Gotcha Day

The day. The day we have been waiting for since August 15 arrived as a whirlwind. We arrived in Lanzhou around 2:30 after we were witness to the beauty of the province Gansu from the air. Terraced mountains and dry would be the best way to sum up the scenery. We were picked up by Megan, our guide, at the airport and took an hour long car ride to the city. The neatest part, I think, was seeing how the farmers make caves in the side of the mountains to store their food since it is relatively cool inside of them. The caves were everywhere.

We arrived at the Sunshine Plaza at about 3:45 and we checked in and placed our bags on the floor when there was a knock at the door. Lo and behold, it was the orphanage director, Ms. Yang, three nannies, an interpreter, our guide, and our Ting Ting. So much happened that my head was spinning and I couldn't even catch my breath. Our guide swept Mr. South away immediately to complete paperwork and I.....well, I melted.....I was speechless. Absolutely speechless. Since we have seen so many pictures of our beautiful daughter we both felt like we already knew her and now we finally get to put her in our arms. So surreal. She let me hold her with an occasional whimper and glimpse at her nanny to see if it was ok. Eventually, I too had to complete paperwork and I couldn't even write since I was shaking so badly (partly since I hadn't eaten since 7 am).
Ms. Yang gave us a beautiful gift for Julianne (a home-made traditional children's pillow) , a photo album of pictures they have taken of her, and returned the disposable camera I sent (pics all taken : -) As the director and nannies left, I was in a quandary since we are supposed to give the director and nanny a gift, but I was not expecting to have three show. It all worked out. Eventually, everyone left except for our guide who took us to a photography studio to have our family picture taken I believe for official paperwork. I would love to have seen the picture since I am sure we looked like deer in headlights and at the same time Ting Ting was screaming. From there we went to the grocery in a mall and picked up diapers, water, crackers, and boxed milk. At this point, I was spent - physically and emotionally. We said good-bye to Megan and went to our room to finally get to know OUR daughter.

Thank goodness there is a full length mirror in the room because she had a blast looking into it. She realized that the little girl looking back at her was actually herself. While looking at the mirror, she actually pulled herself to a standing position while holding onto the mirror. We saw her first smile - it would make anyone melt. As play winded down we gladly went to bed for it had been a very long day.

Looking back on the day, I can honestly say that this day was quite similar to the birth of my biological children. I had the same emotions - excitement, nervousness, joy, frustration, and most importantly, I experienced love upon eye contact. At days end, I was just as exhausted too.

I am so grateful for the loving care that Pingliang nannies gave to our daughter. It is so obvious how much they all love Ting Ting and even while in our hotel room, they catered to her every need. The nannies had a difficult time saying good-bye to her and that speaks volumes. Even Ms. Yang gave me her card, so that I could email her pictures of Julianne and the other Pingliang children. She misses them and wants to see how they are.