She is Ours!

We got herJ!  Cali is ours.  She is the sweetest, most perfect little thing.  You will all love her so much;)  Her endearing, high-pitched voice is precious.  Her meek temperament and unassuming manner are delightful.  When asked which option she prefers, she always answers, “I Don’t care.  Just pick one:).  She is breathtakingly beautiful and just perfect in every way.

When she was brought into us at the civil affairs office she was super quiet.  It was almost impossible to coax even one word out of her.  But now, only six hours later, she has become way more comfortable and is saying all kinds of things.  I can’t say enough how great it is to have Graci!  Her ability to speak Chinese and her proximity in age to Cali have made it easier for Cali to begin adapting to us.  Thanks, Grace!!! 

We all went swimming tonight, and it was a grand success.  Cali loved it.  She sat on a built in bench in the hot tub at first.  Then she ventured to the pool and she and I went around with her hands clasped around my neck.  We found a small-scale inner tube play toy and she was able to fit her legs through the middle and keep the tube around her waist.  While wearing it around her waist like this, she paddled all around the pool with her hands.  What a sweetie!

We are very much in love and so excited for all the kids to meet her—Taylor, Parker, Lexi, Elli, Xander, and Sophi—you will love this sweet new sister of yours and she will love you right back!  She is a perfect fit for our family.

What a beautiful day.

Before I forget,  I also wanted to write about yesterday…  Graci’s China family outdid themselves.  The aforementioned tour bus first took us up a harrowing road on one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever been on.  The views from the bus window were straight down.  It reminded me of our trip on the narrow-gauge railroad between Durango and Silverton Colorado.  Pretty scary!  The views at the top were spectacular.  Following that the bus took us to a zoo/amusement park.  We saw some unique animals, including some amazing eagles and vultures.  The most unique thing we saw was the dogs.  There was a Golden Retriever, some Rottweilers and other common dog species on display in a cage at the zoo.  Interesting.  Perhaps a bit unsettling.

Later that evening they took us to the airport and sad good-byes were said.  It is so very touching to see how loved our Graci is by this wonderful family.  Our flight was a late one and we didn’t arrive at our hotel in Xi’an until almost 1am.  Getting settled in and tucking Jess and Graci into bed took quite some time and I didn’t get to bed until two in the morning.  We are still adjusting to the local time, so I woke up at 7am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Needless to say, I’m exhausted as I write this at 9:30 pm!  I think I’ve fallen asleep at least three times while writing this post. 

But despite the absolute exhaustion, today has been a fantastic day!!! 

Tomorrow we could use your prayers.  We will be finalizing the adoption and doing all of the associated paperwork.  If all goes according to plan, by 10:00am tomorrow, she will be completely ours and we will be so grateful!!!

Love you, Cali Rose!

Jeremy