Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Gotcha Day

March 18, 2013

First let me start off by saying THANK YOU for covering us in prayer. We certainly felt them and we give all glory to The Lord for such an incredible morning.

I slept soundly until 4:30 AM but then I was so excited that I couldn't fall back asleep until almost an hour later. After finally waking up, we got dressed and headed to the breakfast buffet to get a quick bite. I only had cereal bc I was pretty anxious. Most of the families were done there except for one and we were all talking away about how in just a few hours, we would all have kids. When one dear couple, Jess and Blake walked in we all started to clap because they became first time parents yesterday... X 2! Very cool to witness that. Anyways, we loaded up on the bus at 9:30 to travel the short distance to th Civil Affairs Office . During the drive, Yisha went over the many extremes of childrens reactions and what documents had to be signed that day. Jordan and I were very calm during the drive. Once we turned into the parking lot, that is when it hit me. You have to realize that I have been stalking adoption blogs for over a year now, I knew exactly what this building looked like, I have seen countless gotcha day videos on YouTube ( bawl every time ) and so I was pretty emotional when we were approaching the building. Well, what do you know, I saw the most beautiful little girl outside the doors and immediately recognized her as my friend's Katherine's new daughter. I looked back at her and said " oh my gosh, Katherine, that's Madeline. !" And that is when I really started crying. I offered to jump off the bus with THEIR video camera and run along ahead of them so that I could film their gotcha day moment, BUT as I was half way up the stairs, our guide yelled out the door " quick, Jing Chuan Feng's family. He is here !" So I twirled around and passed off the video camera to another mama so that I could run inside. As I walked through the doors, I saw him. My first glimpse of him was him standing and looking up at his nanny and Jordan. I approached them and we all headed to the couches so that we could be alone from the hustle and bustle. We sat down and his loving nanny just kept saying tons of Chinese to him which I could not understand, but really didn't need to , bc I could tell that she was explaining to him who we were....and as I studied him, he just turned his head, stroked my cheek and said " mama!". I wept. and smiled and laughed.....which are all of my favorite emotions. ( Insert dolly parton quote from steele magnolias) He shared his cookie with me, they showed me that he could blow kisses, salute, and dance, He could point to Jordan and say ," Baba ( daddy in Chinese). After several minutes of just soaking him up, I reached out my hands, and held him for the first time. He just looked up at me with his big brown eyes and a sheepish grin. He was very relaxed and was not scared at all. It was VERY obvious that his nanny and orphanage director had prepared him well for our first meeting. They were the kindest people and they stayed a LONG time just watching us interact with him. They had the biggest smiles on their faces just watching us play on the couch. They brought everything back to us that we had sent: the pillow that I had made with our pictures on it, the two disposable cameras, the clothes, the toy and even gave us a photo album of baby pictures. Priceless and such a treasure. After about an hour, we signed a document that granted us guardianship of Rex for 24 hours. Once signed, we continued to witness other families being formed. It is incredible experience to watch a child be placed in a waiting mother's arms... It is almost like watching your best friend give birth. It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. And let me just tell you how stinking cute every one of these kids are- VERY. We were still waiting on one of the orphanages to get there but were told that they were in a traffic jam and that they would just bring them to the hotel. So,we loaded up in the bus with our little munchkin and headed back "home". Once up in the room, we facetimed both of our parents so that they could see a short glimpse of him, he drank a bottle, and then slept for two hours. Meanwhile, Jordan went and did paperwork and I just watched him sleep. It was a surreal... He was finally in our hotel room. We played and played and he ate and ate....at 9 he laid down in his crib and slept till 7:15 am.

We did video the entire thing and I am hoping to figure out how to load it, because really my words can't do it justice. All I know is that he already feels like mine. So weird, I know....but it is true.

Oh, one more thing before I go......I want to talk about his hair. I know that it is a bit " far out " and not very " stylish " for Americans, but we want to explain that this orphanage not only dressed him In his NEWEST clothes, but also gave him a new haircut for this VERY day. We actually LOVE it and we certainly won't be cutting it while here in China. Almost every boy we see on the street has this hairstyle. Our guide told us " they must have loved this little boy a lot because they gave him a hair do "....kind of strange to think of this as a gesture of LOVE, but it was. So until we are home and settled, Rex will be rocking this Chinese haircut until he can get a north Tampa hairstyle. Ha!

I've posted tons of gotcha day moments on Facebook. tons...but for those of you who don't
Have an account, here are just a few.........goodnight













6 comments:

  1. yep- our son, matthew was the director's and nannies' favorite and he had the same haircut (plus two patches of hair on the sides!) your son was loved!

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  2. Saw the pics on FB but so great to see again and read your account! I asked F at school if she had gotten to talk to you and Rex on the computer- she said No. I was sure that wasn't correct so asked her again- she again said No, then- it was on Momma's iPad! ;) Rex has so much love coming to him from that little momma!! Sending you love and prayers!

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  3. ahhh!! i can't believe it Paige! Congratulations, we are so happy for you. please continue to post pics!! love from the Cordovas!

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  4. WHY on Earth did I finally read this AT SCHOOL! GEEZ! What a precious testimony to your faith and God's favor on your family! So very happy for you all! He is a precious one!

    Love - Jill

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  5. So thankful to see your precious boy in your arms. So thankful for the way he has paved the way to your sweet boy and now he is right where he belongs ... in your arms.
    Blessings
    Juile

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  6. Whenever I am feeling down I can just read this blog post over and over and my heart is overwhelmed with happiness. You are such an inspiration to me! - Caitlin

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