Finally in Our Arms - Posted Monday, March 8th

We met our beautiful girl today! It wasn't all roses and butterflies at first- the nannies woke her from her nap and had us come right in and she cried. Well, she sort of freaked. But, she warmed up really quickly. I'm sure we will laugh at the video of our first moments together in the future. We spent four hours at the orphanage and by the time we left she preferred me over her nannies. That was a good feeling. The nannies were really good about directing her to us and pointing at us saying, "Mommyay, Ababa." She was frightened by Matt. He really had to ease his way over to her. She warmed up to him and let him hold her at one point. She is just gorgeous. She is sweet and smiley and really snuggly. She can sit up on her own and can crawl but she is still wearing 3-6 month clothing. Regan, I would say that she is as long as Treyton but not quite as heavy. We love her so much. She fell asleep in the car when we left the orphanage and is sleeping on our bed as I write.

The orphanage was a sad and happy place. The babies are well cared for and loved, but the conditions are sad. The sights of Addis this morning were eye-opening. Right when we pulled out from the hotel there was a man walking toward us covered in dirt and wearing nothing but a shirt. The driving is insane! There are no rules or signs. It seriously is mass caos. If you want to turn you just cut everyone off and do it. We are going to spend the rest of the day in our room resting and getting to know each other. We are looking forward to bath time when she wakes up. We are feeling great- no jet lag yet. Let's hope it stays that way! God is so very good.