Ahna has arrived...

This is Bill. I won't post much, I know you really want to click on the link below and look at pictures. Cindi is exhausted. We both are. Nothing can prepare you for the amount of energy that is just extracted from you. All at once. The travel, jet lag, eating, more travel, nerves, surface of the sun heat finally take their toll.

All day long we had the most surreal feeling. Can this really be happening? Is this us? Will we really have a daughter in hours, then minutes, then seconds? And bam, you have a crying baby in your arms. Inconsolably so. And off you go.

No time to unpack, organize, figure out where things are. Just bang, you are in the hotel, to the room, and trying to figure out what to do with this new blessing. I finally figured out that she was quiet if I held her facing out from me and walked around. Cindi went downstairs to work on our paperwork, since I was working some magic at the moment.

After a while, I decided to take our angel down to see her mother. I found her mom in the paperwork room of the hotel with all the other adoptive families. Cindi barely had her eyes open. She was exhausted and dehydrated. I had to rush downstairs with a baby in my arms and get my wife some water and quick.
I forced Cindi to drink. Ahna had fallen asleep in my arms and I left her in our room with our two oldest. I returned downstairs to Cindi. We finished our paperwork and immediately Cindi had to go leave her lunch in the bathroom of the hotel. I took her up to the room and she fell on the bed and began the road to recovery.

Whew. Later, around 8:00 I finally took two of the boys down to eat. While we were away, Ahna decided she could take a bottle. Cindi was thrilled. Later we had some special times with her when she sat on the bed and played and were quiet. Still no smile out of her, but I can tell she has one in there.

It is 11:20 here and Ahna is alseep and so is Cindi. We have to get up tomorrow and fill 4 hours of paperwork and official appointments. In the blistering heat, in buildings with no ac, with our baby. And I have no idea where all our things are. The morning will come too quickly.

But, of all things, I praise God for Ahna. She is so sweet. Her unrest is a good sign. She misses people she knew which will bring both grief, but new attachments to us as well. She is without a blemish on her body and has the brightest eyes. She can't stop watching Eli. Pray for Cindi that she will rest well and recover during the night.

Pray also for one of the babies in our group, which was sick and dehydrated. They took her to the hospital and I have not heard a report. Pray for all 7 families here. May God give all of us wisdom beyond our own.

Okay, so I lied about not giving a long post. Anyway, here is today's photo link.

Here are more of photos of our day