Monday, 7/21/08 at 9:30 PM, Zhengzhou. - Our first night with Joy went real well. She slept a good twelve hours. Mom & Dad woke up about every hour checking on her. She woke up once and looked around at us and went back to sleep. We finally had to wake her in the AM to get ready to go to our meetings.
We went first thing in the AM to the agencies involved with the adoption and filled out and signed a lot of papers that were in Chinese. We even had our first family photo taken with all six of us and a government official with the Chinese flag as the back drop. I am not sure if we get a copy of that one but could make for a good Christmas Card 2008 photo. After returning to the hotel for lunch and a nap (and work out for the non-nappers), we returned at about 4:30 PM to the Henan Children's Welfare Institute to receive our Certificate of Adoption. They had a little informal ceremony in the one room office for us and three other families where they presented us with the certificates and congratulated us. It was fun to meet the other families this day as well and their new children. We stand amazed at the paths and directings that each of these people have followed to be in that room this day. One couple from the UK overcame great odds and three years to finally be adopting a girl that overcame great odds to even be alive and that they have foster parented in Beijing for over three years, and there this four year old sat with her popsicle enjoying her moment. They were an inspiration to even be in the same room with!
Joy is doing well! She seemed a bit sad today but that is to be expected given the radical change in her life in the last 24+ hours. We have pictures of her now smiling in her past so we look forward to the day when that Joy will come back to the surface. We know in the interim there will be a bit of a grieving process for her. Pray that she will be go through this period to experience real joy soon. Everything has gone smooth, we stand amazed that this little princess is now ours, and we are appreciating your prayers!!!
We went first thing in the AM to the agencies involved with the adoption and filled out and signed a lot of papers that were in Chinese. We even had our first family photo taken with all six of us and a government official with the Chinese flag as the back drop. I am not sure if we get a copy of that one but could make for a good Christmas Card 2008 photo. After returning to the hotel for lunch and a nap (and work out for the non-nappers), we returned at about 4:30 PM to the Henan Children's Welfare Institute to receive our Certificate of Adoption. They had a little informal ceremony in the one room office for us and three other families where they presented us with the certificates and congratulated us. It was fun to meet the other families this day as well and their new children. We stand amazed at the paths and directings that each of these people have followed to be in that room this day. One couple from the UK overcame great odds and three years to finally be adopting a girl that overcame great odds to even be alive and that they have foster parented in Beijing for over three years, and there this four year old sat with her popsicle enjoying her moment. They were an inspiration to even be in the same room with!
Joy is doing well! She seemed a bit sad today but that is to be expected given the radical change in her life in the last 24+ hours. We have pictures of her now smiling in her past so we look forward to the day when that Joy will come back to the surface. We know in the interim there will be a bit of a grieving process for her. Pray that she will be go through this period to experience real joy soon. Everything has gone smooth, we stand amazed that this little princess is now ours, and we are appreciating your prayers!!!
