It's a GIRL!

The day has finally come, and we have our Eliana!!!

She is AMAZING!!!

I really do not have adequate words to express all of the emotions that have come about today, but I'm going to try my best to show you in pictures.  Let's face it, that's what you guys really want anyway...to see our beautiful daughter's face!

Our afternoon started with a short van ride to the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou.  We left the hotel at about 2:00 pm China time (1:00 am Central), and on the way there we were told that our daughter was already in the building!

Once we arrived at the Civil Affairs office, we had some paperwork to do, and then we waited.
This was the look on Randall's face once he realized that our daughter was just in the next room (you can see the room on the right of the picture, we were only separated by a curtain)!

Then the moment came.  They hurriedly called us over, and before we knew it they were handing her off to us!  Seeing Eliana for the first time was nothing short of amazing!  Wow!  Our sweet little girl was crying, but it only lasted about 2 minutes, and she hasn't cried again since.  She seems to be doing very well.  She is very quiet, and is trying to process all of her new surroundings.

Bless her heart, she fell asleep in the middle of everything at the Civil Affairs office.  She got a nice little nap while snuggling with Mommy!

Talking about paperwork with our wonderful guide, Miko!  Love her!

While Eliana napped on Mommy, Daddy went back to the playroom to ask the orphanage director questions about our little girl.  They were so sweet, and answered all of our questions.  It is evident that they truly loved and cared for Eliana!  They even let us know that they worked very hard to prepare her for today, by showing her our picture every day!  Isn't that the sweetest!?!  I do believe that is why she is doing so well today.  Praising God for the huge part they have played in our daughter's life.  We are forever grateful!

Randall sitting at the children's table in the playroom while asking our questions.

The orphanage director.

Once we left the Civil Affairs office, it was time to go to the supermarket to purchase some essentials.  First on the list...SHOES!  Don't you love it!  Every girl loves to shoe-shop!  So that was the first thing we bought.  Then we went on to purchase some other items, you know...food and stuff...not near as much fun.  Wink, wink!

Finally, we got back to the hotel.  Randall had to go and do paperwork for about an hour, while Eliana and I stayed in the room.  We checked out all of the toys we brought for her, and her favorite thing so far is the photo album that I made for her with about 40 pics of our family.  She LOVES pointing to her brothers' pictures so that I will say their names.  They are going to love each other!!!

Once Randall came back to the room, we gave Eliana a bath, and she quickly fell asleep.  She is sleeping in her crib now, and we are just amazed at what a wonderful day this has been.  Praising God for His faithfulness to get us here!  We are so thankful for this gift we have been given in Eliana!