We "Gotcha" Ellie!!! Happy Birthday

What a whirlwind past 24 hours we have had!!! We stand in amazment at the past 24 hours and all that has transpired!!!

I truly can't how our "Gotcha Day" with Ellie could've gone any better!! 

Us 4 families arrived at the Civil Affairs office before our kids arrived, so you can imagine the anticipation as we heard each noise coming down the hall!! Then it was mass chaos from there :-)...We were joined by 4 other families from Spain that were also adopting, so there were 8 families total crammed into a tiny room...

Then, all the kids came at once :-)...Ellie's nanny handed her to me and she looked at us contemplating everything for a few moments...then she started crying :-)...it was so sweet!!! Her world just got turned upside down and she saw her nanny and saw us, and became overwhelmed (not to mention the heat-notice the outfit-and all the other kids that were crying in the room). She then rested her head on my shoulders as she began to suck her thumb (again, precious)...that is definitely her "self-soothing" preference!!

After a bit of craziness (pictures and such), we all headed back to the hotel. The bus ride back was surreal...we were all with our kids and they were all silent taking it all in!!

We then got back to the hotel and all hung out together as a group (a huge answer to prayer...all of us families have become so close!!!)! It was fun to see our kids just take it all in!!

We then headed to bed early as we were all exhausted, and Ellie slept great...what a blessing!!!

We GOTCHA Ellie!!! Happy Birthday!!

We GOTCHA!!!

In Mama's arms :-)...everything's gonna be okay!!

From left to right... Ellie's nanny, our guide in Shaanxi, Sherry, us, and the orphanage person in charge of the adoptions (all the kids love him!!).

Ellie's nanny was so sweet and we got to spend a little time with her. We could tell that she truly loved Ellie and was going to miss her!! It was special being able to meet her and learn about Ellie from her!!

Back at the hotel...Happy Birthday Ellie Mei!!! We love you!!!!