This is The Day That the Lord Has Made

Welcome to the family (officially) - Faith Bryanna Masyr (Ting-Ting).   She is everything that dreams are made of.  A blessing much richer than we ever deserved or hoped for.  The long journey and months of waiting were well worth it.  She was more beautiful and charming than we dared to dream.  Faith was placed into our arms at 3 PM on Monday, December 5th.  She came to us without shedding a tear.  Some people said that they even noticed a small smile when she was placed into Christy's arms.  She even fell asleep while Christy was holding her.  She has the fullest cheeks that you want pinch.

The morning started with a 4 AM wake-up call.  After showering and eating breakfast, we got on the bus at 6 AM to head to the Beijing airport.  We boarded a China Airlines plane that took off around 8 AM and landed in Chongqing at 10:30 AM.  We proceeded to our hotel, which is beautiful and magnificently decorated for Christmas.  After filling out some paperwork, we headed to the Civil Affairs Office.  When we got there, we saw five little girls in walkers.  Samantha recognized Faith right away and ran up to her.  We were not allowed, however, to get our girls.  Instead, we were herded into a small room.  After a few minutes in there, our entire group prayed, thanking God for his wonderful gifts.  The door then opened and we were told to go out and get our daughters.  The Crossnoe family was the first to get their baby; it made us start to cry.  Then we heard "Masyrs" and "Yan Ting".  Nothing could have sounded more magnificent at that time.  A nanny handed Faith to Christy.  We were all so ecstatic and excited to finally have our Faith!!  We took turns holding her and took plenty of pictures (mild understatement; more like 350).  After a few brief moments, we took our family picture and were fingerprinted (including Faith).  We were given a few moments to ask questions of one of the nannies.  We were told that "Ting-Ting" was her nickname at the orphanage.  Finally, we left the Civil Affairs office and went back to our rooms. 

Once in our rooms, we gave Faith a bottle (and she chugged it quickly).  We also gave her a bath.  We tried to lay her down but anytime we tried, she would start to whimper; she certainly likes to be held.  We then took her for a night on the town (a quick one).  A brief shopping trip for a thermos and some KFC, then nighttime.  She has been very mellow and has begun warming up to us. 

To say the least, we are exhausted.  Goodnight for now.  We hope you are enjoying our posts.

Chongqing