Officially a family of 12


This morning all 13 families boarded the bus and headed to the registry office to receive our children. The 14 children were coming from 10 different orphanages and so they came in as they arrived. H. arrived in the first half of the morning, brought by her orphanage representative. (We have all participated in the polite fiction that this is where H. has been living.) She came in and we smiled and handed her the new knapsack filled with things that we had brought for her. The first thing she did was to sit down and proceed to empty the knapsack she had brought and put her things in the new one.




I had brought a small new Lego set for TM, because I had a feeling that the emotional turmoil evidenced by all the children around him would trigger his own anxiety. I thought a new toy would help. I was right on both counts. The good news is that he has become much, much better about verbalizing his worries which means I can help him remain calm. This is a huge breakthrough for him. H. saw the Lego he was playing with and wanted to see what he was doing.


A. has proven to be invaluable. She has been so patient and kind to H. and H. has responded in turn. Here A.. is showing the felt doll book I made for H.


The laminated cards have also been a hit. H. has gone through them more than once and we were able to have her escort translate them.


Here we are looking at the cards together.
 


We also knew that she loved to color and came appropriately equipped. One of the first things out of the knapsack was one of the new coloring books and pencils.

 With A.


Here we all are together. Not bad for the first few hours, huh? We did do some advance preparation for this moment over the past couple of days. But since discretion is the better part of valor, I think I will leave those couple of stories for once we are home. 

H. seems more comfortable with me than with J. at the moment. A. is the favorite and TM seems to be some loud person who we have around, but whom she doesn't pay much attention to.

We are currently relaxing in the room and J. is going to go meet our guides to prepare some more paperwork for tomorrow in a little bit. That is when we register the adoption and it becomes official. I think we'll take it easy the rest of the day and if TM has his way that will involve the pool which is down the hall. He showed H. the pool and she didn't seem quite as taken with it as he is. We do know that aside from a wading pool, H. has never been swimming.

There has been no grieving yet, but it is still very early days. We have now officially exited one roller coaster and boarded another. Thanks for joining us on the ride.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Tears in my eyes and happiness in my heart! Glad that you are now a family of 12.
Patti (J's Office_
asian~treasures said…
The photo of A showing H the felt book is precious...the look on A's face brought tears to my eyes.

Hooray for being a family of 12, although still not together. Enjoy each moment! And, I'm praying H soon feels comfortable enought to grieve.
sandwichinwi said…
Unbelievable that this long-awaited day has FINALLY arrived! I'm so happy for you! It sounds like you are handling all the bumps with your usual grace and kindness. You are such an inspiration!

Blessings,
Sandwich
Amy said…
So happy to see the pictures of H with you! Brings back memories of our time in that room. Praying things continue to go well.
Ann said…
FINALLY!!!! Hugs to you and yours!
Maggie said…
I have a new sister!
Best morning.
Pam said…
Happy Tears of JOY! This is so great to see! I am so looking forward to all the new rides your family takes in the future. She is so blessed and so are you all to have each other!

~Pam (Large Families HS Group)
Janet and Kevin said…
So happy to see H. with her forever family now! Excited to see your days unfold! Praying for the transition for you all.

Blessings,
janet and gang
Molly (josie's mom) said…
Yay for the exit of one roller coaster! Love it! Blessings to you guys.
Anonymous said…
Wow, the day is finally here. We thought of you last night/Mon your time. I love the photos and the bonding that has starting. so blessed. EL
Fam. Huisman said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fam. Huisman said…
Oh wow! I am so happy for all of you! What a bright future lies ahead for H. warm regards,
Claudia Huisman, the Netherlands (former sponsormom to H...)
Annie said…
Oh praise the Lord!!!!!!!! I am crying tears of joy for you all and for sweet H!!!!!! YAY!!!!!
Kristin Mueller said…
What a joy to hear and see this great news! Sending along many prayers to you, H, and the whole family!
Dawn said…
So nice to see all of you together...FINALLY!!!
Love this! Thanks for linking to Friday Adoption Adventures!!

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