Adoption Day

Hope did great last night sleeping and hasn't grieved at all. She has been so excited to have a family and be with us that it doesn't appear that she misses the orphanage at all. She woke up at 6 a.m. this morning and was ready to make things official. She was really excited to put on her new clothes and get all dolled up. I even painted her fingernails this morning and she was smiling from ear to ear. So precious!! We left for another hotel to complete our paperwork since two other families were there that were adopting from Baotou. She was excited to see the orphanage staff, but was even more excited to show us off. To make things official, Hope had to put her handprints on the adoption agreement. We had already put our thumb prints on lots of papers, so she was so excited to finally get the ink all over her hands. With a our thumb prints, her hand prints, and some official signatures, she officially became a Sanders. This is the orphanage secretary. She completes all of the foreign adoptions for the director. She was able to sit down with us and answer our questions about Hope. The main question, of course, has been the same since we looked at her file. We wanted to get to the heart of what her special need really was. After talking for quite awhile, the truth surfaced that they don't really think anything is wrong with her. They actually said, "She is smarter than children her age." She does appear to be quite smart, and she has a excellent memory. We also found out that she has been so excited about us. They said she couldn't sleep because she was ready to go meet us. We also found out we will not be able to go visit the orphanage, which makes me sad. I was able to ask about some other children and will email their parents soon. Here are some other things we have learned about Hope so far:

• Hope loves Paul! She wants to be carried everywhere we go. She melts his heart with just a little look.
• Hope seems to have an awkward gate. She has weak legs, and her right foot turns inward. She needs some strength building in her legs.
• She is so petite. She is 6 years old and only weighs 35 pounds.
• Hope has an infectious laugh. It makes everyone around her smile.
• Hope loves to be the center of attention! She and LeeLee will have to battle that one out.
• She repeats everything I say. She understands quite a lot of what I am saying. It is amazing to think she has only heard English for one day.
• Hope is an amazing squatter. She will squat and pee in the middle of any street without getting her pants wet at all. It is amazing! (all children do this, so it's not uncommon)

I will leave you with this picture to prove to you that our heavenly father wants to answer our prayers. Since I have missed most of the monumental firsts in Hope's life I specifically prayed that she would not lose any teeth until we had her. Once children lose teeth, they all of a sudden don't look little any more. I asked our loving father to keep those teeth in there until I had a chance to see her baby smile with my own eyes. Today her first tooth came out. She was so precious about it. She keeps running to the mirror to look at her new smile. Thank you Lord for answered prayers!!! Please continue to pray for our family and for sweet Hope!! George was still drying off today, but he already told me his plans for tomorrow, and I will tell you, I'm a little nervous for him.