We finally have her in our arms. This morning we flew to Changsha and this afternoon the group went and picked up our daughters. We learned that Althea's nickname is XiangXiang. As you'll recall that means fragrance or incense. We decided this was very appropriate as she certainly was INCENSED at being given into our arms. Crying is really not the word. ALL eight babies in our groups were screaming! (It was, from their perspective, a mass alien abduction after all.) Anyway, this picture was a rare moment of calm in the storm. For my birthday, Andrew gave me a beautiful locket with Althea's picture in it and I am showing her her picture. She calmed down on the bus ride back to the hotel. (Many, many thanks go out to General Mills, the makers of our new best friend--Cheerios.) Back at the hotel, she was relatively calm for awhile, exploring the room. She especially liked Andrew's PDA as it was playing music. It was not until meal time that the real storm hit. She was very hungry by the time the food arrived, but eating is a huge grief trigger for her. She ate, but got very upset and threw it up twice. She wailed for hours as I just held her and talked and prayed for her. Andrew went to a paperwork meeting. When he got back, he walked the halls w
ith her for awhile. She calmed down when he sang to her in German. Go figure. Andrew actually got the first smile from her while dancing with her to Weird Al's Polka Party. I guess she really is our daughter. Finally she fell asleep in his arms. Here's what it looked like. Very beautiful.Love to you all, Dawn
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