Gotcha Day!!

Proverbs 25:25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

What an awesome day!! It's almost 11 PM here, and our room is quiet! We left our hotel in Beijing at 9 am, to go to the airport. Our flight was delayed because of the "foggies", as our guide called it. So when we arrived in Nanchang, we were running way behind schedule. We stopped at our hotel long enough to tear apart our suitcases trying to find cheerios, a toy and a bottle. We drove about 20 minutes to the Civil Affairs office, and while driving, all of the families prayed together on our bus. It has been such a joy to share in this experience with so many brothers and sisters in Christ. When we pulled into the civil affairs office, there were vans dropping off orphanage workers all carrying babies. We were all so excited to see the babies, but then were told these were not our babies. We went up to the 26th floor, rounded a corner, and there was a whole room filled with babies! Because we were running so late, we went into the room, and they immediately started calling names for people to come get their babies. We were able to videotape one family getting their baby, and they videod ours. I"m so glad, because it all happened so fast, I hardly remember what happened! Addison didn't cry when she was first handed to me. I could hardly believe how big she looked, and how much hair she has! We had been trying to pick her out in the chaos of the room, before she was handed to us. We couldn't find her. We were looking at all the babies hands, and didn't see any that had the hemangioma in her referral picture. When they handed her to us, she was bundled up with lots of layers. She was holding a piece of candy in one hand and a rattle in the other. She would not let go!! She did fine for quite awhile, then she would look and see there was a stranger holding her, and she would start crying. As quickly as they took us in the room to get the babies, they got us right back out and on the bus. The official adoption and paperwork will be tomorrow. Addison cried a lot off and on when we first got her back to the hotel. We got a bottle ready for her, and she chugged that thing down! Poor girl was hungry! We went down stairs in our hotel for dinner, and she had some soup broth. I tried to feed her congee (a Chinese baby favorite), but she didn't seem to know what to do with food in her mouth! Guess we'll have to work on that one. Russ and I keep looking at each other, wondering if this all really happening, it sort of feels a little surreal. Riley took a little while to warm up to her, but once he got to hold her, he warmed up really quick. Addison learned the dropping game while we were at dinner. She would drop her rattle, and Riley would pick it up! Tonight after we had her in her crib, he came in to look at her, and said "She's the cutest baby I have ever seen". Alyssa is so in love! She cried and cried from before the time we got her, all the way until we were back on the bus. It was very sweet.

So, we are now in our room, the kids are sleeping in their room, and Addison is asleep in her crib. Supposedly she has a 1AM feeding, so we may be up again in a few hours. I"ll try to post as many pictures as I can. The first one is our last family photo of our family of 4! The rest you can just enjoy looking at. Oh, I almost forgot......her hemangioma is almost GONE! I can't believe it, but it actually looks really good. She did come to us with a scratch on her forehead. I think she has gotten into the habit of itching there, I"ve seen her trying to do that a few times.

We haven't seen her smile yet, but she is still the cutest thing I have ever seen!

That's all for now! Thanks so much for all the prayers and support. I have definitely felt them the past couple of days.

Enjoy the pics!!