A few thoughts before I move on to present day

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I intended to update everyone with blogs of happenings from our India trip but in wanting to do so I haven't had updates on what Nathan is up to. And so this is a quick list of things I wanted to say about our India trip but never got around to it. All future blogs will be about the present or near present.

Here is a reflection on our India trip.

The First Day
I never got to blog about this the way I wanted. This day deserves it's own entry but I have to face the fact that I lack the time to give it justice. The first day was April 14, 2009. This is the day we first met Nathan and he became ours to hold. The day began with Rajeev, our agency India coordinator, meeting us in the hotel lobby at 9am. Over breakfast he filled us in on what to expect. The most important advice he gave was that when we first meet Nathan to grab hold of him and give him a big bear hug and not let go. He said that will make Nathan feel secure.
We arrived at the orphanage with our suitcase filled with donations. The orphanage was smaller than I imagined. It was a 2 story building which was open and airy. As they gave us a tour of the place we walked into one room and someone came up to me and said here he is and handed me Nathan. No warning, no prep, totally unexpected. I thought I was getting a tour and suddenly my child is in my arms. In the shock of it all I remembered Rajeev's advice and grabbed him and gave him a big bear hug. I hugged him for the longest time. Our initial impression of Nathan was that he looked nothing like his pictures. He was much smaller and much darker than we had anticipated. Boy was he lovable. Our hearts melted as we held him. What a beautiful child and he was ours. We stayed at the orphanage a few hours and met the other children, took pictures, gave out donations ( we had taken a suitcase full), and gave the gifts the other families sent for their kids. At the end of it all, the orphanage held a goodbye ceremony. This was a religious ceremony in which all the kids and orphanage caretakers and administrators participated. The hardest part of this was seeing the children. They wanted to know where there parents were. They wanted to know why the baby was going home but they were not. The orphanage director explained to them that they had parents who would come for them soon and soon they would have their own goodbye ceremony. For the most part this is true.
Nathan fell asleep in Keyoor's arms at the orphanage. He woke up on the car ride back to the hotel. He watched in amazement out the car window at the world that was so new to him. At the hotel, Keyoor and I felt like we were in a dream. Here was the beautiful little boy that was our son and was finally with us. Thank you God.

Some Other Random Thoughts
1. I'm glad Nathan got to spend time with his cousins and his paternal grandparents. He loved his new family and they loved being with him.
2. Being in India was tough, the hot weather, the constant change of environment, the many plane rides, and life with a toddler.
3. Rajeev was our agency's India coordinator. Thank goodness he was there to help us. He is a wonderful man who makes sure the children find good homes. He also started his orphanage in Nepal for which he is always in need of donations. Let me know if you ever want to donate any supplies to India or Nepal orphanages. The need is great.
4. I wanted to write about the religious aspect of the adoption, how this all came to be. In a simple sentence, God led us to our child, and helped us bring him home.
5. It's been a long journey and one that does not end until the adoption is finalized. The road to finalizing the adoption in California is long and of course involves more paperwork and more money. It will take many months. I wish something in this process was easy. Actually the most important thing has been, loving Nathan and Nathan loving us.