Off to China AGAIN!

After accepting Kalysta's referral in August, things went crazy in terms of confirming an adoption date for her province. There was delay upon delay upon delay. No one would give us solid answers as to why. We had so many people praying for a miracle during this time. God had to move mountains to get us to her but we were faithful He would overcome all evil and make it happen. We had to cancel the original flights and plans. The whole thing was a heart-wrenching disaster and ended up costing thousands and thousands of dollars more. The money wasn’t what angered me. It was the fact that someone was delaying us from being a family. They were forcing my daughter to sit in an orphanage longer than was necessary and I was angry about it!

FINALLY, we got a confirmed gotcha day. Praise God! We were now set to travel over Thanksgiving weekend and return Christmas weekend. In the end, I didn't care when or how we got there just as long as they handed her over to me and signed on the line.

We flew to Shanghai first. I had promised Kyli we would do Shanghai Disney before we became a family of three. She was super excited. So was I! The park was amazing. Impeccable actually. It was so clean. The cast members were so kind. The detail that went into every last inch of that park and the imagineering of the rides blew me away. Pirates of the Caribbean BROUGHT ME TO TEARS! That's how good it is!!! We spent three days there and then flew to Kalysta's province on Saturday.

The first time we were in China, we stayed in Southern China. It was warm and gorgeous. There were blue skies and flowers everywhere. We felt like we were on a vacation! This time, it was the polar opposite. We were in Northern China this time. It was cold, the pollution was thick and we were stuck in the middle of a big city. But, our hotel was beautiful and it was close to everything. We had access to restaurants, Wal-mart, and even a shopping mall.

Our guide told us that we would get Kalysta at 10:30 Monday morning. She said Kalysta would be traveling three hours from her orphanage to meet us at the civil affairs office. If this sounds familiar to any of you, that’s because Kyli also traveled about three hours to meet us as well. Both of my girls are from far out remote locations and nowhere near big cities.

Saturday and Sunday were a blur. I remember trying to take in all of Kyli those last two days because I still couldn't fathom that I would be a Mom to two girls. It was very surreal and scary all at the same time. Kyli was so excited and had a lot of questions. She wondered what it would be like when we met her sister. I told her it could go smoothly like her handoff or it could be scary and traumatic for her sister. Either way, we had to keep reassuring her sister that we loved her.

Let me make something clear. On both of my girl's gotcha days, I opted to have my parents see the girls first. It is the one thing I could give them as a “Thank You” for supporting me to follow my dreams and make them a reality. There are very few moments that are truly precious in this short time we are here on earth. Seeing your child for the first time is one of them. With everything my parents sacrificed to help me get to where I am today, they deserved to see their granddaughter’s faces before I did. I remember staring at my Mom’s face both times watching her see them first. Those moments are ingrained in my brain forever and I’m so grateful I was able to give her that!

My parents were set up to film us meeting her. Kyli and I waited in silence as we heard the elevator open down the hall. Out came a crying scream. It was Kalysta. I started to cry because at that moment I realized this transition was NOT going to be an easy one. My girl was a fighter and she was presently fighting in fight or flight mode. I was ripping her from everything she had ever known. I was the bad guy currently and I had to come to terms with being that.

When she rounded the corner, she was red-faced, crying and defiant. She wanted nothing to do with us. We cut the film because she was crying so hard. The director of the orphanage told us she had cried the whole way there. She also told us that Kalysta was extremely close to her caretaker. My poor baby was grieving for her and grieving hard at that!

We left the civil affairs office and headed back to the hotel. Our guide stayed with us to translate to Kalysta that she would be staying with us in the hotel. She cried for a bit and then a miracle happened. We asked her what was in her backpack and she immediately stopped crying! She opened up her backpack and pulled out the photo album I had sent her months prior. She opened up a page to Kyli and me. She pointed at the picture, said "Mama" and then pointed at me. She then pointed at Kyli in the photo, said "Jie Jie", and then pointed at Kyli. I smiled. The photobook was worn and dirty. This proved to me that her caretaker didn't just hand her the book. She went through the book and explained to her that she was being adopted and who we all were. Kalysta went through all our family members in multiple photos saying their names in Mandarin. I'm so thankful for her caretaker that she was so close to. That woman prepared my daughter so that she wasn't scared of us. Wherever she is...thank you!

Kalysta was all smiles within a few hours. Then, came the moment I was dreading. Bath time. This was traumatic for Kyli on her gotcha day. When we tried to undress her and bathe her, she screamed. One of those ear-piercing screams! I was prepared that Kalysta would regress and the situation would be the same.

This time, however, was different. I had Kyli. We were hoping that Kyli would ease her fear. We hoped Kalysta would know she was safe and mimic Kyli. Kyli got in the shower and Kalysta followed her. No tears. No Screams. Nothing. In fact, the two of them were giggling within minutes. It was a miracle!

It was during those giggles that I looked down and that’s when I saw it. I called for my Mom in the next room. My Mom came into the bathroom and I said, "Look at her feet!"

#chinaadoption #foreverfamily #adoptionrocks #miracles #themoanamom