July 4, 2010 Ruthie Day! Ruthie Day...too tired to post but here are the pictures you've been waiting for. Ruthie is doing great! She has only cried a couple of times when I put her down. Will try to post more later.     Happy Mama!     Ruthie's Nannies     First of many kisses!   Happy Big Brother     First Smile     She Sleeps! Now that you have all gotten to enjoy the pictures from Ruthie Day, I will tell you sort of how things happen the best I can remember. Please note that we are running on pure adrenaline here now. We aren't sleeping good nor eating very well, so we are all rather emotional. Please pray that we can all get some good, much needed sleep and find something here that looks and sounds remotely appetizing. Jon Milledge has been a real trooper, but he is home sick today and sad. I honestly think that we are all just tired, but please still pray. Thank you! Ok, so we got off the plane in Xian and found our guide Fay at around 12:30pm on July 4th. We are leaving the airport and she says that it will take 1 hour to get to our hotel and that she will be picking us back up and 3:30 to go get the baby. WHAT? We haven't slept or taken a shower in days. We ran into the hotel, we all took showers and headed back to the lobby at 3:30. Fay picked us up, and we drove to the Civil Affairs Office where we were early and had to wait on the workers as well as the babies. There were 2 other families there receiving their children, so we got to witness a miracle times 3...amazing! I was watching the other families where one little girl was heartbroken and terribly upset. Her foster father that she had been with for 3 years was handing her to an American man and woman and telling her that this was her mama and baba(daddy). She was screaming and reaching for the foster father calling him baba...pitiful. So, I was already crying when the elevator beeped, and I knew it my heart that the moment I've been dreaming about was about to happen. Sure enough the doors opened and two Chinese women came out of the elevator holding the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. She came right to me, never cried and has been a perfect angel ever since. She had one special nanny who loved her dearly that came with her. She let me know that the dress and shoes that she had on were purchased that day especially for Ruthie on her adoption day. So sweet. The poor lady cried horribly when it was time for her to leave Ruthie, and therefore, it was very obvious to me that my daughter has been loved. It was very interesting to me that the two women wanted me to know that every worker at Ruthie's orphanage is a Christian and that they teach the children about Jesus. Oh my goodness...in China? They had no idea about my religious background but made certain that I knew theirs. Once I told them that we were also Christians and that we would continue to teach her about the love of Jesus, they both smiled and then cried happy tears. Her nanny had made her a lifebook which is now priceless to me. It has pictures of her very first days at the orphanage up until now including a first birthday party that they threw for her. The only time Ruthie has cried has been if I put her down or if she is sleepy. I couldn't have written a better script for her first 24 hours with us. She is beautiful and a complete sweet heart. I will do my best to keep you updated but right now we are just running on fumes, and as much as I want to document this whole experience, it is really the last thing on my mind. Please pray for us...we all really just want to come home, and we have quite a few days left. Angie       This page hosted by