Our hotel in Xi’an is a short walk from the Civil Affairs Office where the adoption is finalized. Once we checked in and got the room ready, we met down in the lobby and walked over to the office. We sat on the couch while the official and our guide worked on some paperwork. Our hearts were beating fast, and I didn’t know whether to smile or cry. The emotions were high. We heard some noise in the hallway, and our guide alerted us, “Here she comes!” In came the director of the orphanage and the director of the whole campus (apparently, the orphanage is part of an institution which also cares for elderly). The lady director of the orphanage was carrying Lydia. She took our breath away. I cried. Mark laughed. The guide told me I could try to hold her which I did. She came right to me and kept looking for the orphanage director. But, she didn’t cry. Mark and I passed her between us; she seems to have taken to Mark and enjoyed his little games with her. We completed the paperwork for today, and the director gave us a chance to ask questions (of course, we were overwhelmed and we couldn’t think of anything to ask at the moment). Then she told us that she doesn’t cry much and that she is a very good and happy baby. We took a couple pictures, and they left. And, there we were with our daughter.

Walking out of that building with her in my arms was surreal. People started looking at us and smiling. Did they know we just received her as our daughter? Or, were they gawking simply because I was smiling so large I looked ridiculous. Who knows.

She cried a bit back at the hotel room and wouldn’t take a bottle at all. But, Mark soothed her to sleep, and she is peaceful now.

Thank you all for the prayers–keep them coming. And, know that we are loving the blog comments. Mark and I read them together, and they are a fun encouragement—especially now as we are alone in Xi’an without other American families to pal around with. More tomorrow –

Dear Evan, Ashlyn, and Drew — It was so fun to skype with you a little while ago and show Lydia to you! She is cute as can be, and we know you are going to love getting to know her. She is going to love having you as big brothers and a big sister.

P.S. We DID get a smile or two out of her and we were surprised by some dimples!

What a day. We headed out to Badaling to climb the Great Wall. Okay, we cheated. We took a cable car up the wall and climbed down. But, don’t let that deceive you. It’s still very much a work out as some parts are so steep that you have to turn your feet sideways and slowly inch yourself down.

I confess to reaching a new low there as the “ladys” room (as the sign said) was so crowded and so not where I wanted to be that one of the moms with us and I ended up going behind some buses. After we went, we realized that not only could the people in the cable cars have a nice view of us but there was a driver in the car we were hiding behind. When in Rome….right? The view from the top was amazing even through the haze, and we were so glad we got that experience.

After lunch at a very authentic “hole in the wall” dumpling restaurant (with a “ladys” room no better. Yikes.), we drove to Fang Shan to a school/orphanage Living Hope International runs for orphans who are not eligible for adoption because they have some living relative. They performed their dancing and songs for us, and two girls shared testimonies tearfully. It was quite an experience, a real privilege. Samuel, the director of our agency, happened to be in China this week for some meetings. So, he was there at the school and made sure we got a full tour of the 6 acre property before we left for a fancy dinner which he hosted for our group (more amazing food including Peking duck and fried root ice cream among lots of other dishes). We were thankful to get the time to speak with him and hear more about what Living Hope does besides adoptions.

My eyes are dark–my family knows the look well when I need to go to sleep. I’m hoping that tomorrow I will be able to sleep past 3am. It’s our last night in Beijing. We will leave at 8:30 AM (8:30PM Saturday night in Phili) to catch our flight to Xi’an where we will receive Lydia. As we are packing up our bags tonight and trying to make sure we are within the weight requirements for each bag and organizing things as best we can, my thoughts are with Lydia. It is her last night in the crib she has slept in since she was 2 weeks old. It is her last night in the orphanage, her last night as an orphan. Tomorrow morning, she will be dressed nicely and escorted by the orphanage director and perhaps a nanny to meet us in the capital of her province. We don’t know quite what to expect. Neither does she. All we know is that by late afternoon tomorrow, she will be in our arms.
 

Dear Evan, Ashlyn, and Drew – the cable cars today we took up the wall were so high in the sky. I got a little scared! There were lots of people climbing the wall like us. A bunch of them wanted to get pictures with us because they thought it was so neat that we were American. Tomorrow we’ll have Lydia! I can’t wait to meet her and introduce her to you on the computer! We love you so much!