The Princess has arrived...

First, I won't bore you with a long explanation of the day. We know you just want to see pictures. So here they are.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you how the day went. First, Olivia (or XinXin as the nannies call her) is just perfect. She is very healthy and active and is doing quite well with us. We had a few hours of crying and whining when we first received her, but we got the first laugh after about 30 minutes and she has been very happy since then. Our guide was surprised at how well she is adjusting. She loves to be held by either Baba or Mama and sometimes prefers one or the other.

The day started out with breakfast at 6:30 with only 15 minutes to eat since we had to leave the hotel at 6:45 to make our flight. We then left Beijing about 30 minutes late. We were the only two non-Chinese on the plane, which was a little scary, because hardly anyone would smile at us. Since we arrived in China, we had not been alone anywhere, so this was the first time. We also experienced a very bumpy ride.

When we arrived in Fuzhou (Pronounced Fu-joh) we met our guide Angus outside of baggage claim. He immediately told us that Livi was waiting for us at the hotel. It was about an hour ride from the airport to the hotel and then we had 30 minutes to get ready to meet her. We did not expect to get her so quickly. Angus told us to meet him on the 26th floor at 1:30 pm. We arrived on the floor only to find that the Adoption Official was there along with the director of the orphanage and two of Olivia's nannies. Livi was just running around and playing on the floor. She was dressed very nicely and her hair was perfect. We then had to sign all of the adoption paperwork right then. Usually this is completed the next day after receiving the child. Neither of us had eaten anything since 6:30 that morning but we were bussed from the hotel to the adoption affairs office and then the notary and registration office.

We completed all of this by about 4:00. Then Angus took us to a "supermarket" here. This supermarket was a 5-story building with each floor about the size of a US grocery store. This store had everything, from food to electronics to clothing to sporting goods and housewares. We bought about $100 USD worth of clothes for the orphanage as a gift. Then we asked Angus when we would be eating, as we were getting very hungry. He proceeded to explain where the best places to eat were and pretty much said good luck you are on your own. We then explained that we had paid for a travel package which included 3 meals a day.

After much confusion and debate he called someone at the travel office and finally got verification that, yes, we were supposed to have all meals paid. We were starving by this time, since it was about 6:30 pm and we hadn't eaten in 12 hours. We had a very nice dinner at PIZZA HUT right near our hotel. Pizza Hut here is a very nice restaurant with very different foods. Mystina had a small personal cheese pizza while I had spaghetti with salmon and asparagus in a white sauce and a salad. Livi ate about half of my plate and some peaches and watermelon from the salad bar.

We came back to the hotel, and at one point, I had to go downstairs to the front desk to ask about internet access. Mystina had a hard time consoling her while I was gone. We then called Micah and Gramma and Boppa on the computer, and played a little and tried to get her to sleep. She would not lay down unless we were both on the bed with her and she was touching both of us to make sure we didn't leave. She went to sleep about 9:30 pm and is still in here crib sleeping this morning at 6:50.

We are supposed to meet our guide this morning at 8:30 in the lobby of the hotel to go to Panda World, a local zoo that has real Pandas. I have never seen a live Panda before, so this should be interesting. We will try to post some pictures tonight to let you know how it was and how Livi is doing.

Please continue to pray for us as we get to know this little princess.