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Meeting Michael ...
Today will go down as one of the most memorable days in our family history. At 3:30 pm local time (12:30 am PST) in Fuzhou, China we welcomed our third child, Michael Mindong.
We had spent the morning walking through all the parks near the hotel, then we came back to our room to get ready for Michael's arrival from the orphanage. It was an anxious few hours that seemed to drag on forever, but after lots of preparing, talking and praying, the time finally came!
We arrived in one of the conference rooms at the hotel a bit early (because we couldn't wait any longer!) so they had us start filling out paperwork, but just as Kevin was writing down the official spelling of Michael's new name, the doors burst open and in came Michael with some ladies from his orphanage. Sarah was immediately at his side, smiling from ear to ear, including a few tears of joy. Micheal just opened his big, handsome eyes and looked her over, then happily went into her arms and they got to snuggle. As soon as Daddy made it around the conference table, he snapped a few initial pictures, capturing Michael's attention once more.
Everyone in the room remarked on how adorable Michael was, but even more amazing to all of us was the fact that he didn't shed a single tear. Michael wasn't the least bit timid about coming to us or letting us take a million photos of him. He even smiled once or twice! What a blessing; we were completely blown away at how well he took everything.
After some formalities, including a form granting us 24 hr. custody until we finish the rest of paperwork, everyone else left except for Michael, our regional coordinator. He had us fill out some more paperwork and provided details of the schedule for the following day, but once he was done, we were free to take Michael
back to our room for some bonding time. (See the pictures on the subsequent page by clicking here.)
REMEMBER: Click on any picture below to view or download a larger version.
Suddenly the doors opened and in came Michael! |
Quickly, he was handed off to an emotional Sarah
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Mama's first time holding her new baby boy! |
They were both pretty excited
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Michael is very curious and aware of what's happening |
He also really liked Daddy's camera
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A little nuzzle time
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"Wow... that flash is bright!" |
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After we each held him, we had to change him into a
darker outfit so they could take his passport photo. |
There were a few people present at the meeting
including the orphanage staff, gov't worker, etc.
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We can't believe he's finally ours! What a little bundle
of joy. We even got a little simle out of him (see right). |
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