Audra Day

We weren't scheduled to meet our guide until 2:00pm today...and time seemed to stand still.  We ate breakfast and walked around the grounds at the back of the hotel.  There is a beautiful waterfall and huge koi pond.  Later in the morning we connected with Tim and Dawn via Face Time and got to see Charlotte.  They received her around 10:00am.  She is beautiful and looks just like the pictures we have seen of her.

 

Around 1:45pm we made our way to the hotel lobby.  There was another American couple shifting nervously, just like us, in the lobby.  Turns out they were on their way to meet their new son. 

Our guide and driver met us, then it was about a 30 minute ride to the Civil Affairs office. 

 

When we arrived we were surprised that is was a very non-discript building in an alley.  We took the elevator to the 8th floor and then we entered the actual office.  Immediately I recognized the room from all the pictures and videos I have seen on other adoptive families blogs.  There were 6 other families in the room.  Some already had their children and others were still waiting. 

 

 

The anxious expectant parents...just minutes away from meeting Audra!

 

Very first pictures of Audra...she is breathtakingly beautiful!!

 

 

She willingly came to us.  We were wearing the same t-shirts that we had on in the picture we sent to her...so we hope she recognized us.

 

We were prepared for her to be tiny, but she is much, much smaller than we could have ever imagined.  She seems so fragile.  She felt so bony, even through all her layers of clothing. 

She arrived in the outfit that we had sent to her: jeans, a ladybug shirt and a ladybug sweater. 

She also came with the other items we sent in her care package, two disposable cameras and a flash drive filled with pictures and videos. 

But the most precious item (for both us and her) that came with her was a Memory Book with  pictures from the time she was a baby through just months ago! 

 



The orphanage director is on the left and her nanny is on the right. 

We recognized the nanny from the video they sent us of Audra with the cake that was part of the care package we sent.

 

We were able to ask the orphanage staff a few questions about Audra...

 

They told us her given name, Jia, means they wish for her to grow up big and fast.  Very appropriate given that she was so tiny when she was found, about 3 pounds.  Her surname, Nan, is the name given to all the children in her orphanage.  And Qi is the name given to all the children born in the year 2007.

 

They said she is a shy, quiet little girl, who is very weak due to her size and needs to be dressed in many layers all the time.

 

They told us she is a picky, slow eater and needs her food cut up into small pieces.  And they said she cannot have milk or soy because it makes her sick.  (This is most likely a key to solving the puzzle of why she is so small...we'll work on that once we get home.)

 

Then, as quickly as it all seemed to happen...it was all over for the day.  And we left.  Just like that.  With Audra in our arms.

 

Our guide wanted to take us to dinner so she could show us what foods to feed Audra.

It was the best Chinese meal we have eaten yet.  Some kind of egg omelet with pork inside, meat and vegetables (like a stir-fry) and crispy fried noodles...Yummy!

 

Audra ate nothing like the orphanage staff described.  She can feed herself and she shoveled it in.  Her plate was clean before we had time to cut up more food for her.  And she ate everything we put in front of her...and wanted more!

 

Thank you for your prayers for us and for Audra. 

Today could not have gone any better.  We have been very worried about how she would handle all this, but so far she is doing quite well.  This is a lot of change for a little girl. 

Right now she is accepting us and that is all we could have hoped for.