Tuesday, August 16, 2005 at 3:40 pm Changsha time

Yesterday was an amazing day!! It was the day we got our precious Stacie Meng. We went to the Civil Affairs Office in Changsha where the nannys from the orphanage brought the babies. I was so calm when they handed her to me and I just held her close and knew that this was meant to be. She somehow seemed to know me. She was quiet and just studied me with her eyes wide open. I could feel her little heartbeat and when I said "I love you" in Chinese she looked up at me and looked straight into my eyes --- we connected right there. I cannot even begin to describe what happened in that room. Amongst the chaos of all of the babies (11 of them) and families. Time was frozen for Stacie and I and it didn't even seem like anyone else was is the room. Then I remembered that I needed to introduce her to her daddy. His eyes welled up with tears as he held her and then Ryan, and then Stephanie. When Stephanie said "I have been praying for you since before you were born" it so touched me. Poor Sarah was crying so hard because she was so happy and again I was moved to even more tears of joy. Such an emotional moment for our whole family. I am so very thankful that we could bring our kids along to be part of this incredible moment in our lives.

When I had Stacie in my arms her nanny from the orphanage tapped me on the shoulder and slowly pulled out from a bag the photo album I had sent to the orphanage of our family. I totally lost it then. I was in shock. Because just last Tuesday her package was in customs and wasn't going to be delivered to the orphanage. Since there was some complications in the delivery, Fed Ex had called me several times and wanted to know if I wanted it returned to me or destroyed. I didn't want to pay another $75. oo to have it returned to me but I told the Fed Ex woman to wait before destroying the package. I gestured to the nanny asking if the camera had made it to her and she shook her head yes and said took pictures. No wonder Stacie knew us. She had been studying the photo album of our family. Stacie also had a little toy that I had sent to her in her hand when they gave her to me. I hadn't seen it earlier even though my kids had seen it in her hand. It was a toy that has a mirror on one side and two pictures (a picture of me and a little picture of Stacie--her referral picture) on the other side. She was holding it in her hand...so she had been seeing a picture of me and her together! God is so amazing--He made a way when there seemed like there was no way. And now I have pictures of the orphanage, two of her in the orphanage as well as her favorite thing to look at--her photo album of all of us! She even points to the page with Ryan on it. How cute!

It was the kids who got Stacie to first smile. Because I thought Stacie was going to take a nap-ha!-Stephanie, Gord and Ryan all went out to buy water and Coke. Sarah stayed back in the hotel room with me. Stacie pulled herself up to stand and I couldn't believe it so I went into Gord's room (we have to have two rooms because there are too many in our family) to get the video camera while Sarah was getting her to smile. When I was out in the hall I heard giggling and laughing coming from within my room. Sarah had Stacie laughing out loud with the biggest smiles ever!! The two of them had a very special moment. That special event happend in less than an hour of having her.

Dinner was tricky. Trying to eat Chinese food with linen tablecloth and a baby isn't easy. We looked pretty funny actually. I was giving Stacie rice cereal and she wasn't too happy about the taste. What was I thinking? She had never used a spoon in her life until this point in time. She did quite well for the first time!! What she liked even better was the white rice I was eating. By the way all of us are now pros when it comes to eating with chopsticks. Plus, when all else fails you just stab it!

I love giving her her bottle. She snuggles against me with her right arm around my back and her left hand holding onto my finger or else rubbing my arm while drinking her bottle. I just love that time with her. Her little coos and breathing remind me of a newborn. Her sighs of contentment and peacefulness are gifts to me. I tear up so much because I am so happy.

I love to see the kids take over with her. They all want to hold her and each of them bring a delight to Stacie. She giggles the most with them and I wouldn't trade this for anything. They are so good with her and love her so much. Stacie is already learning so much from them. Stacie is sooo smart and catched on very quickly.

Stacie doesn't want to miss ANYTHING! In fact, last night when we were all talking on the speakerphone to my mother, Stacie was standing on my lap facing away from me and leaning her head so her cheek was against my face. She fell asleep standing up!!

To watch her sleep is so special. Her crib is next to my bed and I can hear her little sighs and coos as she sleeps.

Tuesday--August 16th, 2005

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday dear Stacie, God gave life to you!!

Today is Stacie's first birthday and the official day of Stacie's adoption!!! We traveled to the Civil Affairs Office today to finalize the adoption of Stacie Meng Toering! What a happy day it is for us. First birthday and adoption day all in the same day. Right now she is sleeping so sweetly in her crib. We just got back from an outing to KFC and a grocery store. When we were at the KFC a Chinese woman gave me a plain yogut with a straw. She put a little straw through the foil top and handed it to me. Stacie took the little yogurt cup (I was holding it) and she knew exactly what to do. She drank down the yogurt very quickly. She loved it. I never knew to do that with her. I so appreciate the Chinese women here. They smile and make a fuss about the baby. They love to see her and touch her and it draws quite a lot of attention. They are so very kind. I have a tag written in Chinese that I wear that says that I have adopted her and will be bringing her home to the United States. This helps them to understand why we have a Chinese baby.

Before that we went to the Super WalMart in Changsha--I know..I laughed too when I heard that there was a Super WalMart here. We bought a stroller and some more goodies for us all.

After Stacie's nap there is a birthday party dinner we will be having for her and all of the other babies for their adoption. Ike, our guide has even arranged a birthday cake for Stacie. What a wonderful day!

Thank you for praying for us and please continue to pray. God is doing amazing things throughout this trip and I give Him all the glory. Blessings to you. We will write later.--Sue