An Amazing Day

Hardly seems like just yesterday that we laid eyes on Chloe for the fist time. She's captured our hearts and become another family member in such a short time. The events that unfolded yesterday were surreal. We finished our meeting at 4:15 as Marie, our Chongqing guide, announced that the orphanage staff would like to bring the babies over an hour early at 4:30 because they're short of hands to care for them. As you can imagine, our hearts skipped a few beats and then a swarm of butterflies began to fly through our stomachs.



Minutes later, five babies came through the door as Marie was talking through the process with us. It only took seconds for us to identify Chloe and was a great moment for us. The first couple was announced and received their baby from a nanny. Literally 40 or 50 flashes went off as it was more like a press conference. Our turn was next. We stepped to the front of the room as Marie led the orphanage assistant director to us with Qian Jiang Min, soon to be Chloe Beach. The hand off was to Elaine without a whimper or tear. There were several flashes as cameras went off everywhere, and then ushered out of the room to move on to the next couple. This went on about every 3 minutes. We expected to be more emotional, but the process was very ceremonial. After the five babies from our orphanage were handed to their forever families, we presented gifts to the assistant director and got pictures with her and the nanny.

Chloe had travelled 6 hours to come to us and was very tired. She fell asleep in Elaine's arms before getting back to the room. We were told the babies would be ready for a bottle, so we took off her polar fleece vest and tried to give her a bottle. She wasn't very interested and only took about an ounce. She seemed very tired and wanted to rub her eyes over and over so we decided to let her go to sleep. Not only did she sleep, but slept through the night until 5:00 this morning!



This morning she seemed happy to see us and drank several ounces of water, which we were told is very important in these first few days. We then gave her a bath, which she didn't like. But wouldn't you know it, she fell asleep as we rinsed her off. After putting her in a sleeper that we brought, she drank 3 ounces of formula and went back to sleep. Around 8:00, she woke back up and was all smiles. It was apparent that she was up for the day. How can you beat that for the first night? Elaine and I expected maybe 1-3 hours and then a feeding, but we got the best sleep since before we left home.



Since she was up, we decided to take her to breakfast. There were very many babies at breakfast. What a fun time to see so many of the parents. While I sat at a table, the maitre de brought me a steamed egg, a very traditional Chinese dish fed to babies and small children. It's sorta like a light, fluffy pudding. We began to feed her and she ate quite a lot. I think we were rather surprised to see her eat so well. We also tried a bite of watermelon, which she promptly spit out and some rice congee, another traditional rice dish, similar to oat meal, except more clear and made from rice. This was also not to her liking. We now know what to look for when she doesn't like something.


As I'm writing, she's back to sleep for her mid-morning nap. I think the little thing is just plum tuckered out from all the stress and changes. Today is pretty relaxed until 3:00 today when we all go to the building across the street for Chloe to be officially adopted. We'll be interviewed, sign documents, and have our family photo taken for the Chinese government.



Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and walked with us on this journey. Chloe is finally in our arms and part of our family.