She was worth the wait!

I know no one wants to know any of the details about our flight or hotel room, so we will just skip to the juicy stuff you've all been waiting for. Lily is definitely our girl! She and Sophie are now sleeping soundly together after a long and emotional day.

We got to Xian at about 10:30 am and by 3:30 pm, she was ours. We checked in, had a quick bite and off we went to the Civil Affairs Office. I saw her through the glass doors as we pulled into the parking lot. Once we got inside, there were quick introductions and the orphanage director and facilitator left us with Lily and her nanny. Sophie gave her the stuffed ladybug we got her at the Silk Market in Beijing and Lily gave Sophie some candy. Both considered it to be a good trade!!! The ladies came back and explained that this was the beginning of the "harmonious period", 24 hours in which we could change our minds about her. I knew before we even saw her that there would be no changing of minds! She was quite a bit shorter than I had imagined. Jane's pictures from January made her look so tall, but she isn't much over 3 feet tall. She is quite stocky, however. There is a good possibility she might weigh more than Sophie. She was very quiet and you could tell her nanny was telling her goodbye. Lily spoke very softly to her and it was obvious there was a great amount of affection there. The director and facilitator finished their paperwork and we made our way to the door. Lily came quietly, looking back at her nanny as we loaded into the van. As we drove away, Lily waved at her nanny and it broke my heart to think we had just ripped this kid's whole life apart. She and Sophie rode together in the back seat and it was sweet to see Sophie holding her hand and taking care of her. We went to get Lily's picture taken for her passport and came back to the hotel. This whole time, she was sneaking looks at me, but would look away when I caught her. When we got back to the room, Sophie and she laid on the floor and colored in their coloring books. Lily helped herself to one of the snacks she brought and offered one to Sophie. I was super impressed at how she colored without putting her cookie down. Pete and Sophie decided to check out the indoor pool and Lily put her stuff into her little backpack she brought with her. I could tell she was getting a little sad as she kept fumbling with the straps and then the quiet tears started. She tried to blink them back, but it didn't work and she started to cry a little more. She never actually cried, just deep sobs, and she was really trying to hold them back. I put her on my lap and rubbed her back while she cried. Pete and Sophie came back and we decided to walk to the pool to watch Sophie swim and the crying stopped and hasn't started again (knock on wood). While at the pool, we asked the attendant to ask her if she was hungry and she said yes so we went to the hotel restaurant to get some dinner. All of the employees gathered round her and she just had a big time being the center of attention. Of course, Sophie was right in the middle of it. Lily laughed and carried on and no one could believe she had only been with us a few hours! After dinner, we came up and took a bath. She started to get a little sad again, so Sophie got in with her and they played pass the soap. Lily giggled so hard her cheeks turned red! We put on new pjs and both got in bed and went right to sleep! That is a miracle for Sophie! I am wiped out! I think I made it through today on pure adreneline. It was almost surreal...we've waited so long and bonded with pictures of her and here she is, sleeping ten feet away!

Tomorrow we go back to the Civil Affairs Office to finalize the paperwork, then we wait 5 days for her Chinese passport. Enjoy the pictures and I'll post more on her progress tomorrow!