub like that. But she let me wash her, rinse her, shampoo her hair without much fuss at all. Honestly, she's making it seem all too easy. We're reminding ourselves not to judge too quickly, as this day is probably not a great indicator of her complete personality and temperament. There probably will be tears eventually and that's okay too. But for today, she was an angel - almost too good to be true. Again, we know it is His grace and your prayers. Please continue to lift us up. It's not even been 24 hours.

But, we are in love. She fell asleep in Andy's arms tonight while I was getting ready for bed. She's sleeping soundly between us and it's a wonderful feeling. That's the other reason I can't sleep. She's just too cute to not watch, lying there in all her beauty. Fearfully and wonderfully made.