Lanzhou Family Day!!!

This morning, I boarded a flight to Lanzhou. The flight was delayed, but overall, the trip into Lanzhou was very uneventful. I was in awe of the mountains, they were absolutely beautiful, I was amazed at how little green there is. The fields look like a patchwork quilt in shades of brown and gold. I was surprised at how many fields there are, when it is obvious there is little water to irrigate them.
! I checked into the hotel around 3:30pm and went to the to unpack and prepare for meeting Sophie. Steed said he was brining the nanny and the director from the orphanage around 5pm.

Sophie is now with me, I was completely full of emotion when our eyes met. Sophie was with her nanny and a couple of women from the orphanage, one of whom I am guessing is the director of the orphanage. She was given to me and did not cry at all. When I picked her up she said Ma ma, ask Dad, I called him and she said it. The orphanage staff gave me some absolutely wonderful gifts--her clothes that she was wearing when she was found, some dirt from her home town, photos of her at the orphanage and some other handcrafted items.



Sophie does not seem scared at all, she acts like she has been with me since birth. Her journey today consisted of being driven for a number of hours from PingLiang City to Lanzhou and then given to strange speaking woman and she doesn't care, "just gimmie some cookies!"

We took a walk with Steed to get her passport photo taken and purchase some juice and crackers for her, she is eating everything in sight. She is very tiny, 2T is hanging off of her. She is methodical when eating to make sure and get every last pc of rice, she even checks her clothing. She went through 2 bottles of juice and I had to cut her off. She appears to be potty trained. She also has some what were once some pretty severe burns on her arm, back and hip. When they brought her I felt as if she was a pc of furniture or something, after showing me the scars they asked if I still wanted her, asking for my forgiveness that she had been damaged and they understood if I wanted another child...sheesh. There was no doubt in my mind what I wanted to do as I grabbed her up in my arms.

It was seeming so surreal until last night. This process has been almost a year and even getting on an airplane didn't seem to make a huge difference. Last night it all started to sink in and this morning was a stomach full of butterflies. I've been rather emotional for the last couple of hours, and I don't think it will wane for a while. Sophie is now in our family. We are a family of five. God has brought us on a wonderful journey to get this far and its only the beginning. Today is a joyous day that we will remember forever! Thank you God!

I want to thank all of you for your emails, comments and prayers!