Gotcha Day

Today is the day that we have been praying for and waiting for 3 years.  After getting in around 12:30 am last night we were all awake around 7:15am.  We spent most of the morning getting ready and unpacking our things.  We are running on little sleep and also trying to adjust to the altitude which is at almost 9,000 feet above sea level.

The owner of the hotel Katya was here to greet us this am.  She told us she had spoken with our in country representative Cecilia who would be arriving around 10:30 am to take us to the private casa where baby A has been staying.  We are so amazed by the friendly people we have met.  The 2 women who work during the day here are simply amazing.  They make all of our meals, clean, and do laundry.  It is so nice to not have those things to worry about.  I so wish I spoke more spanish as the owner and our representative Cecilia speak great English but others speak mainly spanish.
 
Isaac has done an amazing job at helping us in conversation.  At our hotel breakfast is made to order so after some french toast, eggs and fresh strawberry juice ( strawberries blended for juice) we were off to get all dressed up for our presentation.  It was a 20 minute drive to the casa.  Traffic here is very busy and cars with certain numbers can only drive on certain days.  The population here is 8 million people so it is a very big city.  Once Cecilia arrived we had some coffee before leaving.  It is very customary to have hot drinks often during the day.  Cecilia is a wonderful woman and has been assisting families in their adoption process for almost 20 years.

 Once we arrived at the casa we were greeted by many people.  Maria C is the director and we went in to her office where she spent a lot of time talking to Isaac in Spanish! :-) Baby A's nurse then came and went over her schedule, temperament, what she likes to eat etc.  It was very emotional for me to meet her nurse as she has been giving our baby girl care for the first 7 months of her life.  We signed a few papers giving us permission to have her in our custody until the court process is final and then Cecilia and Maria asked if they could take Isaac and my camera and head upstairs to get the baby.

 Jeff and I just sat in the office holding hands all by ourselves anticipating the moment when she would come down those steps.  I don't think we spoke a word to each other but yet knew the complete emotion the other one was feeling.  We felt that God was answering our prayers at that very moment.  Some little children were arriving through the front gate at that time.  They all walked by and smiled.  We were told they were coming from school and school starts at 6am.  That is very early.  They were darling and were headed to have lunch.  All of a sudden there were many people around and Maria came in carrying baby A.  I honestly can not tell you the exact details of what came next as I was completely overcome with emotion.  The tears started flowing, then Jeff started crying as they placed her in my arms and then Isaac got choked up.  It was the most beautiful yet tear filled moment.  I get emotional just writing about it now!  Cecilia took video, someone else had the camera.  People were congratulating us and telling us she is "muy linda" an expression they use to describe how beautiful she is.  Many hugs were exchanged.  It was a very beautiful moment.

We were given a bottle of warm milk for her and a bib.  She does have a bit of reflux so is on a special formula for this.  After about 10 minutes or so we were told that it was time to go.  We would be coming back for some shots and also for a tour of the casa in a few days.  We thanked Maria and the work that she does.  Jeff just recently hired a woman at work that has 2 siblings that are adopted from this same private casa that are now 27 and 25.  It is a small world and we are so thankful for this amazing place.  We gave Maria a gift and we were on our way.

 We then came back to the hotel for lunch, another wonderful meal made by Juanita of rice and a lentil gravy with bacon served with fried plantains and fresh pineapple.  It was delicious.  Isaac said he loves the food here so far!! :-)  We spent the afternoon playing with our sweet girl and napping.  She lays down and goes right to sleep.  A-mazing.  She was a bit fussy as I think she was a bit off schedule and a bit gassy but she was good as gold once she slept.  She is constantly moving and loves to move her legs.  I wish I had a jumper.  We will be working with her on tummy time and building that upper body strength.

The services here are amazing and we were able to have her formula delivered to us at the hotel.  So awesome.  Jeff and Isaac ventured to the grocery store today.  There are several things very close to where we are staying so we are looking forward to venturing out and exploring a bit in the next couple days.  For now our focus will be on getting to know this sweet girl.

Jeff and Isaac went out to play some football this afternoon before dinner.   Dinner was pork chops, potatoes and vegetables.  We were able to mash up some vegetables for her and that was a huge hit.  Tonight we laughed a lot as she loves to take a bath and splashed all over.  She was even giggling.  So precious.  She and Isaac went to bed around 8:30 after watching some of the olympics.  She just sat and stared at the TV.  It was an amazing day!

Baby A-
You are beautiful and an answer to prayer.  I have been praying for you every day since this process started.  Meeting you today was one of the best days of my life.  I have trusted God to bring us together.  I am so excited to have you become a part of our family, and have you meet all the people at home who are ready to meet you and love you too.  Your big brother Isaac has been waiting a long time to meet you and today he just could not get enough of you!! You are loved!! It is a blessing and an honor to be your mom.  Love you to pieces baby girl!!

Psalm 118:24  This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!

Buenos Noches!!