HE GOT HER!

She is finally ours! I called Bob at 6 AM and was thrilled to hear Joanna talking in the background. Ashley, the Chinese guide, was still in the room, and she was chattering away. She asked to talk to me, and her first words were "Ma-ma," pronounced in the typical Chinese way with the accent on the last syllable. I talked to her, knowing that she could not understand anything I said, and then she spoke several sentences in her language. Ashley got on the phone to translate and said that she was telling me that she could not understand me now, but she would learn English soon so that we could talk. She has a very clear, sweet voice. She then wanted to talk to "the brother." The guide explained that he was still asleep on this side of the world! (She would never want to come home if she talked to Nathan first thing in the morning - he is a bit on the grumpy side - lol!)

Bob said the day had been rough. Lots of tears and even a couple of attempted escapes from the hotel room. Ashley has been a godsend and has explained to her several times just what the chain of events is going to be. She was very disappointed that her mother was not there to meet her, which makes me feel more than awful. Bob said that she is indeed very tiny and very skinny, but she has a VERY healthy appetitie. Between her and Abby, they might eat us out of house and home - lol!

Bob's voice sounded absolutely beat on the phone. I asked him if he was depressed, and he admitted that he was a little down. In the back of his mind he knew that this would be a shock to her entire being, but you always hope that maybe your child will be the exception.

His bag arrived late in the day (torn to shreds), and that helped greatly. She loved the crayons and the markers and had been playing with the babydoll. He was also relieved to have the gifts for the adoption officials and the orphanage nannies. I asked if she was (physically) cleaner than Abby had been, and he said yes but that that was not saying much. The guide had explained the whole shower process to her along with the western style toilet, and she was instructed to wash before changing her clothes for bed. Apparently she has a bit of a stubborn streak, which really does not surprise me. I think most of these kids who have survived alone past babyhood have had to be stubborn to survive. Now, the process of molding that stubborness begins!

We are very thankful for all your prayers up to this big point in our lives, and I would now ask you to pray for encouragement for Bob and comfort for Joanna, who is leaving everything she has known behind for a new beginning. Also, today is the finalization paperwork, and she will be seeing the orphanage directors once again for the last time. This could be another difficult day.

I am hoping to have pictures tomorrow. Today was too rough to get much of anything like that done. So - stay tuned!