Beautiful Blessings: In Our Arms

It's been almost 16 months since I first saw her face and prayed over her picture....never believing that she would actually be here. And yet, God, is all His wisdom knew. She was to be our daughter. After 13 months of paperwork and preparation, the day finally came when we got to hold our daughter for the first time.

It has been four weeks since that day when we met A for the first time. We flew into her province 2 days before we were to meet her. We spent time with some wonderful new friends who took time out of their day to bless us by sharing lunch and a tour of the city. Times we will cherish and be able to share with our daughter as she grows what it was like where she is from.

Monday morning came and we were up early and on our way to the orphanage where we were led to a room which had a bunch of big comfy chairs lining the walls. We said our "hellos" and immediately got to work signing papers, taking pictures and then it got quiet. They could hear that A was on her way to our room. We waited just a couple minutes, and then she was there. We had no idea how she would react. We were prepared for tears and much more. But instead we got silence and no eye contact. It was actually quite funny how far away she could turn her head....which you can kind of see in the picture above. We finished signing papers, went back downstairs for the customary pictures and then ushered out the door to go get more pictures done and sign more papers. It was in that car ride, though, when we were finally able to start making a connection....and when we learned that A loves to tickle. When we were waiting for more paperwork, that's when we learned that A also loves to do hair...when she started twisting sections of my hair. And does she ever have a strong grip! And watch out! If you move when you are not supposed to, you may get whacked in the head. Our guides were amazed at how quickly she warmed up to us. That evening, we just stayed in...getting to know each other....which is a bit of a challenge when neither of you knows each other's language.

I cannot wait to share more, but every moment right now is a little crazy and time to myself is scarce...so until then, here are a few more pictures from the first few days of our trip.

A walk around Yinchuan and lunch with some wonderful new friends....