4 months- Gotcha story (REALLY LONG!)

~update~ Keara gave me this idea when she posted their Gotcha Day story. And since it is our 4 month gotcha anniversary, I decided to do our gotcha day story. She has now started a meme, so if you want to play along, go to her blog and enter your link!

Gotcha Day~December 11, 2006


I remember this day like it was yesterday. I will never forget it. I’ll never forget one single detail. It was the most incredible day of my entire life. After having AnnaClaire’s referral for over 4 months, it was so good to finally GET her. We were supposed to fly into Changsha the morning of the 11th, but everyone in our group ended up traveling the night before. We still weren’t totally on China time, so we were up by 5am. The night before, our guide, Amy, had told us that we wouldn’t get AnnaClaire until 4pm. She had asked if we could get her at 10am, but the orphanage was 4 hours away, and they didn’t want to leave that early. So we waited until 4. I remember counting down the hours. I remember Dad video taping me for 9 minutes telling everything we had done so far in China. I remember Will and Dad going to Ai Best (like a huge Wal-Mart superstore, but it wasn’t Carrefour) and getting all kinds of American snacks while Mom and I talked about our day finally coming. When Will and Dad got back, they had many stories to tell of their experience. We snacked on all kinds of American snacks, just waiting for 3:00PM when Amy would come to our room. I don’t know how in the world we did it. But finally, Amy knocked on our door, about 2:50. She let us know all kinds of things, how to pronounce AnnaClaire’s name, and what her nickname was (Hui Hui), etc. Finally around 3:25, we left for the Civil Affairs Office. It was the longest car ride. (Not really, but it sure felt like it!) I remember looking at everything, so I could remember everything about China. I remember seeing a huge Ferris wheel, and Amy said there were carnivals held where it was. Finally we got there. It was a run down building behind a gate. It looked like really old office buildings. Amy said that we would get AnnaClaire on the 3rd floor. We walked in. It looked like just an old, old office. We went up this elevator to the 3rd floor. There were tons of families in the room. Apparently, they had gotten their babies that morning and were coming back to complete the adoption. They were all so happy; the babies were all so cute. I couldn’t wait for it to be our turn. We waited and waited. AnnaClaire wasn’t there yet, Amy told us. She took Dad back so that he could start on some paperwork and get the orphanage donation ready. A few minutes later, we heard a screaming baby come off the elevator (we realized that she had a huge fear of elevators, as she cried in every single one we were in! But she would’ve screamed anyway, I think.) Mom looked at me and at the same time, we said, “I bet that’s AnnaClaire”. A nanny walked in holding the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She was red faced and screaming, tears streaming down her face. She was clinging on to the nanny. She was wearing this big red outfit (that Amy later told us was a special occasion outfit). She had a fur hat on and was sweating. She was so cute. We knew right away it was her. Mom could tell by her nose. I knew it was her because of her eyes. With her was a beautiful girl, whom we recognized as Lana. Dad wasn’t back yet, so they couldn’t give us AnnaClaire. Meanwhile, Will videoed the whole thing. Mom and I kept looking back in the room that AnnaClaire and the nanny were in. We were crying (of happiness). We finally saw her. It was such a good feeling. All the while, AnnaClaire is screaming. FINALLY she calmed down. A split second later, Dad and Amy rushed back, so the nanny came over with AnnaClaire. Right when we came into view, she started screaming again. Poor thing was so scared, so confused. The nanny handed her to Mom, and when she got to Mom, another nanny pulled her back and said “No! We must check see if right baby!” The other nanny took AnnaClaire back and tried to calm her down again. They looked at our TA and looked at AnnaClaire, called “Xun Hui” (to which AnnaClaire responded) and then said “Okay! Right baby!” (We of course knew this all along). So they gave her back to Mom. The screaming started again. We each had our turn. She stopped crying a teeny bit for Dad, but not for long. Mom tried giving her a bottle, but it didn’t help. I then got my turn to hold her. She looked at me and stopped crying. She didn’t cry almost the whole time I held her. By now I was in (happy) tears. I finally was holding on to my dear Mei Mei (in fact, as I type this, I am in tears!) And better yet, the crying had seized. I am sure the whole room of people was so happy she had finally stopped SCREAMING ;). Mom held her again and then Dad took over videoing so that Will could hold her. She hardly cried for him either. Then the screaming started again. We tried everything. Finally she calmed down, while I held her and “rocked” her on the table. AnnaClaire was taking everything in as all this happened. She was just darting her head around looking at everything. She was alert from the get go! Amy was so good, the whole time, she was working on all the details. After everything was done, we left to go back to the hotel. Outside, AnnaClaire didn’t cry at all. She loved it. Many Chinese people stopped to look at her. I remember one old lady in particular. She stood nearby until we got in the taxi. She just stared at AnnaClaire. I even saw some tears fall from her eyes. We had to take two taxis and AnnaClaire went in Mom’s and mine. She loved it and almost fell asleep. When we got back to the hotel, Mom, Dad, and Amy talked for awhile. Amy translated AC’s Half the Sky reports and showed us everything Chenzhou had given (AC’s finding clothes, her chop, a map of Chenzhou, her HTS reports, a picture of her when she was found, etc.) AnnaClaire cried and cried. She didn’t like the hotel room. Will and I took her out to the hallway and played with the toys. She loved the xylophone. She also really liked a big ball. When she started crying again, we went back to the room. Amy and Mom & Dad were almost finished doing paperwork. Amy called the front desk of the hotel and they ordered us Pizza Hut. We bathed AnnaClaire while we waited. She was a little scared, but not bad and didn’t cry much at all. But it was after her bath, and after getting in her green princess jammies that changed her. I brushed her hair with her ladybug hairbrush. She loved it. She cooed and smiled and tried brushing my hair. From then on that night, we saw smile after smile. We were falling in major love. Absolute L-O-V-E. Our pizza came. It was so good, but I didn’t eat much. I couldn’t take my eyes of the beautiful baby that was in Mom’s lap. AnnaClaire drank a formula bottle. We were happy because it was American bottles and American formula and she ate it GREAT and loved it! We played with her toys, playing peek-a-boo, etc. She just laughed and laughed and laughed. After a long and amazing day, AnnaClaire went to bed late (9ish) and slept wonderfully. I remember Mom and I looking at websites that night, because we knew of SO many people who had gotcha day that day. All the while, we kept peeking over to see Precious sleep. She made the most beautiful noise as the slept. She was perfect, we were in love.

I cannot believe it has been 4 months since that day, December 11, 2006. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Yet, it seems so long ago. AnnaClaire has changed and blossomed so much. She is a joy. She hardly ever cries. She is always smiling (but I don’t always catch it on camera, because she stops smiling as soon as I pop it out! LOL!) She is love. On Gotcha Day, she looked terrified. You could see in her eyes how absolutely terrified she was. But now, she has a different kind of look in her eyes. She has the look of love, of happiness. She has a family. She is happy. She has gone from a terrified baby to a happy toddler. My sweet Hui Hui, I love you more than anything in the world! Thank you for all you have given to our family. You mean so much to me! Although our gotcha day wasn’t perfect, it was perfect for us. I wouldn’t change that day for anything in the world. I thank Jesus every day for giving you to our family! I love you, AnnaClaire HuiHui. Thank you for being my little sister.

Here's a slideshow with many of the pictures taken on Gotcha Day! Enjoy! BTW, I am not in many pictures because I took them all :-)