Sleeping beauty...

Right now our little princess is sleeping. It is 5:52 am on August 2nd. We went to bed around 9pm last night, so very thankful that she could fall asleep at that time because once again Ric & I were consumed with the need for sleep. I've been awake since 4:30am and finally gave into it thinking this would be a great time to post about meeting Anna Lin.

We were ready on time for Jane and left for the Civil Affairs building. Now earlier that morning at breakfast we met a lady and her mother who had just picked up her new son the day before. She is from Ohio and this is her fourth Chinese adoption. She had her little girl who is about 3 1/2 there also. The boy is about 3 and is also a special needs child, having a limb difference with his right arm. She wished us luck and as luck would have we met her at the CCAA building. In fact we beat her there. She left in a van before us, but our driver Peter is quick in this dark blue BMW we've been driving. (I did my best not to watch the road, for my hearts sake! Our guide even told us that she does not drive because it makes her too nervous on the roads. She used to ride a bike, but in one month she had 6 stolen and gave up. Now she takes the bus (with no air conditioning). ) So, we make it to CCAA (civil affairs). We find the office. (They only cool the rooms that are used. They are very energy conscious.) The hallway was quite humid, but the room nice. We had gone up with Kelly and her family (the people from Ohio) and now had to wait for two other families. They were from France and sat behind Ric & I. Eventually we struck up a conversation. One family had adopted a 3.5 year old girl, naming her Elise (sp?) another family had a little baby 1year old or younger. In our conversation we found out we had something in common beyond the fact we were both there adopting a girl in China. Our girls would have the same name. Incredible! This is what his wife said in French, which is basically the same in English but sounds more special in French. ;-) The daddy of the baby girl asked us after we showed him a picture if we had a name yet. (Anna Lin was not there yet, and yes we were getting a little antsy.) I told him Anna Lin. He was amazed and exclaimed that his daughter had the same name. They live close to Paris and can you believe the coincidence of this.

Well, I had posted more but then lost it, so in an effort to save time I will be short about the rest. (The princess will awaken soon!) They finally arrived with Anna Lin. She was beautiful. She had gotten sick in the car and they had to stop, clean her up and buy her new clothes. She did as well as can be expected. I've read a lot, asked a lot from people who have been there and done that. Anna Lin did good over all. We had the break down after her orphanage staff left. We went shopping for groceries which she so thoroughly enjoyed. Had another breakdown at the hotel for several hours until I finally got her to sleep. (Thank goodness we brought the laptop. I found a Hello Kitty site. Even though we didn't use it,Ric kept the page open and it played soothing music.)

After she woke, it was a new Anna Lin. No tears and a very happy curious one. Jane had ordered us room service, which arrived shortly after she awoke. They brought in table and set up dinner. We ate, sharing the whole meal. Anna Lin shared her drink with both of us. She would drink then hold it to me, saying 'ma ma' (mom in Chinese, how convenient!) and then to Ric saying 'ba ba' (daddy). We did lots of things, but the big hits were bubbles, balloons, and looking out the window. Oh she was a hoot! She loves my sunglasses and told me to take a picture of her with them on. I swear she said camera. I pointed to people and said 'people.' She said it clear as a bell. This girl is smart and BIG. The shoes I brought are about an inch too short. I haven't had a chance to try the clothes yet because she won't take the others off. She desperately needs a bath but wasn't going to have anything to do with that! Jane said she would help me this morning. We are going to try the zoo.

Wish us luck!

-Angi

Zak, Spencer, & Noah. We miss you sooooooo much!!!!! Anna Lin calls out big brother when she sees your picture. I'm trying to work on your names with her. You have yourselves a little 'Sarah Ann" for a sister. I thought she was going to be quite, but his girl has a huge vocabulary (in Chinese of course :-). We love you all!!!