The start of something great..one year later!!!

A year ago right now it was 7:30 in the morning in a hotel room in Guangzhou China. This was the day that we had been waiting so long for. This was day that was the culmination of all the events that God had ochestrated so that we would be in China on this day, at this time. You see...it was the day we were to meet our daughter. The day that we no longer had to look at her picture but would actually be able to touch her and hear her voice. The day we would get to tell her we loved her and would be her family forever! So long we had waited, with family and friends waiting with us. On this day we had our new friends, John and Diane by our side. They too were going to be meeting their daughter. They too had been waiting a long time. So we got up, went to breakfast, found a shop that would do our laundry and realized we still had 4 or more hours to wait. So we decided to explore Shamian Island. What better thing to do when you are waiting than to walk. So Scott, David, John , Diane and I started to walk. We walked from one end of the island to the other. taking in the beautiful buildings, the people, watching the school children play at recess etc. And then it was time to meet in the lobby for our drive to the Civil Affairs Office. The moment had come. If you have not been at a busy civil affairs office during adoption day its almost impossible to describe. There were about 30 or more families there, all waiting to get the first glimpse of their children. It is loud, it is crowded but everyone is filled with joy. At least the parents are, Some one once told me..it might be the happiest day of your life but it won't be your daughter's. So after about a half hour wait out comes Sierra. I will never forget her pink coat, her short hair and her rosy red cheeks ( from all the layers she had on!!!) We fed her Cheerios and she was hooked. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would. I was more worried about how she was and how she felt. But oh, what joy I felt and Scott was grinning from ear to ear and David was smitten!! I replay the video over and over . (Thank you John for capturing that moment in our life!!!) I can't get enough of it!! But that was just the start!!! The start of something so incredible it will be hard for me to put into words. The start of our family as we know it now. The start of being a mother to a preschooler again...at the age of 50...the start of Scott being called Dad...for the first time!!! The start of a bond that would take a long time to cement. The start of Sierra learning what a family is and the start of me learning how to be a Mom to a special little almost 3 year old  who didn't know what one was!!

Our very first moments!!!

A very happy big brother!!

  Click on this link to view the moment we met!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=99c576da7feef81af20e94&skin_id=701