Today is "Gotcha Day", the climax of our journey across the globe. Our driver
took us to the Beijing airport, accompanied by our travel guide, Helen. These two
people have been great and have made our Beijing stay simply wonderful. At
the airport, we met up with Samson, our main adoption facilitator (and all
around great guy). Samson joined us on our 2 hour flight down to Changsha.
We arrived in Changsha at around 2:00 PM and were met with another guide, Amy,
and a driver, who took us to our hotel. We were also informed that Kaitlyn
would be brought to us at around 5:00 PM
The Dalton Hotel is where we are staying. This is a beautiful 5 star
hotel with all the amenities you would expect. We're on the 30th floor where
we're told many of the adoptive families stay. The first thing you see when
you get off the elevator is a children's playroom with a gorgeous view of
the city.
We settle in, then head down for a cup of coffee at the piano bar in the
hotel lobby. Our last quiet moment together. After coffee, we head back
up to our room where Amy has been patiently waiting for us so that we can
begin some paperwork. The forms are all in Chinese so Amy translates
for us and and walks us through it. These forms are in preparation for tomorrow
when we go to the Civil Affairs Office and make the adoption official.
After we're done with the forms, we still have about an hour to kill so we
wait, and we wait and we wait...Probably the longest and most anxious wait
of our lives. Samson doesn't make it any easier as he walks up and down the
hallway with our video camera and giving us false alarms every so often.
Then, suddenly, it happens. I'll probably relive this moment in slow motion in
my mind for the rest of my life. Three attendants from the orphange step in front
of our door, holding the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Kaitlyn has arrived.
She is quiet, looking around very shyly, trying to figure out who these two strangers
are that are so enamoured by her. Lorraine takes her in her arms and
she goes quietly, looking back at her attendants to make sure they're not
going anywhere. The next few minutes are spent trying to get a reaction
out of her. Finally it happens. A "boo boo" face and a little crying as the
attendants say good bye to her. They repeatedly call out "Fu Feng, Fu Feng",
which we find out is the nickname they gave her. Just as slowly as they
walked in, they walk out, looking back for one last glimpse of the beautiful
Fu Feng. The handoff is complete.
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