CATCHING UP!!!!

Because of the poor internet connection in our hotel, and because I've had trouble downloading pictures on our computer, I haven't been able to keep up with daily posts. SO, I'm going to try to catch up and share the most important things that have happened up to this point.

I don't think I shared what happened on our flight from Beijing to Zhengzhou. Tammie Ross, you will LOVE this!!! We left the hotel in Beijing at 6:30 AM on Sunday morning and headed to the airport. Even though we arrived two hours prior to take-off, by the time we were checked in and went through security, we were almost late getting on the plane. We had a relatively good flight, but when the plane got to Zhengzhou, the weather was bad, and there was no visibility at the airport, so we weren't able to land. Of course, they didn't initially make that announcement. Instead, we were all sitting in our seats on the plane, well aware that we would soon be landing, when suddenly the plane accelerated upward very quickly. We didn't know what was going on!!! A few minutes later, though, it was announced that the weather was too bad to land in Zhengzhou, and instead, the plane would be landing in Wuhan. Well, Wuhan happens to be in a totally different province--the province of Hubei, that is at least 400 miles south of Zhengzhou!!! I thought it was kind of neat that we were going to get to go to another province I had never visited, but honestly, I really WANTED to go where we were SUPPOSED to go. We did land in Wuhan, and spent about 45 minutes sitting on the plane, until clearance was given for the pilot to fly us back to Zhengzhou.

By the time we arrived in Zhengzhou, we were running considerably behind schedule. One of the events that was to take place after we arrived was to go to the bank to exchange money to pay for the fees that would be due the next day---our GOTCHA Day. Had we arrived when we were supposed to, there would have been plenty of time to get to the bank (yes, banks in China are open on Sunday), because of our delay, we arrived only 30 minutes before the bank closed, SO it was a mad rush to get there before it closed. It was raining cats and dogs again. Luckily, everyone got to the bank, and the money was exchanged just in the nick of time. With the money exchanged, we had everything we needed for GOTCHA DAY.

I have already shared an entry about GOTCHA DAY. I just want to add a few things that I don't think I shared. I could never adequately describe what it's like to have a child placed in your arms (even if they are flailing and grabbing jewelry and glasses), whom you have been waiting months for----a child from half way around the world. The moment Eiley Joy was placed in my arms, there was an instant connection. It was no different than the first time my biological children were placed in my arms----she was OUR baby. I can't explain how much we already loved this child, even though we had never seen her in person before. SHE WAS OUR DAUGHTER. There's a flip side to the story, though----there is the caregiver---the ayi, who has loved and cared for this child, many times since birth or shortly after, who has to hand her over, and most likely will never see her again. In Eiley Joy's case, the ayi was a young lady, and I was told by another parent in our group who arrived when this ayi was arriving with Eiley Joy, that she had sat over to the side and cried the entire time from when she had come in with her.
Her tears broke my heart. I know she was happy that Eiley Joy was getting a real family, but still, she was giving up a part of her life. I wouldn't want her job, because I don't think I could handle it.

GOTCHA DAY was an emotional day for Callie Beth. The Registration Office where we went to get Eiley Joy, was the very same place where we went to get Callie Beth a little over two years ago. When she walked into that room, she remembered, and for most young children being adopted, GOTCHA DAY is not necessarily a GOOD day in their memory. It's the day they are taken away from everything they have known, whether it be good or bad. I will never forget her scared little face when I took her into my arms for the first time. Callie Beth LOVED Eiley Joy, and was excited when she saw her, but she stuck to me like glue the whole time we were at the Registration Office. She wouldn't even go play in the play area there. I really didn't think a lot about it at the time---I guess I was caught up in the moment of getting Eiley Joy. It all came to a head when Callie Beth told me she had to go to the bathroom. I was signing papers, so I told Roger to take her. They were back in just a few minutes----there were only squatty potties there in the restrooms, and Callie Beth was adamant that she was NOT going to use a squatty potty. I took her back to the bathroom, and was going to try to help her, and she broke down crying. It's not like her to get upset over things like that. All the way back to the hotel, she kept talking about those squatty potties. She kept saying, "Those squatty potties are BAD....they are a BAD HABIT!!!" I didn't like seeing her sad, but it was funny how expressive she was when verbalizing her feeling about them. It wasn't until she got upset about not being able to find her sandal, that I realized it was something else that was wrong. And then I realized what it likely was. When I asked her if she remembered when Mommy and Daddy came to that room to get her for the first time, she said she did. When I asked her if she remembered how she felt, she said yes....she was scared. After we talked about it awhile, though, she was okay.

