Tuesday marked the day our adoption was considered "official." She is our daughter...an orphan no more. We are grateful for the privilege to be her parents. We pray for many to answer the call to adopt and that the millions of orphans will one day have their forever families. Today we celebrate one less orphan and are grateful she is ours!
Yesterday was a tough day for us all but especially for me. We visited the orphanage and while it was so good to see where Zoe spent the first two and a half years of her life, it broke my heart at the same time. You see, in her room are 17 little sweeties still waiting for their families. We do know one of them has a family on the way and 12 of them are eligible for adoption with their paperwork ready, but no families. The other four...they are still waiting for paperwork to be eligible for adoption. We were told about Zoe's little friend...he is still waiting for a family to step forward. I pray this little boy will know his Mama and Daddy soon. He is precious beyond what my words can describe and seeing Zoe with him broke my heart.
She did well with the visit and seemed to enjoy seeing her friends and her nannies. It was clear though that she wanted to leave with us and for that we are grateful. She is a joy and a delight and we are learning more about her as we go through each day. She has a strong will and wants her way...what two year old doesn't? We are having to navigate through some small tantrums. She has had some long days and I can imagine her little body is so tired. I know mine is!
Today we did some touring and thankfully it stopped raining for the first time since we've arrived in Shanghai. We saw a famous garden, did a little shopping, saw the Bund (famous area in Shanghai with views of the city) and walked Nanjing Road (think Time's Square of Shanghai). It was a full day and we were all exhausted by the time we made it home. Zoe went right to sleep after her bath. We are thankful for that! Tomorrow we pack up, head to the Notary office and then are off to the airport. We will be in Guangzhou tomorrow night and in exactly one week will be on a plane back to the states!
We hope you enjoy some of our pictures from the past few days!
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| Our first picture together |
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| Family Picture on Gotcha Day |
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| Baby girl loves her blocks! |
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| Bath Time |
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| Sweet Dreams |
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| It's official...she is our daughter! |
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| This was the bed where she slept...thankful to be bringing her home to her new bed! |
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| Some of her friends from her room |
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| Her best buddy...be still my heart. Pray this sweet boy will have a family soon! |
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| Leaving the orphanage...an orphan no more! |
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| The gate to the orphanage...Zoe's finding spot. |
