The big day!

Kennedy was waiting for us when we walked into the room.  We did not get to take pictures of the first hugs, but we took lots of pictures and video of the rest of our time at the civil affairs office. 

 

We didn’t know that she would be there before us.  For the first time in four years, I was totally unprepared as the family historian.  Fail.

 

We walked up to a nondescript building on a busy street.  We went up an elevator to the 14^th floor.  We got out and went up a set of absolutely pitch dark steps.  That was strange.  No lights and two overwhelmed parents.  It was a recipe for disaster, but we made it without injury.  As soon as we got up the steps, we turned a corner and went into the room where our daughter was sitting with her friends.  She stood up and had a shocked look on her face that said that she recognized us, but that she could not believe we were actually real.  Annie hugged her first, then Mia.  I was struggling to get the cameras out, so my hug was late and kind of anticlimactic, but I enjoyed it immensely. 

 

Nobody cried this time.  Mia wailed the first time and I welled up a little.  Today, it all happened so fast, that we could not get too emotional.  I would have appreciated a staging area to get ready or at least a 10-second head start.

 

Kennedy came with two of her best friends.  One will be adopted soon.  The other may not be.  She was really crying a lot.  Mia and Annie gave her big hugs to try and comfort her.  The girls were very sad when they had to leave.  One did not want to leave the room.  So sad.  These girls are tied together in so many ways.  Adoption is awesome for the parents, but traumatic initially for the kids.  Kennedy’s friends did not take the separation very well.

 

On a happy note, Mia loves her sister already.  And, so far, Kennedy has not had her fill of the attention.  It’s like Star Trek and Mia is a Klingon.

 

So far, Mia and Kennedy have played pat-a-cake, listened to MP3’s, written in journals (in English!) and drawn pictures of each other.  Mia presented her with a  sister necklace right after we met and Kennedy gave her a matching bracelet.  Kennedy gave us a batik fabric that her teacher helped her to prepare.  She also gave us an awesome cross-stitch of Jesus and a cross.  We were told that she worked on that for a week. 

 

So far, she is really quiet and reserved.  She says that she is not scared or nervous, but she is very timid right now.  She doesn’t seem to be grieving, but she is probably realizing that she has a lot of changes coming.  We have been communicating with our electronic translator.  It’s slow, but it works.  I will show her how to use it tomorrow.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

 

Okay, guys, it’s time to pray.  Annie and I are parents of a teenager, and we have lots of issues to work through to get to smooth sailing.  We are looking forward to every step.

 

Tomorrow at nine, we go back to the civil affairs office to sign paperwork to make everything official.  Adoption day!!

 

Our guide told us that Kennedy likes KFC.  She wants to go there for lunch tomorrow.  Our guide told us that the closest KFC is located inside the Walmart.  Brilliant.  Annie can’t wait…