China: Days 2 & 3

Through the course of one’s life, God is good enough to give every person at least a few moments that simply take your breath away. It’s that perfect moment when everything happens as it should, a serendipitous sequence where time, space, will, and emotion come together in perfect harmony. It makes you pause and wonder at how that one thing could possibly change you like it does.

It’s a sunset. A first kiss. A walk down the aisle. Or in our case, meeting our daughter for the first time.

Though she’s been part of our family for some time, Kaitlyn Grace Weeks officially made our family more complete on Monday, July 18 at 5:10pm (local time). Our group of nine families was supposed to receive our children at 4pm by traveling to a local office building where we would meet everyone from the orphanage at a neutral location. Due to some really hot weather and lack of air conditioning on the bus, the orphanage asked if they could postpone the exchange a little while longer; we would meet them at 4:30 instead. We were disappointed, but we understood. The 4:30 deadline was then pushed back to “around” 5:00. We were instructed to wait in our room for a phone call from our tour guide who would then tell us to come downstairs and give us instructions from there.

At about 4:58, we received the phone call that our babies were already downstairs waiting for us. We pulled everything together as fast as we could and hustled down to the main floor meeting room. When we arrived, all the babies, care workers, orphanage personnel, and families had gathered and were (im)patiently waiting for “the big moment.” By this point, everyone knew who their children were but we were not allowed to take them until our passport and some official adoption paperwork was verified.

After waiting for a stinkin’ eternity, we finally got Kaitlyn. She came to us with barely a struggle and dove into Mommy’s arms first. Though she cried for a few minutes – and understandably so – she settled in pretty quickly and has since made a good adjustment. After a few dozen more pictures and some additional paperwork, we shared our first meal together as a family, through which Kaitlyn promptly cried almost the whole time. Fortunately, Carol Anne’s motherly touch kicked in at just the right time and soothed Kaitlyn while Stacey and I shoveled down dinner.

Kaitlyn has a really bad cold right now that makes her breathing laboured and her ears ache; she’s also teething. The congestion in her chest is easily felt while holding her. She’s the smallest girl in our group of nine children, but dangit, she’s the cutest by far! We got her first smile today (Tuesday) and once we got the first one, they seemed to flow pretty freely after that.

This afternoon was pretty rough as Kaitlyn spent much of the afternoon crying because of the pain she was in. Stacey and I felt helpless on our first full day as parents but things picked up when Kaitlyn scarfed down a serious helping of steamed eggs at dinner. I wouldn’t touch the eggs with a ten-foot pole, but she loves it as many of the babies do. It helped that earlier in the afternoon, Stacey took Kaitlyn shopping and bought her a Chinese dress that we’ll be showing off when we get home. The shopping trip seemed to curb the crying which doesn’t bode well for me and my credit card. Much of the rest of our day was spent doing paperwork and going to the Notary Public where the adoption was made legal and Kaitlyn officially became our daughter … that rocks!

These first two days have been a serious whirlwind. We’ve been on the go from early in the morning to late at night but we it’s all been worth it. It’s funny how things like paperwork can normally seem so tedious but I wouldn’t trade today for anything in the world.

Last night made me pause and wonder at how one event like this could change us like it has. How one little girl for whom we have prayed for so long is finally with us. How all of the planning and preparation over the last two years was so needed because of what we experienced today. How being a mom and dad totally changes the way you see yourself, each other, and your child.

And when Kaitlyn fell asleep in my arms last night, it rocked my world.

It took my breath away.

Life is good.