What we have waited for...

I know you all have been waiting for a post and I apologize it took me so long to get one up, but things have been...BUSY!  I know you are most interested in pictures and I promise I'll get them up but I want to journal and remember as much as I can about this day.

This morning, we all slept in and skyped with our families etc.  We made it down to breakfast about 8:30 and met my friend Audrey.  Audrey is here with her 18 year old daughter and mother in law!  I was so glad to see a "familiar" face!  They were getting their precious at 10:30 from another orphanage.  So we chatted a while and then went our separate ways.

We basically just hung around the hotel for a while waiting for time to pass.  We each did a little video for Kylie and took pics as our last few moments in our lives as we knew them.

We skyped with our families some more and then finally it was time.  We headed down to the hotel lobby a little early to wait.  We got down there just in time to see our guide already there.  I gave her a crash course in using my camera (which she didn't need) and we loaded up in the van.

We got to the civil affairs office about 1:35 and they weren't due there until at least 2pm.  The office was a very cold (in temp and looks) building.

Our friends Katarina and Steve arrived.  Their son is in the same orphanage as Kylie.  Since they live in Chicago, they are on all the same flights with us, thought not in the same hotel.  We had to wait in the lobby since the doors weren't yet unlocked to the Civil Affairs office that is used for adoption.

There were several families there waiting on their children.  3 were from Kylie's orphanage and the others from other orphanages in Jiangsu.  All of a sudden, there were women walking up with babies and both myself and our guide Nancy was trying to figure out which was her!

Kylie was actually the 2nd baby coming in.  As soon as Nancy confirmed this was the right orphanage staff, I handed her my camera and well....I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...



No, she's not crying...she is smiling.  Not only smiling but laughing and kicking and moving all around.

But yes, I AM crying...and Jenna is happy as can be!! 

This is my friend Katarina and her son from Kylie's orphanage.  The two boys wore yellow, the girl wore red. These outfits are traditional Chinese dress.

We finally got to sit down after standing for what seemed like forever.  There was an older child with her new parents who was having a very difficult time.  She was crying the entire time they were there.  Kylie was very concerned about that child and kept looking at her with a worried look on her face!

Here I am, signing all the papers.  And Kylie is still looking at the crying child. 

This is the "family picture".  The "real"picture is taken with just the parents and child, but our guide was so good to make sure Jenna was included on a few. 

This is the orphanage director (next to me), Ms. Chang (I think) and then Kylie's nanny next to Jenna.

In the van and on our way back to the hotel.  We did make a quick pit stop to buy formula and rice cereal. 

Here we are...back at the hotel.  Kylie loves her nesting cups and I was signing more papers for tomorrow.

We played and got to know each other the rest of the afternoon.  I have a CD of photos and a baby book the orphanage put together for me.  It was so sweet!  I haven't even had time to look at the CD yet and it might be a while.  Kylie took about 2 ounces of a bottle, which is way less than what she is used to.  But given what has gone on in her short life, I guess that is to be understood. 8pm is her bedtime and then they said sometimes she takes a 10pm bottle.  She went right to sleep at 8pm and now we are waiting to see if she is going to wake up.  I'm starting to get tired, so I'm going to lay down now, knowing I might be up in just a few minutes.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.  I can honestly say they were felt and I could not have imagined this day would go any better.  I know the worst/hardest is probably yet to come, but so far, it's been so much easier than I thought.

I hope to post more later.  Until then, keep those prayers coming!