Made it through first two days

March 4, 4:00 a.m.

As you can imagine, it's been harder to blog these last two days for several reasons. First, we now have two children occupying our hours and energy. Secondly, the emotions of the last few days are so overwhelming that journaling specific details of the who, what, where, when and how seems to be more difficult. However, I will try to keep up so you all can share in this life-changing journey with us.

We went to Guangzhou's central adoption center on Monday to get Abby Lin. In Beijing, there were 11 families in our group, but only five are adopting from this province and were with us on Monday getting their babies too. Dozens of other families were at the adoption center as well, so it was baby chaos...nervous parents being joined with children now being separated from the only "home" that they've known. It was especially heartbreaking when you see older children being joined with their new families, not being able to communicate and obviously facing a harder transition. Some of the babies were carried out to their new parents; others -- like Abby -- walked out of a holding room to us. Steve recognized her right away from her photos. She, and many other children, broke into a hysterical cry when we first got her, but as soon as Steve gave her something to eat (Gerber yogurt snacks...thank you Aunt Nadine) she smiled and stopped crying. In the past two days, if there is anything we've learned about Abby it's to feed her often and as much as possible. Right now, it's the way to her heart (not unlike most children from orphanages. Ana was that way too.) Ana was so excited and immediately assumed the role of big sister and little mother, including giving me orders on what to do or not do for Abby. On a funny note, on the bus on the way to the center, Ana was singing "It's a hard-knock life" from Annie, including "no one gives a stitch, when you're in an orphanage." Only Ana could pull that off!

First night was relatively easy. We had dinner in the hotel, and Abby ate everything we put in front of her. She and Ana shared a bath, and Abby loved the bubbles...had never seen them before, so she kept laughing about their texture. Ana's been great about sharing her toys, and Abby loves the Disney princess figures (another little princess in our family). Ana made me pull the crib next to the bed, so she could sleep beside her new sister, laying upside down facing Abby. They both slept through the night...enabling daddy, mommy and "Uncle" Trevor to enjoy a bottle of champagne.

Day Two we toured parts of Guangzhou on foot with the other families. It was amazing to see some of the typical Chinese working areas and markets, and it was fun to be pushing a baby stroller again. Abby seems to be getting more comfortable with her new family, and has especially taken to Daddy. Of course, he is the one remembering to feed her snacks and having to remind mommy to check the diper. Oh well, everyone's learning. Unlike Ana, who is very outgoing and strong-willed, Abby is a quiet and peaceful child. She is constantly looking around and taking it all in. She is very tiny, only about 22 pounds at 28 months. But she seems to be very smart and able to do more than we give her credit for. The only time she exhibits aggression and very loud tears is when she thinks you're taking something away from her, such as her food or her sunglasses. I keep trying to "reason" with her in English and, once again, Steve reminds me to just be firm...and give her snacks. She loves structure and discipline. Like Steve says, she'll be in good shape if WE don't mess it up.

Now that I've started, I could write for hours, but words will never capture all the little and meaningful things we are experiencing from Abby and Ana these days. The smiles, the tears (hard transition going from being the only child to sharing mommy and daddy's attention...but Ana has really stepped up. We're so proud of her!), the sounds, the looks... the "firsts." We feel so blessed to have Ana and Abby a part of our lives and know that God's hand has been in every step of this journey.

One last note, several of you have said you're having trouble posting a comment on the blog. Try setting up a free Google account by putting in your email address and creating a password. Otherwise, just write us via our email account. We love to hear from you.

Enjoy the photos and always scroll to the bottom for the larger pictures.