Gotcha Day!

It’s 5:00am local time and everyone is still asleep. Wish you could hear their soft little snores. :) We went to bed at like 7:00pm if that tells you how tired everyone was. I figured I better try to blog some about yesterday, “Gotcha Day,” before the craziness ensues. I still need to blog about our visit to the village but that will come later. 

Ok, so yesterday morning we woke up early and got ourselves ready. We went down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It was good. I thought the feeling I had in my stomach was hunger but nope it turned out to be nerves. It was kind of hard for me to get enough breath. 

After breakfast we loaded the “van” and met our guide Abhi! She was an instant friend. Everyone has told us how amazing she is and now I completely understand! I was so thankful to have her with us! We got packed into the van and got on our way. 

We arrived at the orphanage really early. Our appointment was at 10:00am but we got there around 9:10am. However, they let us in. We signed into the entry log and walked up the front steps and through the front doors. There was a small, empty reception desk to the right next to the stairs and to the left was a hallway with several offices and the meeting room at the end. 

Within about 10 minutes, Kashila came around the corner. Wow she was so small, but looked just like her pictures! She was followed by Khushboo and then Rabina. Honestly I have no idea what went through my head other than “Oh my here they come! Here they are in flesh and blood!” It was awkward in a way because these were the children we have “known” and longed for for so long yet we really are strangers. We held their hands and got a few light hugs. I picked up Rabina immediately when she came in the room. 

Let me tell you, these girls have smiles that will knock your socks off. Rabina’s laugh... oh boy... melts my heart. The home staff stressed over and over again how happy they all were and how good they were... well K & K at least. They said Rabina was stubborn and a “spoiled brat”! HAHA! I truly think they are happy children, but I’m trying not to deceive myself. I know that some of this could simply be survival. Their smiles have protected them and helped them to fare well in the orphanage. Time will tell what their personalities are really like although I don’t think my “made up personalities” from their pictures are really that far off. Rabina may be the one who surprises us the most. I called her “my little grumpy bunny” but she’s not grumpy... she’s just “my way or the highway”. She has a temper. She has already pulled my hair, hit Lance and spit at him. Lord help us when she makes it to her teens.

We waited for over an hour for Mrs. K, the director, to come in. She seemed to be in an ok mood. We finally got around to the paperwork. We made sure we had everything we needed. Whew, that stressed me out. I was glad to be done with all of that! Afterward we headed upstairs to check out some of the orphanage.

We met with some of the aunties who have cared for the children. We also spent a few minutes with the girls’ teachers. They ware very nice and spoke good English. They said the girls were very intelligent and sweet. They gave us some of their school work and art work. they also had written letters to us explaining what the girls knew and also a little about their personalities. I was really not expecting any of this. I was just so grateful! I have yet to actually look at any of it really. We’ve just been so busy with the girls. Khushboo did show me Kashila’s English test book back at the hotel. She read me some of the words inside and I helped her with the ones she didn’t know. 

There was at least one other family picking up children that day. One family was from Spain and they were picking up one of the little girls that I had recognized. We had actually asked about her after we had lost the girls’ referral. It was quite busy at the Welfare Home! Mrs. K had us sign that we were taking custody of the girls and then we said some more goodbyes and loaded up in the van.

At this point it had gotten hotter outside and the girls were all dressed in long sleeves and jackets. I held Rabina in the front with me and the two Ks got in the back with Lance. We had our plastic bags ready just in case anyone felt sick, but nobody did. I had expected Rabina to be upset when she realized we were leaving. Nope, she waved goodbye and got in the van with me with no complaints. Kashila was quiet but seemed fine. Khushboo cried quietly on the way to the hotel. I tried to assure her it was totally ok to cry. Rabina fell asleep in my arms and didn’t wake up until I laid her on the hotel bed. 

The girls were hungry when we got to the hotel so we changed their clothes (they were freezing when we stripped off the layers) and ordered up room service. They ate some pizza and some rice and and some dal (lentils). They ate fairly well. Rabina can feed herself nicely which kind of made me sad. Lance was able to feed her some pizza but she wouldn’t let me feed her with the spoon. SHE wanted to do it! The girls drank a lot of water. I mean glass after glass. 

We watched some cartoons in Hindi and I began to treat their hair for lice/nits. The home told us they didn’t have any. I guess by didn’t have any they meant hundreds and hundreds of nits. Their hair is so thick so I was seriously overwhelmed. As I worked through Khushboo and Kashila’s hair they would look at the nits I had pulled out. I think they finally understood what I was doing. They would look at me with this embarrassed and grossed out look. I tried to reassure them that it was ok, we would get their hair clean. I smiled and hugged them when they searched my face to see if I was disgusted by it. It took so long. Kashila would say “Mom, break?” and I would let her go play and start back on Khushboo’s hair. Rabina had a few but nothing like K & K. 

Rabina LOVES phones. All of them do really, but Rabina particularly! She will pitch a fit if you take it away. The girls also love the camera. They took lots of pictures with it. I can’t wait to see them all.

Around 6:00 K & K started saying they were sleepy. So we gave them some peanut butter crackers and got them all tucked in. All three slept on the pull out couch. Not what I expected but I was ok with that. They all fell asleep pretty quickly. Before they went to sleep, we FaceTimed with the boys. Mandee had to wake them up but it was good to see their faces.

I would say that our first day together was really great! God was gracious to us, and I’m so thankful for all the prayers that went into this special day! We have some really amazing girls! We can't wait for you all to meet them! 

Well, I’m going to try to rest for a bit more before our day starts. -K