Dec

5

Day 3, fly to Nanchang, Gotcha Day

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* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 299 *Gotcha Day, oh my god it’s really here. Look out world I’m going to be a Dad. We slowly woke and put our check-in luggage outside our door so the porters can get them. Today we fly to Nanchang. We made a video documenting the last time we will be DINKS (Double Income No Kids). We went to breakfast and then met up with everyone in the lobby to get on the bus to go to the airport. I must say we were still in a state of shock, excitement and anxiety not knowing what to expect. Will Morgan cry? Will I cry? We just didn’t know what to expect. Everything was happening so fast we just kept listening to our guides and their instructions, following them around like baby ducks. We stood in line at the airport waiting to get on the plane excitedly thinking will my carry-on fit above in the compartment? No, we were dreaming of our gotcha day moment. Everyone was talking about today and their hopes and dreams. It seemed that half the plane was full of families going to Nanchung to adopt a little girl. The flight was not memorable; however the meal/snack was better than the US flights. When we landed in Nanchung we got on another bus to our hotel. The trip on the bus was along the country side where we got to see rural life in China. Since it was winter everything was tan in color with blue sky above. Becky being an engineer for the SCDOT was interested in how the Chinese worked on their roads. I actually saw hand carts with chipped up concrete from the highway as they were working on the road. There was very little mechanized equipment. Becky took a few photos but in a moving bus it was tricky to capture just what we were seeing. We finally got to the hotel and it was just as nice as the one in Bejing. We were given about an hour to unpack and get ready before we had to get back on the bus to go to the Civil Affairs Office to get our girls. Once in our room we were frantically getting stuff ready for our new arrival. We were armed with diaper bag, cameras, gifts for the orphanage and snacks to win our daughter through her stomach. It was a short bus ride to the Civil Affairs Office. The complex of buildings looked more like apartment buildings than office buildings. We were all armed for the assault on the building to get our girls as we walked to the far building in the back. We were lead up to a room that looked like it was 2 rooms at one time or a one bedroom apartment. It was sparsely decorated with only chairs and a coffee table. We were told that the babies were running late and would be here soon. That gave us time to get ready. Everyone was excited and nervous. Becky and I were the only ones that didn’t already have kids in our group and we were terrified. When the nannies walked in the room with our daughters we all stormed the doorway taking video and photos. Some of the girls were crying and the others were just trying to take it all in. I couldn’t find Morgan and then Becky pointed her out to me. WOW!!! It was really going to happen. We were going to become parents. The people form the orphanage were getting things ready then Kelly our guide started calling out names. I made a deal with Rick one of the other soon to be new Dads that I would film him if he would film us. We were the second family called. I quickly passed our video camera off to Rick and he did great videoing our Gotcha Day moment. Morgan was very calm taking everything in. I can’t even begin to describe the emotions Becky and I were feeling. The orphanage officials checked our passports and then they handed Becky our daughter. It was that simple. We were parents. Morgan didn’t cry or scream. It was almost like she was looking at us wanting to say where have you been? What took you so long? We gave her a rice cracker that she held on to along with her ID badge. We moved back into the waiting room to give other families some room. While we were getting used to each other the nanny that brought Morgan came over and wanted to hold Morgan. We thought we might get some insight to Morgan’s personality but Morgan was getting unhappy. The nanny walked back into the other room with Morgan, Becky and I following. When the orphanage director saw what was going on he said something sternly to the nannies and Becky quickly got Morgan back. That was the only time Morgan was unhappy. During that time I was filming Rick and Teresa getting their daughter Grace. Once I finished that I quickly went to Becky and Morgan. Becky was glowing and other families noticed as well. We moved to the back of the room to get away from everyone because we didn’t want Morgan to start crying. The room was small and it really didn’t matter where we were. Morgan kept her cool the entire time letting everything soak in. I believe that she must have figured that we were ok. Morgan didn’t cry all day. Some of the girls weren’t that happy about their change in fortune. Note: All the girls have settled in and appear happy now. When it was clear that it was all over we made a break for it. They weren’t getting Morgan back and several of the other families felt the same about their daughter. We got back on the bus to the hotel. We were all beaming at least Becky and I were. Kelly our guide told us that there was a grocery store just around the corner from the hotel and she would show it to us. I and several of the other fathers went and purchased cases of water and some Chinese Coke. Becky ran up to the room and stripped Morgan down to see just what we got. Morgan was perfect in everyway. She was happy and appeared healthy. We fixed her a bottle and Becky fed her. We spent the next few hours just marveling at the child we were just given to raise as our own. Not having a clue what her schedule, eating habits were, etc… Morgan let us know some how. Two days later we got Morgan’s schedule and we were amazed that we were already on it. That kid is amazing. We broke down and called our parents in the US from the hotel, knowing that it would probably cost us a fortune. That was just icing on the cake of an already emotional day. We had some paper work to fill out and Becky being the smart one went and filled out the paperwork in Kelly’s room. When Becky got back Morgan had fallen asleep on my chest. She was so content I had Becky take a picture to show everyone. Shortly after that we went to bed we had all had a big day.