GOTCH-A-FAITH!

We are behind in our posts abd its because we've been having problems with the VPN and getting online here in China-we were warned about this. December 30th is officially Faith's 'gotcha' day. We waited in the hotel lobby at 9:30am to be picked up and driven to the government building for our 24 hour guardianship. We have to receive our child in front of an officer. When we arrived there it was a pretty simple, older building with a little play ground. There was only one other couple waiting there. We waited about 30-45 minutes for Faith to arrive and in the process we got to know 'John and Amy'. They are from Boston and are adopting a son through another agency and were heavily interested in CCAI and our daughter's special need. We got acquainted real well and felt more nervous for them-this is their first and only child. When they brought out their son Samuel we were so moved and Freddy recorded their 'gotcha' and then our children were peeking out the window for Faith when they screamed out "Mommy Faith is here-She's outside!" Immediately my heart pounded because we knew so much about her and we know she knows nothing about us. And it is weird, because with Hope we didn't know what to expect and with Faith we felt so prepared yet braced ourselves for this new person we were about to meet. She arrived so quickly in a young woman's arms and she made no sound she just stared as my children quickly approached her and handed her their gifts. I tried to approach her and touch her-she seemed kind of in shock. She was all bundled up and I could tell her orphanage cared about her because of the lovely coat she had on and her warm boots. We were given a little bag with a bunch of crackers for her and our little plastic family photo album. The boys quickly swooped her out of my arms and sat with her on the couch where they were feeding her and trying to tickle her-but she remained serious and focused on them. Hope was leaping up and down announcing that she has a 'meimei'! We were slightly concerned about her lack of emotion or lack of tears but we have been doing a whole lot of praying for her transition so it could just be that. So far the kids are in love with her and she seems to love them-they are the only ones who can get her to smile. She is quite stuck on her thumb and she has blisters on her thumb from her sucking. Her skin and hair feel so soft-yet very sensitive and she has been doing some heavy scratching. I've brought some Vicks and creams for itching which seems to be working. She is congested and has some heavy breathing that had my mind so worried I had 10 different diagnosis going on in my head. Sighhhh....no one said this was easy-its kind of bittersweet in a sense. You get your child and you are in love but you mourn over the bites, the pale complexion and the lack of knowledge of what affection is. When we kiss her she doesn't respond but she loves to be held close. She isn't walking and doesn't want to be left on the floor. She isn't talking or making any sounds. She just kind of stares and shoves crackers in her mouth...kind of natural I guess. we've since bathed her and she seems to like it a lot. She was slightly uncomfortable with me changing her diaper;( But I had to give her an up-down-turn around check and everything looks fine. I see the dimple from the Spina Bifida it looks a lot less minor up close than it did in her file and photos. You can only hope for the best and remain really, really positive...that may be what you might consider adoptive parents in the special needs program-very optimistic people lol. God is so good how can we not be? I will try and find more photos to post later as everything is so scattered.