Such A Blessing!!

We got her !!!!!!

Our guide, Connie said she would pick us up at 2:00 pm to go to the Civil Affairs office to meet XiLing. I told Connie on the way there that we would prefer to be seated in a room and have XiLing brought in to us. It seemed less scary than having us descend upon her with her waiting in the room. Connie said that is what she was intending to do anyway. Well, we got off the elevators and lo and behold, there she was sitting with two of the orphanage employees. There was a little boy that was 3 years old that they had also brought to meet his parents. Well, XiLing was smiling but shy at first. We told her "Wo ai ni" which means "I love you" in Chinese. She said she was "happy" : she definitely was not the sad. grieving little girl we had anticipated. She is adorable, smart, attempting a lot of English and a firecracker. It must be something about these Guangdong girls, since our Zoe is the same way. XiLing is definitely feisty but in a very good way.

She brought 2 bags with her , one with a file of her school work and a couple of pictures and some of the markers, clothes and things we sent. We got the 2 disposable cameras back...don't know if they were used or not. Her nannies said that she was excited to have a family and has been waiting for us. She had cried a little on their trip to Guangzhou but had not cried initially leaving the orphanage. She had a couple of notes with her from a teacher and one from a nanny. They were very sweet and touching....I am glad that her life meant something to others while she was in China. Now she is in a family and her life will mean everything to us. She is so easy to love and very much a cuddlebug. It also actually appears that she will be a Mommy's girl! At least for now, until she figures out that Daddy is like the best dad a kid could have. And he's a little more fun than Mommy who actually has to discipline the crew! LOL.
She immediately attached to her sisters and within 5 minutes whe was "one of them". We bought a stuffed Panda with us and she loved that!

When we got to the hotel we gave her the backpack with the camera and Nintendo DS. She took like 100 pictures in a couple of hours and mastered the Nintendo already! I laugh because she has taken more pictures of me today than I have had taken in the last 10 years. Being the "family photographer" I am never in any pictures. She ate well at dinner which was at Lucy's and likes french fries. Typical American kid already.

She has had a bath, her hair washed, pajamas on and in a King size bed with Olivia and Leah. I can't believe that she is this easy. Thanks Aleda! (wink) ... more pictures to come

Getting Here from There!!!!

Well, we made it. In 24 hours (it seemed like 24 light years) we traveled the globe. St Louis to Detroit over the Arctic Circle through Russia to Shanghai.
Flying to China is LOOOOOONG. I told my husband, to just send for our stuff since I am not going back home on that flight! The first few hours of the flight you think, "geez, this isn't sooo bad". Even 6 hours in , you've eaten dinner, watched a movie or two and maybe even taken a nap. It's when the real tired sets in and it's bedtime. Now you're thinking, am I really going to sleep in this seat for 8 hours? I can't get comfortable and kids are spilling over from their seats with their arms and heads and legs all over you. I am thinking what in the world are we doing?

The important thing is that we're here. At around 12:30 am we arrived at the White Swan, all together and all in one piece. Here we are an hour before we meet Torie. The jitters set in and we are nervous. I am nervous...will she be crying, hanging on to her nanny for dear life? Will she like us? Will she look at us and say..."wow, these people are old, I was expecting Brangelina."? In 20 minutes we meet our guide to drive to Civil Affairs to meet her. Her life as she knew it is about to change. I pray that this brave little soul is not too scared and has the courage to leap into this big loving family!