Three years ago today (at 4:00PM China time/4:00AM Eastern time), Doug and I were handed a small, terrified, hungry, sweaty, beautiful baby girl covered in bug bites. The first moments of meeting Briana were so tough. Everything happened so fast - it was a total blur. The minute I walked into the civil affairs office, I was totally overwhelmed. I was so overwhelmed that I fixated and gushed over a different baby across the room thinking it was Briana. Briana was in a walker on the floor holding a bottle and I didn't see her. It wasn't until they called my name and I spotted a woman in orange pants holding Briana that I actually saw her for the first time. Then I recognized her - the baby girl I fell in love with in a photo - a photo that I stared at every single day. They handed Bri to me and she checked me out for a minute. Then she started to cry. Boy, did she cry. Looking back on that day, I know she was experiencing a mixture of fear, hunger, heat and exhaustion. Doug and I had to walk her into a quiet conference room to calm her down. There was so much activity going on all around us, and Briana was so scared. Many families are given 24 hours before signing any adoption papers - they are given a harmonious period. Well, we were told to sign the adoption papers about five minutes after Bri was placed in our arms. We would have signed those papers no matter what, but it was so difficult reading and signing papers with so much commotion going on. I swear within less than an hour - everything was signed and sealed and we were on our way to back onto the bus. Once on the bus, Bri got her bottle back, she sunk into my lap and fell asleep. I think that was the first moment I was really able to get a good look at my new daughter.
So three years ago, Doug and I held our daughter for the first time. It was one of the happiest yet scariest moments of my life. I was a first time mama in a foreign country with an almost one year old. It was sink or swim time. Luckily, I figured out how to swim (though I may have looked a little awkward while swimming, but I was swimming). :)
Below is our amazing daughter today - 3 years later. She is an outgoing, spirited, spicy, sweet, loving, funny, smart, sassy, caring, fearless little girl that loves life. She is my absolute blessing. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel like the luckiest mom in the world. She has such a bright future. I can't wait to see what lies ahead...
(If you have not seen our travel video to China yet (which includes the moment we meet Briana), you can view it
here. Medium is the best way to view it.)
