One week since Gotcha Day!

Well, my plan to post each day was foiled last night when my entire post was deleted right after I had finished writing it:(  I was way too tired to start all over so I'll give the synopsis of the past two days today.
Yesterday was full of emotion as we toured the orphaange and found Quinn's finding place.  We started the day with a trip back for Quinn's TB results...negative, thank God!  Then we traveled to the orphanage.  It was about a 45 minute drive so Quinn slept on the way.  She tends to pass out everytime we're in the car.  We're hoping this translates to a good plane sleeper as well:)

We were tentative about taking Quinn with us, but she was doing so well, we figured we'd give it a shot.  She was pensive and quiet as we toured the grounds, but started to wail as we entered the building where she lived.  I immediately took her outside and we played while Chris finished the tour.  These are some of his photos.  It was evident that Quinn was well-loved and cared for at GSWI.  It is a fantastic place and all the kids we saw seemed very happy.  We are blessed that Quinn was with such loving people.  The woman who gave us the tour was the same as the one we met on Gotcha Day.  She said that Quinn and her foster sister were two of the cutest and "sharpest" girls and that they would be missed.  They had kept the photo album and disposable camera we had sent for Quinn in a care package.  I cannot wait to see the pictures on the camera:)



After the orphanage visit, Jack and our driver drove us around for what must have been a good hour trying to find Quinn's finding spot listed in the police records.  After asking a bunch of locals, we finally found it.  It was very emotional to see the location.  Not only was it in front of a police station that would have been monitored 24/7, it was also directly across the street from a local hospital.  I can only imagine what a difficult decision it was for Quinn's birth mother to leave her there, but I imagine she waited until she knew Quinn was found.  Given that Quinn was well-bundled and had a note with her giving the date and time she was born, I feel that to be even more true.  We are forever in debt to the courageous woman who has given us our beaustiful daughter.

As I've mentioned, Quinn loves to eat:)  Her favorites are bao-baos(sp?), little buns filled with meats, veggies, beans, etc.  The driver, Jack, and we all went to lunch together and Jack ordered bao-baos especially for Quinn.  They are served family style and she had already eaten two of them when the driver took the last one.  She looked at him very seriously then began wagging her finger and saying, "no,no,no."  We all died laughing!
We had a leisurely afternoon strolling the streets and the garden where I snapped some photos.

 The look we get to say "huh?"

 Then we had dinner with another couple who is here from FL adopting a 7 yr old, adorable boy!  It was nice to have some adult company.  It made the time fly by!  Quinn discovered the boys' sunglasses I had brought for her to play with.  She has to scruch up her lips to keep them on.  She wants to wear them all the time, including during bedtime stories!

Today, at the urging of "grocery store Amy," we had Ann from Red Thread take us out for a 3 hr shopping excursion.  She was PHENOMENAL!  We got amazing deals on all sorts of souvenir goodies.  It was a whirlwind experience.  Thankfully, Quinn decided to nap during the longest trip so we were more relaxed.
We didn't do much this afternoon...just hung out around the garden outside since the weather was a balmy 70 degrees.
 
Here's a picture of a pouty moment.  It's taking more seriousness on our part to convey the "no" message and she is testing us more and more.  She gets it, but as you can see isn't too pleased with the dreaded "no" word.

Tomorrow we head out for a hike on a nearby mountain...what I have been looking forward to most:)  The real bummer is that most families that had the same Gotcha Day as we did have already gotten their consulate appts and are leaving tomorrow:(  We are the last ones to leave that we know of:(  We are dying to be home, but are trying to savor these last few days with Quinn one-on-one as a precious time of bonding.
Chris and I said again today just how blessed we feel to have such a darling of a daughter who God had ordained to be a member of our family.  It gave me goose bumps to think back on when we had found out Quinn wasn't walking and that she might have cerebral palsy.  We were on the verge of choosing not to adopt her.  Thank God we prayed about it and were given God's gracious word to move forward.  This journey of faith has led us to one amazing child!