September 14 ~ Gotcha Day!!

"Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.” - Martin Luther King Jr

We experienced many of those moments today. But, I will try to describe the incredible events.

The day began a lot better. Abbey woke up at 3 am, but because we didn't have to be anywhere early, I gave her some Benadryl and she slept until 8 am. That made a big difference for all of us. We went down to the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It is wonderful. John loves his breakfast, and this one is no disappointment. As we were leaving, Abbey starts to sing, "Sing, sing, sing" at the top of her lungs. We thought it was great for the people there to hear, "...lift high the name of Jesus...". We didn't meet our guide until 2:30, what a long morning it was. Finally, the time arrived for us to go and meet David in the lobby. We rode to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Elijah. On the way, we really got a good look at life in Guangzhou; Very crowded and looks a lot like the side streets in Chongqing. As we were turning into the parking lot, there were 5 ladies carrying babies.
We rode on the elevator with them. I asked them if the babies were getting families, and they said they were. As soon as we got off of the elevator, we were stopped and our temperature were taken.
Inside the room was utter chaos. There were babies crying(as well as some parents). It was hot, hot, hot in there. David told us to wait. Then he comes to us with a lady. She is holding Elijah. She immediately thrusts him into my hands. At first, he kind of looks at her, as if to say, "Are you sure, what are you doing?" Then he looks right into mine and John's eyes.
He never cried. It is the most amazing thing. It is such an amazing moment, I really can't describe it. Immediately, I knew this was our son and we loved him dearly.
It is so incredible! Abbey was gentle with him, but was mostly amazed by the fan that was going in the corner. Elijah was very somber, but didn't cry. We stayed for about 30 minutes, then left to go to the hotel. Once at the hotel, we played with him and he actually cracked a little smile. He threw the ball to John and laughed when tickled. We are head over heels in love with this little guy. He's adorable and very cuddly He can walk and has 2 bottom teeth and 1 half way in on the top. His eyes are bright and he's curious. He is very, very tiny. The 12 month clothes are big on him. I'd say he will be no more than 17 or 18 pounds. He took a bottle no problem, and will put little pieces of food in his mouth. He's just perfect. Abbey has been great with him so far. She talks to him very sweetly. Occasionally, she will ask for one of us to put him down and carry her. Overall, she is doing very well. I know it is early and the harmony won't last forever, though. Elijah sucks his thumb to go to sleep. He took a bottle at 8 and fell asleep. He slept all night. I feel so fortunate to be called on this journey and God has been so faithful! All praises and gratitude go to my heavenly Father!