Six Months

You're kidding... has it really been six months??? Yep. It has. Six months ago today Katelyn became a part of our family. Just like the journey that led up to it, it was a day full of excitement and emotion.

We woke up that morning and headed down to breakfast with the other family that was traveling with us. Erica and I began planning how we would take pics and video for each other... we just couldn't wait!!

Our girls were coming from separate orphanages, but both were scheduled to arrive around 11am. Around 10am, Erica and I began staring out the window watching for the cars that would bring our daughters to us. We saw a couple of cars that looked rather official, but they pulled up too close to the hotel for us to see who got out. So we decided to go downstairs and see if Katelyn and/or Lucy had arrived yet.

We got off the elevator and casually walked around the corner, laughing at how silly we were behaving. As we turned the corner, I caught a glimpse of a child sitting on the couch by the door. Could it be Katelyn??? I only saw her for a split second because I didn't want anyone seeing us... Erica and I took the elevator up to the second floor where we could look down on the lobby and get a better look. Oh my goodness!!! It WAS Katelyn. She was holding the little panda we had sent in a care package. She looked so small! I tried to take a pic, but I didn't want to use the flash for fear of being "caught."

Fortunately, the orphanage staff was also taking pics with one of the cameras we sent... so we do have pics of Katelyn waiting in the lobby.

Erica and I ran back to the elevator and hurried back to our rooms where we fumbled with cameras getting ready for the big moment! Scott and Brandt (Erica's husband) looked at us like we were fools. Yep... we probably looked pretty crazy. We waited and waited... still, nothing. Then I heard my phone ringing (our rooms were just off the play area where we were to wait for the girls). It was Evelyn, our guide. She said that they would be arriving a bit earlier and to try to get ready quickly. I told her that we knew that Katelyn was already here and were plenty ready!! They waited till Lucy arrived, and then both girls were brought to us.

Katelyn wouldn't leave her caregivers' sides. She had a small bag of snacks I had sent for her as well as the panda. She also had a lollipop that I had sent... She looked so scared. Unfortunately, the lighting was really bad, so the video didn't turn out that well, but trust me, you probably wouldn't want to watch it. When the orphanage staff had to leave, they handed Katelyn over to me... boy, did she scream. All her paperwork said that she was very shy and was afraid of strangers... uh, yeah... definitely! It took a little while (about 20 minutes), but she eventually calmed down.

I then decided to bring her downstairs to look at the fish in the fountain... here's a video from that.

After the fish... we went back upstairs and tried to get her to eat. Yes, cheerios are a hit worldwide! We then just relaxed for a bit and changed her into another outfit so we could go to the place to finalize the adoption.

While there we ran into the orphanage staff again and took this picture... by this time she was smiling and wanted nothing else to do with the orphanage staff.


Katelyn changed so much in while we were in China... and now, well, she's a completely different child! We are so blessed to have her as our daughter, and we're so thankful to all those that had a hand in us bringing her home. It's been an amazing six months... and we can't wait to see what the future holds for us all!