Monday, November 10, 2008

Gotcha Day

Praise God for a wonderful, perfect day!!! We are in awe of HIS answered prayers. Our morning started out very calm and stress free. We enjoyed some family time, had a nice breakfast (where Nate was, once again, doted over and had his own waitress to get him juice and whatever else he needed). We then went to the adoption office and learned that she had not yet arrived. So our guide, being very efficient, had us start the paperwork that will finalize the adoption tomorrow. I was filling out the paperwork then a small group of people walked in the room where we were and I heard "Huang Chun Yuan".....I immediately got up to see if I heard right and THERE SHE WAS....looking all around checking things out. After a few minutes the director came over and took her form the lady's arms and gave her to me......and the rest was history.....I MELTED!! She was all smiles and laughs....NO sadness was evident at all, from anyone. A few times the lady who brought her in took her back to love on her. I then found out that she was her foster mother...whom we were told we would not meet, that it was against the rules. I was exstatic!!! I prayed to meet her in person to thank her and allow her to see my joy and emotion over Naomi, to relieve any stress or sadness she may have felt otherwise. God answered that prayer!!!!
The rest of the morning and afternoon has been quite the same...full of joy and laughter. Naomi seems very laid back. She loves to eat. We celebrated at McDonalds for lunch and she had bread, cheese and french fries. She then fell asleep in Joel's arms as we walked around trying to find a store with diapers. She only cried once when we tried to put her in a rented stroller...she wanted no part of it!!! We gladly picked her up and held her. In fact, we have not had her out of our arms. Do you blame us?
Naomi is MUCH taller than we had expected. She weighs at least 25 pounds, if not more. The clothes we brought for her, for the most part, are too small. Funny, I packed about 5 different times for her and I should have trusted my instinct.....and stuck with the first batch of bigger clothes. Oh well, 10 days and we are home!! The countdown begins!!
Tomorrow we finalize the adoption...our paperwork is complete, we just have to go back to the office and pay the orphanage fees, etc and then it is DONE! We then apply for her VISA, etc.
We love you and are so thankful for the ANSWERED prayers!! God is good, may this day be a testimony to you of HIS love and power.....ALL glory be to God.

posted by Joel and Lee-Anne at 3:13 AM

15 comment(s):

Nate, I am so excited too! Love you guys! She is precious beyond words.

By Blogger Georgianne, at 3:59 AM  

I couldn't resist getting out of bed to check for more pics - So amazing! She is so cute and of course she loves Nate!
Love you all!
Melanie

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:17 AM  

I am so happy for you guys. Praise the Lord for a great gotcha day and answered prayers! I love the video. I know that you guys and Nate have loved this little girl for a long time. I have been praying and am still praying that the Lord works with a mighty hand in Naomi's heart. I know He is faithful.
Thanks so much for taking the precious time it takes to update this. It is such a privilege to share in this with you.
We love you Fenwicks!

By Blogger Beth, at 7:27 AM  

All the girls just watched the video, Sophie said Hey is LeeAnne bringing that baby home to our house. love it.

By Blogger Julie Gould, at 7:30 AM  

Oh Joel, Lee-Anne, Nate and Naomi. It is sooooo good to see you all together at last. I love the video. Brings back memories. My heart goes out to you...the emotion is so intense. I'm sitting at the computer crying away and being interrupted by one child needing some shoes tied, the oven timer beeping and 3 year old questions about nothing significant that I don't really want to answer right now. Oh, aren't they so precious!! I'll have to come back and read it all and watch it all again when I can do it by myself :).

We love you all so much and praise God for the blessing he is bestowing on you!

I'm pretty sure she will cry sooner or later...so just enjoy the smiles and laughter fully.

Nate - you look great in the video. I love to see you making Naomi laugh. You are going to be a great big brother!

Love,
Kristi

By Blogger Eric and Kristi Peterson, at 7:48 AM  

What an answered prayer! You have another wonderful adoption experience to remember. She is so beautiful, and big. She takes after her big brother already. Lee-Anne, the Lord wants you to have a strong back for sure! Thank you for the updates. I'm sure it's time consuming, but we are so thankful for the opportunity to share this with you. Lots of love to the Fenwick family! Heather

By Blogger Daniel Family, at 7:50 AM  

The Lord is Good and answers our prayers! Praise Jesus!

Eric

By Blogger Eric and Kristi Peterson, at 8:08 AM  

Praise Him!!!! Y'all I am sitting here at the computer crying like a baby! The video is priceless and that sweet angel is priceless. My heart is filled with joy for you all... sweet Nate has the biggest smile on his face at the end of the video and it is so evident that you ALL are filled with JOY! Naomi looks like she loves food and you might just need to take back her 12 m clothes and get her 24 m clothes!!! What an absolute blessing and answered prayer that you got to meet her foster mother! Don't you love how our Father orchestrates EVERYTHING for His GLORY!!!! I love you all and I am rejoicing this November day with you!!!!! Enjoy your day with her and I can't wait to see more pics!!

By Blogger Darby, at 8:23 AM  

Dearest Naomi,

I just want to you to know that you are loved by so many. More importantly there is love greater than ours & that is of Jesus! I pray from this moment on you will grow in His Love!

I was listening to the song When Love Takes You In (by Steven Curtis Chapman) this morning and the tears were flowing thinking of you. Little girl ~ you refresh my heart & soul, reminding me of His Love & that precious things do come to those who wait on Him – His Timing, His Promises, His Miracles, His Love!

Naomi… love has taken you in for good!
Love,
Aunt Kelly

When Love Takes You In...
I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:32 AM  

Been out of town this weekend but every morning I get on my phone to check the updates... I was just now able to watch the video and I'm crying like a baby (not that yours cries- what a precious smile!)!! Praise God!!!! What an amazing blessing, so glad to feel like a little part of your journey... thanks for sharing! Will continue to pray!
Love,
Erika

By Blogger erika, at 8:41 AM  

Fenwicks!
I couldn't wait to get the kids fed so I could come look at Naomi's pictures. We have all watched the video. It is just precious. I'm so glad that things went so smoothly for you all. How exciting that you are all together now.

Much Love to the Fenwick's,
Lisa

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:49 AM  

LeeAnn,

I am so happy for you!!! What a beautiful family-what an awesome God!

Susan

By Blogger Killeen Team, at 10:07 AM  

I am in tears reading about your first meeting with your precious baby girl. Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment with us. I am so happy for all of you!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:12 PM  

What a beatiful and sweet she is! And she seemed to like you all and comfortable with you holding you, and smiling, absolutely amazing. What a testimony!God is faithful!
Love and prayers, Natasha and Kelly

By Blogger Reimers, at 5:10 PM  

I think I heard a few tears during the video Dad. I feel like we were right there with you.
Andy

By Blogger Julie Gould, at 8:05 PM  

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