Home from China

So, we are home from China with our daughter, Acadia Xin (or Cadie, as we like to call her). We have been a family for 2 weeks and 2 days.  We had an amazing 2 weeks in China, Christopher, my mom, and myself.  We spent 1 day in Beijing touring the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.  The rest of the time was spent in Guangzhou and it was nice to settle into a routine there.  Gotcha Day was December 14, 2010.  I will remember that day for as long as I live.  Cadie looked so pretty in her pink suit and she walked right over to us with the help of her nanny.  She was so scared. She was trembling and silently crying for a long time.  We held her close for several days. Slowly, this beautiful, spirited girl began to emerge.  Everyday, we learned new things about her- likes (congee, bathtime, squeaky shoes) and dislikes (bedtime-ugh!) and were quite amazed at what a little comic she was.  We enjoyed the company and community of the other adoptive families at the White Swan and miss that now that we are home.  We are grateful to Cadie's orphanage, Maonan SWI, for providing us with a memory book that was started 2 days after her arrival there.  Included are pictures and narratives written by a nanny who seemed to love our daughter very much.  Half the Sky Foundation is actively involved with Cadie's orphanage and it would be my wish that every orphanage in China had HTS programs.  We also can't say enough about our guide, Helen, who made all of us Great Wall families feel at home.  She worked endless hours and went above and beyond the call of duty.  Helen sat down with Christopher and translated Cadie's memory book, which we captured on video.  Cadie loves to hear Helen's voice even now.  Christopher and I were also fortunate to have my mother accompany us on the trip and we will be forever grateful for her time and help.  Cadie bonded with her very quickly.  We have such great memories of 3 of us in China.  We shared many belly laughs and and a few tears over the two weeks!  We especially want to thank Carson for capturing this beautiful photo of our Gotcha moment.  We are grateful to have this image, as in the rush of all the events in China, we discovered we taped over our Gotcha Day video!  This picture is priceless to us.  Even though we are home and settling into a routine, China, our fellow adoptive families, and all the orphaned children without families are in our thoughts and prayer daily. We are truly counting our blessings this Christmas.