Ellie is our daughter!

At long last, the big day arrived.  On the morning of July 11, we and 13 other CCAI families met our new children.  The morning was filled with tension as we all waited together as the orphanages throughout the province brought our children to us, one by one.  Ellie was one of the first to arrive.  She is beautiful!  After a few minutes of tears, Ellie warmed up to us (especially Beth) quickly.   It was not long before we got to enjoy firsthand Ellie's warm smile.  She smiles often, and likes to smile for the camera! 

 

Ellie bonded with Beth very quickly and does not like to be more than a few feet from her at any time.  She is gradually venturing out a little farther with each passing hour.  On Monday night we went to the hotel bar for a dinner (Italian--not testing the local cuisine but it sure hit the spot), and Ellie showed us that she loves to dance.  Already starting to worry about the teenage years...

 

The next day, Tuesday, July 12, we obtained the official registration of the adoption--Ellie is now our daughter!  We felt the joy and relief of the adoption being final after all this time.  Happy and tired, we are now ready to come home.  But we have another week in China.  Tomorrow, we travel to Jiaozuo (About 60 miles from Zhengzhou) to have the adoption registration notarized.  We hope to be able to go to Ellie's orphanage.

 

The days are exhausting, but fotunately, so far Ellie sleeps well.  Off to get some rest because tomorrow is another big day.