Day 4: Gotcha Day!!!

At around 9:30 this morning, we got Shi Lin!!!  I began to get nervous and emotional, already holding back tears as we entered the civil affairs office.  When we walked into the office where she was, oh my goodness, I couldn't believe I was actually seeing her in the flesh!  I went in there to her and knelt down and said "nihao," as she just stared us silently with a confused look on her face.   Our guide told her who we were and when I pulled out the framed photo of us, she seemed to understand we were the ones in the photo.   When Miles gave her the Bitty Baby doll, she took it immediately and her face just lit up!  She clung to it the rest of the time we were out.  It took several minutes for us to fill out some paperwork, and Miles started acting silly for her while she cracked up.  It was exactly as I had imagined it would be between the two of them. We had to go to a couple of other places, including one where we got Shi Lin's passport photo taken, and we also got one taken with her, Chip and I for another document.   She was so quiet in the van as I held her so close next to me. Back at the hotel, Shi Lin immediately noticed Miles's Leapster and reached for it, so I pulled out hers, and she loves it!  She sat on the bed and played games with her ge ge (big brother), and later ate Whales crackers and drank water from her Hello Kitty water bottle.  She never cried or seemed like she didn't want to be there with us.  In fact, a few minutes ago, she came up to me while I was typing and said "ma ma."  My heart melted and I pulled her onto my lap.  And she keeps coming back from time to time to say ma ma or to ask me to do something , like put her hair in ponytails.  So needless to say, this post is taking a long time to type, but that's fine with me.  Shi Lin needs all the time she can get with us, and we need all we can get with her. Shi Lin is just what I expected and more:  happy, laughs a lot, and has an adorable silly side.  Not to mention she's even more beautiful in real life than in the photos we had of her before we got to China.  She has taken to all of us so quickly and easily, always asking me "bao bao" (pick me up), climbing onto our laps, and telling me when she needs to go to the potty.  She already fits in so well with us.  All of this in just a few short hours.  I know with absolute certainty that this is the little girl God has led us to.  We will go and sign the paperwork tomorrow that will make Shi Lin legally ours in the eyes of the Chinese government.  I'm looking forward to making it official!