Surpassed Expectations - Our New Little Girl

Well, the day we have been waiting so long for finally came!! I don't remember being this nervous in a long time. We took a bus 30 minutes from our hotel where the local civil affairs people were meeting us with our new little girl. Earlier this morning our guide had explained that it would be a very tough day for all the kids being adopted, and so it was. They brought 5 kids in at the same time and most were crying as everything was new to all of them. Most of the adults were also crying, but obviously for different reasons. We had not seen a picture of her since she was around 12 months (over 6 or 7 months ago). When they brought her in the room, Brooke and I both looked at Taya, and then at each other, and no words needed to be spoken. We knew she was ours and oh was she beautiful! It is a moment we will always remember.

As you can see by the picture below, Taya was not so happy at first.

But, Brooke's natual instincts took over and she had Taya calmed down and drinking a bottle. She actually didn't cry that long, but rather became very tranquil and clingy and would not look at anyone, including Brooke.

After about 20 or 30 minutes, she actually fell asleep in Brooke's arms, likely exausted from a difficult day. I'm sure being taken from her foster mother was difficult and then she had about a four hour ride from her foster parents home to the hotel where we met her.

Once we got back to our hotel she was again awake, but very weary of us (particularly me, but who could blame her, right?). She cried a little here and there, but remained mostly quiet. She wouldn't play with toys, wouldn't eat, and just wanted to be held. But isn't she a doll!

She kept pointing outside, so we decided to take her on a walk. This proved to be a good decision as she actually let me hold her for the first time. Despite the fact that it felt like 150 degrees with the same amount of humidity, we all enjoyed our walk to the local park and she seemed to actually "not hate" us for a few minutes.

It is now around 8 pm here and Brooke just finished bathing her and is feeding her before bedtime. She has continued to loosen up a bit and we even caught her smiling a couple times while playing with some Cheerios.


As I reflect upon a pretty amazing day, I find myself also thinking back on the past couple of years and the process that we went through in getting here. There is no question that Brooke led us down this path. She has had unwaivering faith throughout the entire process that there was a baby waiting for us that we were supposed to find. And when she first saw Taya's picture, Brooke knew that she was the one. It took me a while to come around to the idea of adoption, let alone special needs adoption. And I certainly have had questions and fears come to mind throughout. But, if the feeling that I feel right now as I look at Taya is accurate (and I believe it is), then I know that Taya is going to be a huge blessing to our family. What a ride it will be!