Gotcha Day

Happy Gotcha Day to my beautiful baby girl!
Happy Gotcha Day to all of our 'travel buddies'.

One year ago, our then family of 4 anxiously piled into our van and was driven thru the crazy Chinese traffic to the Government Affairs Office.
When we got there, we rode the elevator up to the 8th floor.
There was a lobby type area, but it was full of a Spanish adoption group getting their children.
Yesterday had been a holiday, so no adoptions had been processed. That made today an extremely busy day.
It looked a little chaotic. New parents were crying - children were crying.
We didn't understand the Spanish OR the Chinese that was flying around us.

We were the only ones from our agency, and Leila was the only one coming from her orphanage that day.
Rosa (our guide) arranged for us to wait privately in an office. We kept peeking out the door.
(Rosa was our rock the entire time we were in China.)
As soon as we saw the orphanage director carrying her across the room from the elevator - we knew it was her!
Just 3 had made the hour long trip from Shunde CWI - the orphanage director, the driver and Leila.

They went into another room for just a couple of minutes and then came into ours. The lady immediately handed her to me.
I know Leila had to be scared. But she didn't show it.
She never cried - not once all that day. (We did though.)
She didn't eat all day either. Turns out we were making her bottles warm - not hot.
We've wondered and wondered what she thought of it all.
What was she thinking? What were her thoughts about what was going on?
Her entire world had just changed.
She'd been in that orphanage since the day she was found - the day she was born - 10.5 months before.
She was tiny. She was just 14 lbs.
This was her then.

They gave us a small bag with a few items in it. I guess it was her 'to-go' bag. There was 1 diaper, 1 bottle, a small bag of fomula, a small box of cereal, a rag/dishcloth (to sleep with), a small photo album with some pictures, and the name tag from her bed.
We gave them a gift bag with clothes for the babies still at the orphanage and a few small gifts for the nannies (ayi's).

All that day, she just looked and watched. She took it all in.
When we left there, we stopped at the store on the way back to the hotel.
We needed to pick up a few things for this new life.
We got some more diapers, food, and a stroller - which incidentally never made it home from the Chicago airport.

The adoption journey is a hard one. There were SO many times we considered pulling out of it. It's not for the weak. BUT, oh, it IS for the best!
It is one (of the 3) best things we've ever done in our lives.
This child has blessed us in so many ways that we could never have imagined.
Our lives are (more in debt), but oh, so much fuller than they ever were before.
I guess sometimes you don't realize just what you're missing in life until you have (or lose) it.
Back when we started this journey (3.5 years ago now), our agency said that Jesus was adopted.
Yeah, but I never really thought about it like that. That really made an impact on me.
Yeah, we're adopted into God's family. But I never really thought about that either on such a personal level as I do now.
I truly, truly believe that not only is adoption such a part of God's plan in our lives, but I believe that God gave us Leila not only to fulfill our lives but to witness to others.
She's quite the attention getter. Everywhere we go, people stop us and ask questions and talk. It gives us the chance to witness and talk about God's plan with all of this.
The ones that really 'get it' though - are the ones that understand that we're the lucky ones to have HER, not that she's the lucky one to have US.

Just look at her today!

I ordered Leila and I t-shirts last month.
There was a company doing a special promotion where a portion of their proceeds went to Love Without Boundaries.
If you're not sure what LWB is - look them up. They're wonderful!!!
They work to benefit orphans in China in all sorts of ways.
(I even managed to get 4-5 pictures of Leila, from when she was little, thru them.)
Anyway, on the back of each one is a Bible verse.
The one I picked out for me says:
'Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance'. (James 1:2-3)
I picked that one because although I do know most of the time that we're very blessed - other times I feel very sorry for myself and think that we have WAY too many and more than our share of trials and troubles.
(Leila's says 'Chosen' on the front - and has a different verse on the back.)