Gotcha Day 9/10/2012

We got up very early to catch a plane from Beijing to Guangzhou, China. We were about an hour delayed taking off from the airport. We arrived in Guangzhou around 1:30 pm and met our guide, Amy, who drove us to our hotel. We stayed at the China Hotel by Marriott.

 

We had about 40 minutes until we met Khloe for the first time! To say the least, I was in a panic, do I have everything, did we exchange the money right, will she cry, scream, or be indifferent? A million things were going through my head but I know God gave me a peace that I had never known before. I felt as if HE were carrying me through this joyful yet scary time in my life! Eric helped to keep me grounded although I think he was as scared and nervous as I was!


When Wendy, one of the orphanage workers from Guangzhou SWI, brought Khloe out we felt like we were in a dream! We had waited and prayed for this moment for over 15 months! We had cried for this girl and dreamed of who she would be, what she would look like, and how she would act for so long. She was a pleasant, beautiful, and quiet little girl when we met her. She studied our faces and was open yet guarded toward both Eric and I . About 20 minutes after we got her she pointed to Eric and said, "BaBa" which means daddy in Chinese. She only a few minutes later touched me and said, "Mama". I know she didn't know what that meant just mostly repeating what she had been hearing, but to Eric and I it was the first breakthrough! A baby step toward the day she will know we are her Mama and Daddy. The first step into her forever family, a precious little guarded girl had taken her first step into a life she would have only dreamed of in an orphanage. That is not to say that we are the best parents, we make so many mistakes with our kids and eachother! But God knew Khloe belonged to us, He made a match in heaven and who am I to second guess His plan!!

 

The next 9 days went by so slowly, but looking back they went by so quick. I think they went slowly because we so wanted to sweep that little girl up and fly her home to the rest of the Peacock clan! We deeply missed our boys and were so proud to finally have our baby girl! We enjoyed China and hope to get to go back one day. To show Khloe her homeland and possibly go back to her orphanage so she can remember the place that took her in and cared for her the first 2 years of her life! We are so thankful for that orphanage, which is not the best place for children, but because of the care they give children and gave Khloe, our baby was taken care of and seemed to come from a clean, caring facility.





Those 9 days were spent seeing sights, going shopping, finalizing adoption steps, a medical exam for Khloe, and many other things. We took a walk to a park, we shopped for souvenirs, went to Shamian Island, and had a cab ride that was off the chain crazy!!