Gotcha Day (September 14th, 2009)

Well, for those of you who like to read, I could probably write a novel about our experience today (I will try to shrink it as much as possible).

We left the hotel for the Registration Office at 10:00 this morning. What was a little surprising was walking into that building and immediately seeing that four of the children were already in the room (four out of the eight families adopting). We recognized Laikyn right away and walked over to her. Many of the other children cried (to be expected leaving their caregivers that they have had for over a year), but Laikyn did not make a sound. She appeared to be checking everything out. She came to Molly with no cries or screams. It immediately seemed like she was where she belonged...in her mom's arms. She also came to me with no issues and everyone else started commenting her happy and curious disposition.

Her caretakers/nannies were there with her and you could tell how much they loved her. They kissed her a bunch and even though there was the language barrier, they kept coming over to us and smiling and doing things like giving us a "thumbs up" sign. Even the director of her orphanage was there and he kept coming over as well. Again, although we could not verbally communicate, it was like he wanted to express to us how special of a little girl we were getting. When the caretakers and director left, we could see them looking at us with Laikyn (at the time we were with her outside by a little pond and waterfall). I think they were checking one last time to make sure she was going to be well taken care of. We are very thankful for them and the care they provided for her. We have many pictures of them to make sure we/Laikyn can be reminded of them and their love for her.

Baby firsts: fell asleep in daddy's arms on the way back to the hotel. Sat straight up on the bed when room service brought lunch and basically lunged for the plates. Had her first french fry along with her rice congee. She looked at pictures of her four brothers and pointed to them and smiled. Mommy is getting ready to give her first bath. One thing we have not witnessed yet is her first cry.

At times, it seems that God's blessings can just overwhelm you. In a day full of busyness and emotion (beginning with Terry telling us how wonderful the boys have been and how much everyone has offered to help with them), we want to make sure He gets the praise and thanksgiving He deserves.