Match Day

Tuesday morning came and I was so nervous. We were actually going to find out all about Kailei today. We had been waiting so long for this day; it was hard to believe it was actually real.

We all got up and got ready in plenty of time. I wanted to leave as soon as we could but knew that getting down there earlier was not going to help. We finally left around 8:00 a.m. because I couldn’t stand it anymore. We decided to run a few errands. We went to the church to find out about pre-school for Keara. We went to Wal-Mart so I could pick up some name tags for people. Then we went to Krispy Kreme to pick up donuts for everyone. By that time, it was time to go to CCAI. We were the first ones there of course. It was a beautiful day.

We set things up, took a few pictures and began to wait. I wanted to begin to get some video so I had Zeb turn on the camera. I said “Hi Kailei”, and began to cry. This was the day we’d been dreaming about. I was so happy. After I got myself together, I had Zeb turn on the camera again. I said, “Hi Kailei, it’s your mom. Today is May 24, 2001”. 2001? No, its not.! I don’t even know what I was thinking. What a dork I was. Anyway, we finally finished a little video when some other folks started to arrive.

The tailgate party consisted of quite a few families. Many of them were on the yahoo group, and many of them we had met before at the lunch. Sheryl and Matt Lawrence came to support the group. It was so nice to have them there. They are such a great couple. So, we took pictures, ate donuts and talked about all kinds of things. We met some of our travel mates – Lynn and Paul, Lanie and Randy, and Bob and Diana.

The calls began around 10:30 a.m... You’ve never seen a group of people more excited about a cell phone ringing. We had a few false alarms which can get your nerves going but it was all so exciting. About half the families were inside by the time our call came. At 11:15 a.m., while we sitting under tree outside CCAI, my cell phone rang. I jumped up. I was a mess and of course started crying again. I opened the phone to try and answer it but simply held it out to your Dad to get. I couldn’t talk. What a dork I was again! They told us we could come inside and so I grabbed tissues, the cameras and away we went.

Kathy was the CCAI staff member to provide us with information about Kailei. She was our “delivery nurse” so to speak. As the jei jei, Keara was the first to see her picture. She was excited. I saw it next as Zeb was trying to get things on video. The picture of Kailei took my breath away! What a cutie! At that moment, she became ours. We’d been waiting so long and we’d thought about her so much – well, of course there was more crying to be done. Kathy started telling us all about her. I don’t remember much of what she said to be honest. I just kept looking at her picture and wishing we were actually in China picking her up. Her little red cheeks and beautiful eyes had me engrossed. I was so grateful to her birth parents, and felt so lucky that they chose to give her a life that they could not offer. We are so blessed by their decision because we are now her forever family.

I have to share yet another dorky move that I made. I went to sign the official paperwork and dated it May 24, 1967. Once again, it is 2005 but 1967 is what I wrote for it is when I was born. I must admit this was the best birthday present I have ever had.

We spent about 45 minutes at CCAI and then came out to share with others in the parking lot. Everyone was so excited. What an amazing welcome into the world.

We finally left around 1:00 p.m., first to arrive and last to go. We went and had lunch, New York pizza of course. Then we stopped by Kinko’s to make a million copies of her picture. After Kinko’s we headed to Mom and Dad’s house. They had balloons and flowers when we arrived. Tracie, Mark, and Nic were there. They wanted to know everything so we told them all about our day.

We made a few phone calls while we were there to Kevin, Nana, Judy, and Rita. Zeb started calling his family and sharing the news as well. It was a whirlwind of activity.

Around 5:00 p.m., Tracie, Mark and Nic had left and we decided to go out and celebrate with Mom and Dad. We had to go out for Chinese food of course. We were exhausted at this point but knew some food would so us some good. Mom shared the photo of Kailei with our waitress and Dad asked her to translate paperwork for us – now you know where I get my dorkiness from.

We got home around 7:00 p.m. – though it felt like midnight. Keara fell asleep in the car. She was such a trooper all day and was exhausted. I promised I would send out pictures to Nana so Zeb went to work finalizing the adoption announcement. Around 8:30 p.m. I sent it out to everyone. I tried to get caught up on the million of emails that had come out that day but was just too tired. Zeb and I fell into bed around 9:00 p.m. totally exhausted. We were plum tuckered out but when we hit the pillow, neither one of us could sleep. We talked some more about Kailei and how excited, blessed, and lucky our family was. Around 10:00 p.m. we finally drifted off dreaming of our new daughter.

I will never forget this day. Kailei was born in our hearts and we will never be the same. We love her and now can’t wait to get to China.