We pressed our fingers in blue ink and onto some official Chinese documents. Eliza followed us with her whole hand. Then it became official. She’s ours.
In China adoptions are finalized 24 hours after Gotcha Day. In rare instances, some families decide to not go through with the adoption after meeting the child. No such thoughts ran through our heads. Being with her for the past day has made us appreciate and mourn for the amount of help she will need. As soon as we get back to Texas we will see spina bifida specialists, orthopedic doctors, dentists, and all kinds of therapists. The next year will probably be filled with surgeries and therapy. We can’t wait to get her to Houston to see what the doctors there can do for her. Yes, we realize the cost and pain involved. But, no, we had no second thoughts.
We gladly blued our thumbs and smacked them on those Chinese papers to finalize making Eliza a Sneller.
The adoption finalized, we had the rest of the day to hang out around our hotel. She laughed a lot throughout the day, especially when Chris tickled her, wrestled with her or made funny faces. She cried a little bit, after seeing pictures of some of her orphanage friends and experiencing a bit too much tickling. Over and over, we are telling her that it’s okay to be sad. In our family, you can cry.
We were thrilled at Pizza Hut when she declined a second piece of pizza. She has been clearing mounds of food off her plate at every meal, so it was great to see her draw some healthy boundaries for herself. She loved making Daddy “mad” by calling him Mommy in the long van ride today; he returned the insults with lots of tickles. Her voice is usually very soft, and tonight she only nodded when Monica asked her if she liked her new family. Her nod was enough.
In China adoptions are finalized 24 hours after Gotcha Day. In rare instances, some families decide to not go through with the adoption after meeting the child. No such thoughts ran through our heads. Being with her for the past day has made us appreciate and mourn for the amount of help she will need. As soon as we get back to Texas we will see spina bifida specialists, orthopedic doctors, dentists, and all kinds of therapists. The next year will probably be filled with surgeries and therapy. We can’t wait to get her to Houston to see what the doctors there can do for her. Yes, we realize the cost and pain involved. But, no, we had no second thoughts.
We gladly blued our thumbs and smacked them on those Chinese papers to finalize making Eliza a Sneller.
The adoption finalized, we had the rest of the day to hang out around our hotel. She laughed a lot throughout the day, especially when Chris tickled her, wrestled with her or made funny faces. She cried a little bit, after seeing pictures of some of her orphanage friends and experiencing a bit too much tickling. Over and over, we are telling her that it’s okay to be sad. In our family, you can cry.
We were thrilled at Pizza Hut when she declined a second piece of pizza. She has been clearing mounds of food off her plate at every meal, so it was great to see her draw some healthy boundaries for herself. She loved making Daddy “mad” by calling him Mommy in the long van ride today; he returned the insults with lots of tickles. Her voice is usually very soft, and tonight she only nodded when Monica asked her if she liked her new family. Her nod was enough.
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