We are finally a family of four!!!!!!

7.19.2010

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We have finally been united with our precious Madeline Bei!

We have had such a busy day, which is why I am just now getting to type this post at 3:00am Ch*in@ time! I will do my best to recap everything. But let me just start by saying we are in love!!!!

We met our guide, Eric, in the lobby of our hotel at 2:00pm and headed off to the civil affairs office. The office didn't open until 2:30pm, so we had a wait a little bit before we could go in. We sat down and proceeded to fill out some paperwork when in walked the Drewes' daughter Jing. She is 6.5 years old and was so brave. We were able to capture some photos and video for them. I know they were so thankful. We went back to filling out our paperwork. And just as we were finishing up, our "little" Jin Bei walked in with Mr. Yang and Mr. Ma. She looked so beautiful in her new clothes. She did well taking all the toys we offered. But as soon as we tried to walk over to the play area, she clung to Mr. Yang. She wanted nothing to do with us. We gave her cookies and apple juice, which she willingly took. But she cried on and off durin the duration of our stay.

Through our guide, Eric, we found out that Madeline Bei was in foster care. We found out what she likes to eat: everything! Mr. Yang poked Madeline's arm and basically said, "See?" LOL. It was pretty funny. We had previously learned that Madeline was found with a note. So we inquired about receiving a copy of it. They told us how to bathe her and when to put her to bed at night. Mr. Yang told us about how she was very spolied in the foster family because she was the only child at home. He also said that we should continue to hand feed her and hold her a lot, which is exactly what we planned on doing to foster attachment anyway. We received a very nice photo album of Madeline. It contained many photos of her from when she was a newborn. It was quite surprising to see such young photos of her. We will surely treasure this album. Just like when we adopted Caleb, I made a photo album for Madeline of our family, her house, and her bed. Well, Mr. Yang liked it so much, he asked to keep it! How could we say no? LOL. So I guess I will just have to make her another one when we get home. Mr. Ma gave us the orphanage's address and email so that we can share photos of Jin Bei with them. They want to pass the photos along to the foster family.

Mr. Yang and Mr. Ma decided it was time for them to slip away. And well, Madeline Bei was not going to let them go without notice. She start crying pretty hard. She wouldn't let me pick her up; it was like her feet were cemented to the floor. I asked Patrick to lift her up, to which she replied with kicking and screaming. He eventually set her down, and when I reached out my arms to hold her, she reached back for me. That was basically the beginning of a very clingy night for our precious girl.

Before heading back to the hotel, I was in desperate need of relieving myself. There was no way Madeline Bei was letting me leave her with Patrick. So I took her to the bathroom with me. As soon as I squatted over the squatty potty, Madeline squatted too. I finished my business and then motioned for her to use the potty. She looked at me confused, but then when I picked her up, I discovered why- she already peed! So I had to head back out to get her a pull up to put on. Good thing her top was long because I didn't pack a change of clothes!

We drove back to the hotel, which she did well with. We got up to the room, and I decided to let her explore a little. She found the phone on the nightstand. And we were quickly reminded of Caleb's affection for the same thing. So we unplugged the line from the wall and let her push the buttons. Caleb was such a great big brother, blowing bubbles and showing her how to pop them. She smiled a lot at that. She let me give her some stickers. She loved to hide one of them in the crease of her left arm, like playing peek-a-boo.

But then, she would look around the room and become overwhelmed with all that had just happened in her little world and would begin to cry. All I could do was hold her and tell her not to cry in my lousy Mandarin. She would continue to cry on and off for quite some time. Patrick ordered room service. And she let me feed her congee. He ordered me a burger with fries. And since she was quite curious with what I was eating, I shared my fries with her. She ate them up. She eventually had a little poo poo in her pull up from all that apple juice and eating. Let me tell you, she was NOT a fan of having that pull up changed. As I sat in the chair next to the bed with Madeline Bei in my lap, she clung to my iphone while it played some soothing tunes, Caleb's point and shoot camera, and her own little Mickey Mouse play phone. Around 6:30pm, she began to cry nonstop. It wasn't until 8pm that she had finally cried herself to sleep....only there was no way she was letting me put her in her crib. I tried three times. But her sleep was so hypervigilant, there was no way she was sleeping anywhere but next to me. The crazy thing is that Caleb had already fallen asleep in the bed, right next to Madeline, as she exercised her vocal cords. Well, Patrick said, "I guess we're a real Ch*inese family" as all four of us settling in to bed for the night. We put Madeline to bed the same way she was when we left the civil affairs office- no bottoms bracelet and stickers and shoes all on.

Around 3am, Caleb woke up and shortly after, Madeline woke up. But to my surprise, she didn't start crying. She laid in the bed watching us and playing with her stickers and bear. One of her shoes had partially fallen off, but when Patrick tried to take it off, she quickly put it back on. Then she felt safe enough to fall back asleep....which is why I am just now getting around to sharing about our day. I will share the photos you are itching for in the next post. I want to get this one on the blog before I loose my connection!

8 sweet words:

Cheri Monday, July 19, 2010  

Oh, Eva, what a sweet day. I pray things quickly turn around for Madeline and she realizes this is good.

Yes, I'm itching for those photos!

Deb Monday, July 19, 2010  

Leah woke me up this morning at 4am and all I could think of was you meeting your sweet Madeline! We are itching to see you guys!

Anonymous Monday, July 19, 2010  

Congratulations on your family day! Sounds as if you are very prepared to parent your little sweetie as she makes her transition to a new world! Can't wait to see photos! Tell Eric JunFen and I say hello!

Many blessings,
Karin, Jerry and JunFen

Melissa Monday, July 19, 2010  

I am crying tears of joy for you all. The emotions of that day are still so strong for me as well, I feel like I am right there with you. Thank you for keeping us updated. I know Madeline will open up very soon. Her heart will over flow with love for her new family before you know it.

Stephanie Monday, July 19, 2010  

What a big and blessed day. SO happy for you all!

Toni Monday, July 19, 2010  

Congratulations to everyone! She is beautiful and sounds like she is having a typical toddler experience. Our Jaelyn was 2.5 when she joined our family, and it took her a couple days to warmup. Madeline's arm is very similar to Jaelyn's, which hasn't slowed her down one bit! A little sibling rivalry has her out to prove she can do everything her sister does:) I'm sure Madeline will be wanting to keep up with Caleb in no time...

Enjoy your bonding time.

Colleen Cocci Tuesday, July 20, 2010  

How blessed you all are. I'm sure that Madeline will come around soon because of all the love that surrounds her. Love the photos and can't wait to see more!

Fliss and Mike Adventures Tuesday, July 20, 2010  

I am so incredibly happy for you all and yet part of me feels so sad for Maddie... all the new stuff and 'losing' alot of the old... I know you will all shower her with love, hugs, kisses and patience... give her an extra hug for me... take care

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About This Blog

This blog is a place where we have shared our lives with family and friends while we waited to bring our daughter, Madeline, home from China and while we actually traveled to China for her. It is also a place where we will continue to share our life experiences, as we try to glorify God and raise our two precious dumplings from China.

And now we wait to bring Havi home from China.

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