Today we picked up Kendall at the orphanage. There are so many exciting thoughts about today that is hard to sleep Sunday night. We left the hotel a little late around 9am. Traffic delayed our driver and we were a little nervous that we were running late, but Dawn called to let them know and everything was fine. We first went to the Social Welfare office first to sign some papers and pay some fees. We thought there would be more questions or an interview, but we were only there about 15 or 20 minutes and then off to the orphanage. It is about a 45 minute drive in heavy traffic. I told Tim that I would not complain about Houston traffic again. There are cars everywhere in very narrow lanes honking and changing lanes. The highways and local streets are always busy. The local drivers also compete with pedestrians and bicyclists. The bicycles and people don't wait for the lights and will often stand in the middle of the street waiting to dodge between cars and cross the street. I asked our guide if there were many accidents but she said no. The drivers here are very skilled and we are VERY thankful we don't have to drive here!!

Once we arrived at the orphanage, we met the director and his assistant and signed some more papers. We also watched a video about the orphanage and the children there. The orphanage is very large and very nice. The grounds are well kept and look very child friendly. We were pleasantly surprised at the facilities and how well the children are cared for here. After the video we paid some more fees and prepared to go to another building and get Kendall. We noticed some other people in the room and were told there was a Japanese TV station here reporting on the orphanage and adoption process. They asked if they could film us getting our daughter and follow us some this week for their report. We told them that was fine and asked if we could have a copy of their report when they were finished, which they gladly agreed. They were very kind and told us we could ask them to stop filming at any point. Tim was wired for sound and then we went to get Kendall.

I was a little nervous and very excited about seeing our daughter for the first time. We entered the room where she was taking a nap with about 20 other children all in similar beds lined up across the room. One of the caregivers picked up Kendall and handed her to me. She really cried and I could tell she was scared. I held her and whispered in her ear, and she only cried for about 5 or 10 minutes. The caregivers gave us a bag of small crackers and she started eating. Once we gave her a snack she seemed to settle down and not fuss. We just kept feeding her and she ate the whole bag and some cheerios we had in the diaper bag. After this we went back to the other building and received some gifts for Kendall, a silk red dress, a jade necklace with a sheep (she was born in the year of the sheep), answers to some questions we had sent the orphanage, and a copy of the video we watched earlier. I also gave Tim a chance to hold her. She does not like it when I gave her to Tim, but she did not fuss for long and Tim gave her some more of her snack which she really likes. It looked like all of the caregivers in her room were women, and she seems a little more nervous and cautious when Tim holds her, but I know that will change soon. We found out that she had a small note pinned to her clothes when she was found with her birthdate but no name. The orphanage named her when she arrived at about 2 or 3 months old. We were given a copy of what the note said and then told we could take her with us. The papers we signed said that the adoption will be final the next day, April 5. This is my sister Lori's birthday, so Happy Birthday Lori!!

We got her to the car and she was very hot. We had read that the orphanages dress the babies very warmly, and that was right!! She had on a shirt and leggings, then another light sweater, a heavy sweater, and overalls on top of that. She was drenched in sweat from the warm air in the van, so we pealed off some of the layers to cool her off. She did not like having her clothes taken off, but she did not fuss for long. She is watching everything and has a very concerned look on her face. She does not talk and only whimpers or cries a little while when we put her down. When we pick her back up, she stops crying.

We left the orphanage and went to have some lunch and pick up a few supplies. Going to the store here is a big adventure. You have to park the car several blocks away and walk through crowded streets and sidewalks several blocks to the store. We can only carry a few things at a time when we go, so it makes shopping for bottled water and heavy items a little difficult. We got some baby food, more water, and a little laundry soap after having lunch. At lunch Kendall ate everything we gave her, some vegetable soup, finely chopped beans and vegetables, some shrimp and chicken, egg, and rice. She seems to really like the egg and rice and eats the soup well. She is used to taking a bottle still but seems to be adjusting well to the sippy cup we brought with us. She has a very hearty appetite for such a petite little girl…she eats more than her brother! We took turns holding her and feeding her. Tim held her most of the time and she gave him a very curious look everytime he stopped to take a bite of lunch. She continues to watch everything closely and doesn't talk or move around much. When we are feeding her she does not reach for the food and will not open her mouth until the spoon is right in front of her, almost touching her lips. She does not want to hold her cup either but will drink when we put the cup to her lips. We could not tell if she was full or not until she just kept the food in her mouth while still accepting more bites. We had to get the food out of her mouth, but I think she would have kept trying to eat even though she was full.

