Gotcha Day!!!!

We left our hotel in Beijing and headed for the airport on Sunday morning.  It was so crazy knowing that we were going to be receiving our daughter in less then 9 hours.  As Jenn would say "pinch me" it doesn't seem real.  When we showed up at the airport it was less caoutic then the first flight in.  We checked in at immagration and then proceeded to backage dropoff and then through security.  Jenn forgot to take her flat iron spray for her hair out of her carry on bag so the Ch*nese workers were inspecting that like a hawk and made us throw it away. 

Now we were through the check in area and running well ahead of schedule.  We decided to walk around the airport for a little to see if we could find our friends that were flying out to a different province around the same time as us.  Unfortunately we did not see them so we proceeded to our boarding area.  When we got to our boarding area I immediately saw another caucasian family with two Ch*nese daughters.  I immediately said to Jenn let's go talk to them they must be flying to Nanchang to receive another child.  This family is amazing.  They were so nice and their children were so well mannered and were excited to see their daughter/sister.  This family just amazes me so much.  They have faith in our God like a stone wall that cannot be broken.  This couple is in there early to mid 50's.  They have three biological children that are grown and in college.  A few years ago they started adopting.  The wife prayed that God would fill her home and that he would provide.  Well let me tell you God did just that.  They have adopted 5 Chinese children and are here to pick up 2 more.  All together they have 10 children.  God has provided every step of the way financially.  One thing I have learned through our own jouney is that GOD wants to provide for his children.  As it speaks in the Bible regarding God watching over his children I believe just that.  At times God will move mountains for these children that do not have a home.  This family is truly an insperation and can teach the world new lessons on family.

After speaking with them for an hour and a half or so we boarded the plane and got ready for take off.  Jenn and I still felt like we were in a dream.  I think it's like anything in life sometimes you wait so long for something to happen that when it's right in front of you it seems like it's not real.  Our flight from Beijing was around three hours.  The family we met sat right in front of us and there girls that were 9 and 8 years of age were so excited to fly.  Their daughter who is 9 asked to pray for us. Right there on the plane she prayed such a grown up prayer. It spoke wonders to us and as I said before this family is amazing. We got off the plane and said our goodbyes until we would see them again at the hotel we are all staying at.  Before we got off of the plane they prayed for us and for Piper. 

The plane started to decend and as we decended I looked out the window and saw many mountains and the Yangtze River.  It was truly amazing.  Nanchang is a mix of city life and country life.  The population is roughly 14 million and has a big city as well as lot's of country side.  In the country they are known for growing tea that get's dispursed all over the world and has many fishing villages.  We are in the old city of Nanchang at this present time and it is busy just like Beijing.  We landed the plane and started towards the unloading area. 

We walked out of the airport and met our guide.  She is a women in her early 40's if I had to guess who has lived in Nanchang her whole like.  She is awesome.  She is so nice and speaks such great English and has a present about her that is comforting and very informative of life in Nanchang as well as life of raising a Ch*nese baby.  Very different then American but I will save that for another time. 

Reality was starting to set in as we drove into the city and at that time our baby was going to be at our hotel in about an hour.  We got to the hotel and went upstairs to our room we quickly got all our bags together got our cameras and video cameras ready and just paced around like a first time parent waiting for the unexpected.  Nothing can describe the nervousness and excitement we were about to experience.

Then our doorbell rang and the guide was in our hotel room going over the last steps of preperation.  She then got a call and got off the phone and said she is here she is in the lobby.  She quickly ran out and said I will be back in 10 minutes.  All I could think of was God help me cherish this moment for the rest of my life!!!  Ten minutes later the door bell rang and Jenn went over to the door and I grabbed the camera.  In walked our guide, a man holding Piper, the director of the orphanage, and another woman that worked close with the orphanage.  All I can remember is Piper looking into our eyes with a scared look.  Her eyes were filled with tears and her nose was running. The director mentioned that she had a hard time with the car ride and screamed for most of the ride.  She had gotten car sick and threw up all over herself.  This was the second car ride in her entire little life.  The only time she had left the orphanage was to have her lip repair surgery done in a province pretty far away.  There she was bueatiful as could be and was bundled in two layers of clothing.  It's very common for China babies to have mulitple layers of clothing on throughout the year.  They believe it helps prevent colds and diseases.  It was my decision that I was going to snap the pictures and let Jenn hold her.  We knew Piper was very attached to her Nanny so I did not want to make her more upset then what she already was.  Piper put her head down on Jenn immediately as if she felt a comfort of being in her arms.  As wierd as this sounds she looked more terified by the people who brought her then being in Jenn's arms.  In the back of my mind I know God has his hand on this child's heart.  We have prayed for comfort for her and that she would adapt to us well.  God has a way of working in mysterious ways sometimes.  It was as Piper knew that this was her new Mama...  About 4-6 months ago we sent Piper a picture of our entire family.  Each page had each one of us seperately.  We were told the orphanage was showing her the picutres.  I believe this has helped with the transition of this little girl into our arms. 

After all the people left Jenn and I changed her out of her outfit.  This was honestly the last thing we wanted to do.  We have read about this and saw that the only thing that they had as part of their past was their clothes and their shoes.  It broke Jenn's heart to have to take her little shoes and all of her clothes off.  We just used a wash cloth to wipe her a little and changed her into a new outfit.  This was the first time she had cried a little.  Jenn and I just stared at Piper for a long time.  We looked at each other and were just amazed how God has placed her in our arms and now we can care for her as our own.  God thank you.  We promise to raise this girl up to know you and to make a choice on her own to follow you.  We got her down onto the floor where she enjoyed playing with the stacking cups that we brought for her.  She would look down at the cups and stack them and then look back up into our eyes with curiousity as to how we were going to respond to her.  We eventually got her walking around the room.  It is so cute because she will walk around and then all of a sudden walk towards Jenn or I with her hands in the air wanting to be picked up.  We spent the rest of the evening getting to know her and understanding how she eats and takes a bottle with her cleft lip and palate.

Please pray for this little girls adjustment.  She has been taken from everything she knows and we want her to feel comfortable with us.  Thanks for all your support!!

Here are some pictures from our Gotcha Day!!!!