On Tuesday, we went back to the Registration Office to finalize our adoption. It was at this point, that Eiley Joy was REALLY ours, and there was NO TURNING BACK. It was a happy day for all of us, and even Callie Beth had a big smile on her face in the pictures we took. After leaving there, we had to make two other stops to complete paperwork. We had to get our picture made for the adoption certificate, and then go to the notary's office to have everything notarized. It was not a fun day to be out, because it again was raining cats and dogs, just like it had ben on Sunday and Monday.

 On Wednesday, we had to travel to the city where Eiley Joy was found to apply for her passport. That city was Xinyang, which is in the FAR south of the Henan province (almost to Wuhan, Hubei!!!) To travel there, we took the bullet train. It was a really neat experience, especially for the girls. It was very neat and spacious, and traveled at 190 miles per hour!!! It was amazing how smooth the ride was. We left the hotel at 6:50, took a taxi to the train station, went to Xinyang to apply for the passport, took the train back and taxi back to the hotel, and we were back by 2, and we had traveled over 700 miles round trip!!!! Of course, the down side to it all was that we had to stand out in the rain to wait for a taxi, and we had to walk from our taxi tot he train station....AND, of course, it was raining cats and dogs AGAIN!!! We waded in water ankle deep. That's not fun, especially when you have three little girls you are trying to keep dry. The train ride was worth it all, though, so I couldn't complain TOO much. We opted to eat a late lunch in the dining room at the hotel once we were back, though, and ordered room service for dinner. We had had ENOUGH of being in the rain. :)

TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT EILEY JOY.......

I shared a lot about the events of the past few days, but I really don't feel like I've shared much about our new daughter, so here are things that I have already learned about our precious bundle from God.......

1. The is a compact little chunk!!! She really is so small for her age----she looks more like maybe a 15 month old instead of a 28 month old-----but she is almost a little Buddha. She is tiny, but chubby. She wears a size 12 months clothes, and some of those are big on her, and the smallest pair of shoes that I brought, a size 4, is took big for her.
2. She is going to be left handed. Her left hand dominance is SO obvious.
3. She has the most BEAUTIFUL LONG EYELASHES!!! Most little Chinese girls don't have long eyelashes, but she sure does. In fact, at the Shanghai Healing Home where she was, they called her, "Eyelash Baby."
4. She loves to be held. In fact, she has been in either my arms or Roger's arms probably 98% of her waking hours. She is a SNUGGLE BUNNY!!!!
5. She can throw the WORST FITS of any child I have ever seen!!!!----and when she does, she is as strong as an ox!!! I don't think that fit throwing is something she did all the time at SHH (I AM going to ask about it, though, when we visit!!!) Because she is so little, it's easy for us to forget that she had been at SHH for almost 27 months of her life, and despite the fact that we hold her all the time like she wants, her life has been turned upside down. We did discover yesterday, after spending a day of several fits from her, once she pooped (for the first time since we had gotten her), it was like a switch had been turned off. She was the happiest child ever. It's possible that she is having some stomach problems----new foods, medicine for her cough, etc. that has her stomach torn up. She may be hurting----OR, she may just be STUBBORN!!! :)
6. She's funny!!!! When she walks, she is like a bull in a china shop, and walks like a drunken sailor!!! She goes ninety to nothing, and even though she may trip, stumble, or fall, she just picks right back up and keeps going.
7. She didn't come to us talking----just a little bit of quiet babbling, BUT she said, "MOMMA" today!!!!
8. I know you won't believe I am saying this, but the bows I made for her are TOO BIG!!! She has a petite little head to go with her little body, and her fine silky hair won't hold the bows. ANYWAY, since she's pretty feisty, she likes to reach up an pull the bows out if she knows I put them in. OH, DEAR.....it's going to be the BATTLE OF THE BOWS with her!!! :)
9. She is going to be a daredevil. She LOVES to be flipped and bounced on the bed, turned upside down and flipped in my lap, and she REALLY loves to spin in the chair in our hotel room. She doesn't appear to be afraid of ANYTHING!!!!
10. She is a blessing from God----our third daughter----a child entrusted to us to love, raise, and give the best possible life to that we can. She just may give us a run for our money, but we are both in it for the long haul. She needed a mama and a daddy, but I have no doubts that Roger and I are going to find out, just like we did with Molly Kate and Callie Beth, that we needed HER just as much........ WE ARE BLESSED!!!!!