Gotcha Day by Deanna

Before I tell you about my perception of Riley's Gotcha Day, I want to thank our good friend and neighbor, Antonia Lemay, for keeping our blog going for us. We have not been able to access it while in China so I have been emailing her the updates, and then she posts them for us, along with whatever pictures we have. We are working on getting video posted but it takes forever to send video from here via email. It may not be updated with video until we are back home. However, we are having no problem receiving emails, so feel free to email any of us with questions or comments. My email isDeedeec@comcast.net, David's email is bigpapadc@comcast.net, and Elizabeth's email islizzy93@comcast.net. Thank you, Antonia, for all your help and commitment to keeping our story updated on our blog! We appreciate you greatly!

Ok, now I'm going to take you back to Monday morning, June 7, 2010. My heart is about to jump out of my chest as we are at breakfast and anticipating the wonderful afternoon that we are going to have when we get Riley! We meet another family in the dining room who will receive their son at 9:30 the same morning. I am so envious that they will receive their child so soon while we must wait several more hours. Due to anxiety and the time change, I have already been awake since four thirty that morning. To avoid waking David and Elizabeth up, I camped out in our bathroom reading my copy ofParenting Your Internationally Adopted Child. I felt as if I had been studying for this huge moment, and today would be my final exam. Later that morning, our family decided to get massages to help pass the time. I know that is not the typical activity that most families do on Gotcha Day, but we were achy from traveling and didn't have anything else to do. After our individual massages, we got ready for a late lunch and then met our guide in the hotel lobby a few minutes before three. We had a 30 minute drive to the Civil Affairs Office. The other family was anxious too, as we all arrived early for our life-changing appointment.

Upon our arrival at the government office, we were disappointed to learn that the babies would be late arriving. Finally, after waiting almost an hour, David spotted Riley out the window as she was being carried inside to meet us. We got our video cameras ready as we listened for their footsteps coming down the hall from the elevator. I cannot even put into words the way I was feeling or the emotion that welled up inside me when I saw Riley Grace come through that door. They told us it was ok to go directly to the babies. The other little boy went right to his parents, but Riley wasn't feeling so sure about me. David agreed to let me hold Riley first since he was the one to hold Elizabeth first when she was born. I walked up to Riley and smiled; I couldn't speak at first for the huge lump in my throat. She quickly turned away from me and put her arm over her eyes, as if to block me out. It was heart-breaking but very textbook to everything I have read, researched, and heard firsthand in the past 4 years that I have been waiting for this moment. The Chinese ladies helped me out by telling Riley that I was her mama. I was crying at this point and trying to reassure her that I loved her and that I was her mama. Elizabeth came up with the Cheerios and that was my first positive feedback that I received from Riley. She loved those Cheerios! They handed her over to me as she screamed bloody murder for a few minutes. Honestly, I was so scared of what was happening. I have loved my baby in my heart for so long, and now here I was holding her in my arms! I didn't want her to be upset so we just kept feeding her and talking to her. She calmed down and even let Elizabeth hold her for a bit. She didn't take to David too quickly but I'm attributing that to him being the one who videoed, and then he continued to let me bond with her while he took care of immediate paperwork. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and the way he handled everything so that I could just be Mommy to my new baby! David knew little about the details of our adoption paperwork, except that they were all in our backpack, but he managed to find everything. My prayers have been more than answered as this precious little one has bonded so closely to me! She frets if I am even out of her sight, but she loves her big sister and is warming up slowly to Baba (that's Chinese for Daddy).

We had our first family photo made and then headed back to our hotel. Again, Daddy stepped up to the plate going in search of her baby formula, while Elizabeth and I bathed and played with Riley. She went to sleep almost effortlessly in my arms and I laid her down in her crib. She slept peacefully all night. It was a blessed Gotcha Day! God has been so good and faithful to His promises for our family. We are eternally grateful for this newest blessing that He has placed in our lives!