More on Gotcha Day

Tracy met us in the lobby promptly at 8:30. Turns out traffic wasn't nearly as bad as was expected so we arrived at the Civil Affairs building quite early. I was a bit disappointed to find out that we wouldn't be going to the orphanage but did request a visit so we'll see. We sat down at a big conference table to fill out some paperwork mostly involving our signatures. There were 5 families expected but we were the first to arrive. The good thing is that once we finished our paperwork we were told Lindi would be ready in 10 minutes so we had her even before anyone else finished their paperwork. We were informed that she was coming down the hall so we went to the doorway to get our first glimpse. In person she looks exactly like the little girl in the pictures and is also the size I was expecting. What I wasn't expecting was the heft to her. Holy cow! She feels like a ton of bricks! She spent the first meeting with us looking back and forth from mama to baba and doing whatever the orphanage workers told her to do. She said I love you, mama (not in English) I love you, baba. She kissed us, smiled, did the victory sign all while contemplating what the day means. You could just see it in her face. The orphanage gave us many things for her including clothes (not sure why - maybe they thought we didn't think to bring any), her schedule along with FAQ and answers, cereal, a chop of her name, the photo album and birthday card we sent, a commemorative mug, and most importantly an awesome photo book with many pictures from her time in the orphanage. It became time to head back and for the most part she did fine except when she thought about it and realized that life was about to change. She would start to cry and Tracy would talk to her and she'd stop. This happened several times. When we got to the hotel Tracy explained that she was staying for the time being with us and she nodded her head okay. When we got to the room again it was explained to her what was happening and she wasn't too thrilled. She has cried a bit off and on and we took her to McDonald's and watched her eat 5 chicken McNuggets and some fries. I think she'll be okay but it's going to take a bit. Sweet brave little girl!