Monday,
June 16, 2008
GOTCHA DAY!
Gotcha Day arrived with Stefanie jumping out of bed early
in the a.m. and skipping off to the shower. She let me
continue to sleep and I was awakened by a call from home
and the kids wishing me a "Happy Father's Day!" What an
awesome way to begin a day in China -- extra sleep and
listening to the voices of our precious children.
Sometimes it is easy to forget just how tiny those little
souls are but hearing them on the phone brought us back to
the reality of how much we miss them and just how small
they are.
After showering, it was time for us to find out how the
Victory Hotel breakfast stacks up against the White Swan.
We are staying in the Victory Hotel West and not the main
Victory Hotel East but we went to the main hotel because
it was difficult to understand where the breakfast is on
this side (I did find it later when I saw the courtyard in
the middle of the hotel and the breakfast bar there --
really bright of me, eh?). We found the East side and sure
enough there was breakfast and several couples that were
in different stages of the adoption process. So, as usual,
Stefanie struck up conversations with a woman from Denmark
and another from Florida. I told Stefanie that I find it
interesting when people give her advice on adoption and
issues with the special needs program. She is so good at
listening, even if the knowledge they are passing is a
little skewed or even downright wrong, and then building
up the advice giver and offering her advice spiced just
right with the 'correct' information but never in a manner
that pretends that she is better informed than they are.
It is something that I admire and wish I could also do.
The breakfast was great and we both rolled ourselves (me a
hefty 5-8 pounds heavier and Stefanie a little lighter and
pretty as ever) away from there and started off on a
little frolic around the park and then right back to the
hotel. Once we arrived, we realized that the "PANDA" phone
had been left at the breakfast bar so while I scrambled to
recover it, Stefanie spoke with the front desk personnel
and was granted permission to move from the 4th floor to a
better room and, more importantly, one with a bigger bed
on the 3rd floor. Ah, King Size heaven! We went to the old
room and packed our stuff while also cleaning out the big
suitcase. "Why clean out a suitcase?" you ask. Because we
were 'fortunate' to discover that our Fiber One had been
opened while our luggage was in transit and everything was
covered with a thin white powder (by everything, I mean
everything -- even stuffs inside plastic bags). Following
a thorough cleaning we moved and walked into the room that
is seemingly perfect -- more storage space, bigger bed,
and a sitting room.
After unpacking we had a few moments of rest and then it
was time to get ready for our walk over to the White Swan
to meet our guide, David, and another Lifeline adoptive
parent, Tim. We shot off to Civil Affairs and again were
impressed by the ability of Chinese drivers to navigate
without wrecking and the bicyclists ability to carry what
appears to be ten times their bodyweight without falling
over. At the Civil Affairs, we walked in, me on video
following Stefanie, and went upstairs. When we walked in,
there were other families there and although we were
prepared JIC Shepherd was there, it turned out that he was
in a separate room. We went to a different room off the
main room and then waited for him. When he arrived, it was
truly a gift from a God himself. He cried a little (the
softest little cry but with a scrunched up face that would
make the greatest actor proud) and then held onto Momma
for dear life.
We departed the Civil Affairs after some paperwork,
pictures, and with questions answered. It was back to the
hotel and bath time as well as feeding, vegetable puffs,
and an attempt at a bottle. The bath went very well and
then Stefanie dressed our boy in his first outfit. At 6
p.m., it was time to go visit with other families to The
Cow and Bridge, the local Thai restaurant that is a fave
in our household. While there, we enjoyed the
sweet-and-sour chicken and beef but then Shepherd became
upset due to a number of factors (sleep, new people, and a
stuffed puppy that I mistakenly thought he would like --
bad move!) and we returned to the hotel where Stefanie got
him to laugh (see
http://www.wheneastmeetssouth.com).
After another short drink from his bottle and some
vegetable puffs, it was "light, light" time (as Jude says)
and now everyone is asleep.
See you tomorrow for more! |
Love at first sight!
Finally in my arms
The three of us :)
One happy mama!
He sleeps
Back at the hotel |