First Day As New Family

Wow...it's been a long day! But don't get me wrong, it's also been a wonderful day. The good news from the beginning was that Josie slept through the night and got a solid nine hours. It took her a little while to get to sleep (lots of stimulation yesterday), and Colleen told me this morning that in the dark last night Josie was sobbing quietly in bed. That made us both a little sad, but we weren't surprised. As happy and goofy as she's been, this still has to be tough for her. It must have all hit home a little last night when the lights went out. As always, though, Colleen comforted her and before long she was sleeping away.

The big event today was the trip back to the civil affairs office to meet with Chinese adoption officials. We swore a few oaths, promising to care for Josie at all times, signed a bunch of documents, had our official family picture taken, and made the whole this officially official in China's eyes. As far as China is concerned, we are now Josie's parents. See pic of family between signing ceremonies.

After this, our group and the Russell group went back to the hotel for 20 minutes to change clothes and then headed out again in taxis to Changsha's Super WalMart. We wanted to buy Josie all new clothes, shoes, toys...all the stuff she's never had before. It actually took her awhile to believe that we were serious, and that whatever caught her eye would be hers. I was especially touched when Colleen found me on the other side of the store and told me that Josie was running all over asking for "Baba" because she picked out a cute little dress that she wanted me to see it. She was very proud of herself. We also had to buy a lot of clothes for the orphanage to give them as a donation. For my part, I bought a 4 GB thumb drive for my computer since I just learned that my hard drive is completely full (thanks for the idea, BL!). Emma and Annie also managed to get themselves a few things, although Annie faded pretty quickly right smack dab in the shopping cart (see pic). Too funny!

By then, we were all starving and simply could not handle another buffet at the hotel's restaurant. We all desperately craved a good ol' fashioned McDonald's. As luck would have it, there was a Mickey D's right across the street and we all shot over there as fast as we could. But DAMN IT! The place was closed for some reason that the guy inside couldn't make clear to us. ARGHH!! In a pinch, though, KFC would suffice, and we walked across another busy intersection to get to some. Since NO ONE in this city speaks a lick of English, ordering at the counter was a struggle, but we got it done (or, Colleen got it done...dad did pretty well, too!).

After gorging ourselves, we headed back to the hotel and took the girls down for a swim. Josie was surprisingly comfortable with this, and we suspect that she's been swimming before. She wasn't willing to get out of the pink water donut Colleen brought for her, but she was thrilled to be in the water and was all smiles. Being the swimmers they are, Emma and Annie were all over the pool, but they made a nice effort to play with Josie (see pic). As I mentioned in my last entry, it's tough to find ways to fill the 7 or 8 long days in the adoption city. Having a pool is a blessing, even if the water is a little cold according to small, reliable Chinese sources.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing arts and crafts, grocery shopping at a little local place, and just resting. Dinner was at about 7:00, and it was a little sad because this was the last one we'd have with my folks. They leave tomorrow for Beijing and then to NYC. I cannot begin to say what a joy it's been to have them share this experience with us. With Emma's and Annie's adoptions, we were only able to tell them about the trips. Now, we were able to share the whole thing with them. We'll always have this memory of having them along, and for that we're very grateful. Dad and Sandy: we love you! Thanks for everything!

So that's about it. We have 5 more full days here in Changsha, which is 5 too many. Why all these days in this city? Because we're waiting for the Chinese government to process Josie's passport and get it to us. Not much to do here in the meantime. If this were Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai, we'd be in great shape. There would be Starbucks. But not here. Here, there is a place called Milo Coffee right across the street. They've even ripped off the Starbucks logo. But it stinks. Wasn't it Shakespeare's Richard III who said "A frappucino, a frappucino...my kingdom for a frappucino!"? I know how the guy felt. If anyone who works for Starbucks reads this blog, feel free to send a mocha frap to the Grand Sun City Hotel in Changsha...room 1909.

Before I sign off for the night, I'd like to thank everyone who has left a comment on the blog. You have all been so generous, caring, supportive, and kind. We appreciate everything you've written to us, and in a very real way your thoughts and wishes help keep us going over here. We look forward to thanking all of you in person very soon. God bless!