The Forward: Gotcha Day

Dear Claire:
What a day this has been for you. When Mommy and Daddy first met you about 12 hours ago, you were a very scared, tired and even angry little girl. You were in a strange city, surrounded by strange people, and you had been up since the wee hours of the morning making the long drive from Guilin to Nanning, where Mommy and Daddy would meet you.


Some dear friends of Mommy and Daddy reminded us that every single little baby that is born into this world is born kicking and screaming. And that reaction is something that every parent hopes for. It means that a child is alive ... has emotions ... and can feel. That was no different than you on Gotcha Day, October 6, 2008. It was so hard for you to see the orphanage director and your nanny leave the room and say goodbye. Mommy and Daddy were smiling at you, but it was probably confusing because we were speaking in a language that was unfamiliar to you. Claire Qiuxia, you were tired. You were scared. You were --- and still are grieving --- all that you've left behind in Guilin. All of your world that was familiar to you. Mommy and Daddy were so tender for you.


And precious child, you know how to grieve. You do it well. You can feel the emotions stirring up inside of you. We're quite confident that you will be a girl who wears her emotions on her sleeve. We've never seen a child sob so deeply. You were even angry. You got back to the hotel room with Mommy and Daddy. And you showed us what was inside your backpack. And then you threw those things while you sobbed, while you grieved. You probably felt very alone at that time.


Then you let Daddy hold you. He just held you and rocked you. Slowly. So slowly. And you took some deep breaths and let go of the sadness, the grief, the anger you had been carrying around for a couple of hours. You stayed there with Daddy for a long time. Just rocking. Slowly. So slowly. And then you took one more deep breath and fell asleep. Such a tired, little girl.


When you woke up later, you still weren't too sure about things. And that's OK. We'll take this real slow, little Claire. We asked you if you were hungry. You shook your head no. We asked you if you were thirsty. You shook your head no. We asked you if you needed the potty. You shook your head no. We think you just needed to look around and soak all of this in. These new people. This new place. This new language. We found a Chinese Children's program on TV. You liked that. A set of voices that sound familiar to you.


Slowly, you became more comfortable with this little place. You let us give you something to drink. You let us take you to the potty. Then you pointed to the window. You wanted Daddy to take you there. You looked out ... awestruck. Maybe you have not seen the world from a 14th floor before. Or maybe it was the beautiful blue, purple and green lights that caught your attention as they flickered across the Nanning skyline. You love that window. We would make several visits.


Then you began to parrott words. We said "Mommy." You said "Mommy" and pointed to her. We said "Daddy." You said "Daddy" and you pointed to me. That touched our hearts, Claire Qiuxia. It had been a tough day up to then. A really tough day. And perhaps God used you and your innocence to let us know that things would get better. Then it was time for Grandma to go. You said "Ni ni, bye, bye" and you waved. Precious.


Then, Claire your switch went on. You came alive. We played with balls. You laughed. You smiled. You colored with Mommy. You laughed and smiled some more. We blew bubbles ... oh, you thought that was simply spectacular. You played with Ling Ling, your new doll. Oh, how you love her. You even showed Mommy and Daddy how to put at pony tail holder in Ling Ling's hair. Then you found Daddy's computer. That was pretty cool too. And better yet, you were mesmerized by all of the pictures of YOU that you were suprised to see on Daddy's computer.


You let us change you into some brand new pajamas and we got you ready for bed. We watched you sleep all night long. All night. You're such a beautiful girl. And you sleep so deeply. (in fact, you're sleeping as I write this). You are also a bed hog and love to sleep on a diagonal. We think you've covered about 110% of the bed tonight. But tonight you've slept so deeply. That is a blessing. We can't even imagine what you're dreaming about, Claire. We sit here and look in wonder at this beautiful little girl who God has chosen just for us. And you too, are trusting us. We see a fiesty, spunky little girl running around the Madsen Ranch. You're so beautiful when you laugh. When you smile. You are our daughter. A treasured child of the most High God.



We don't know what's going to happen when you wake up this morning. Will we meet the girl we first met yesterday? Or will we meet the girl who was laughing, smiling and imitating us when we put you to bed last night? Only God knows which Claire will wake up with us today. But we trust Him completely. And we pray that one day, you'll be able to trust us completely.



Our journey has begun.



We love you,
Mommy and Daddy



P.S. Hey Everyone -- it has been a long, long day for the Madsen Ranch. And to be honest, a really tough one emotionally. For Claire and for us. Hopefully, this entry will give you a better sense of what our first day together was like. We have it all on video too --- the challenging moments and the tender ones --- and we'll share that with you as soon as we're able.


We did feel your prayers yesterday. When we first met Claire, it was the wee hours of Monday morning in Chicago. Most of you were deep asleep too. But when Claire's switch went on late last night our little girl came alive, we knew it was prayer. We felt lifted up. It was clear. it. We love all of you, and please keep the prayers coming!

- Jeff, Helena and Claire