After lunch and the shopping trip we headed back to the hotel. Kendall is very tired having missed her regular nap times. She fell asleep in the car but woke up as soon as we arrived at the hotel. We tried to lay her down in the crib, but she really cried. She does not try to sit up on her own, but lays on her back and cries. We picked her up and held her and she calmed down but would not fall back to sleep. We put some things away and gave her some orange juice which she seems to like a lot. She drank almost 2 cups before bedtime. She does not fuss when her diaper is wet, but she cries real tears when we lay her down to change her diaper. Tim went out to exchange some currency for fees to pay on Tuesday and I tried to set her down for a minute to pick up something. She whimpers and cries but stops as soon as we pick her up. You can tell she is scared and does not understand what is happening, but she seems to be getting used to us. When we hold her she calms down quickly which I think is a good sign that she is starting to bond with us. The Japanese film crew came back to our hotel about 5 pm and filmed some more for their report/documentary. I am really not sure what type of program they are filming for, but I guess we will see. We told them we just wanted more families to see the opportunities for adoption here to help more children find homes.

After the film crew left we tried to get Kendall to hold a toy, but she seems very scared of the toys we brought, especially the ones that make noise (even the small pooh with a rattle scares her). We gave up on the toys and read her a few books. She seems to like that and started to interact some with me. I had a counting book and was pointing and counting on one page and then taking her finger and having her point. The next page I pointed and counted and then she pointed on her own. She continues to watch everything but does not respond very much. She has not really said anything except a few whimpers and cries.

We also notice that she seems weak. She will sit up well on her own, but does not pull herself up to a sitting position. She also will stand alone but is wobbly and does not try to take any steps. She really doesn't like it when we put her down, so we haven't really tried to see if she can walk or not yet. When we put her in her crib she will fuss but not try to sit up or stand. We will have to wait and see if this is just part of the adjustment period or if she needs to strengthen her limbs.

She is petite and the 18 month clothing seems to fit for now. She has a long torso and short arms and legs, so I'm not sure the 18 month clothes will fit for long.

After reading some we gave her some mixed fruit baby food which she ate up quickly. Then we tried to give her some formula the orphanage sent home with us but she did not want it. I'm not sure if it was not hot enough for her or if she was just full. She ate a lot today!! She was very tired so we decided to give her a bath and settle down for bed. She did not like the bath at all! She wailed from the time we got her clothes off until we got her PJ's on! She does not like to have her clothes off and did not like the bath at all. After the bath we read some more books and rocked her a little bit. She fell asleep in my arms and I laid her down in the crib. She woke up as soon as I laid her down and whimpered a bit. I just patted her on the chest and talked softly to her and she finally settled down. Tim and I sat on the couch and she watched us, fighting sleep until she couldn't keep her eyes open any more.

She stayed asleep most of the night. I got up to check on her a few times and found her hands folded above the covers with one hand rubbing the other as if she were comforting herself. Mitchell does the same thing, so I guess we know she is ours!! She woke up about 2:30 with a dirty diaper. She did not fuss but I could hear her moving around a lot. I changed her and she fussed when I laid her down for that. I rocked her back to sleep and laid her in the crib. She woke up again but quickly went back to sleep while I patted her.

She is VERY sweet and we are looking forward to learning more about her and adjusting to her needs. Tuesday is a big day with lots of paperwork to complete and sign. We will see how she adjusts to the activities of the day. We will have some down time on Wednesday and Thursday and then pick up the paperwork on Friday. Hopefully we can rest some and let her get used to us on our off days.

We can truly see how God has been faithful and answered our prayers with the sweet daughter. We continue to pray that Kendall will adjust to us quickly and we will begin to see a sweet smile soon! We hope to hear some words and maybe laughter soon instead of the serious, cautious looks we are getting now. All this will come in time and we will have to be patient and wait for her to feel safe. We are confident that this will happen soon!!