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Our visit to China

Over the course of around nine months, my family and I had been anticipating the moment, the one moment. Dream after dream, thought after vision, we counted down the days until our journey to China would come. Not just a trip to China, but for the love of one orphan that we had never met.

The fact that so quickly we could go from a family of four to a family of five in a blink was beyond belief. There was no way of knowing exactly how she would look, or how we would feel, whether she would be happy, sad, scared or excited. After a full day of travel, and a few days to relax, we had spent a few days in China experiencing some of the culture, and catching a glimpse of their society.

The constant busyness, and the professional work ethic put forth by their society was barely sensible to us. Our jaws nearly dropped after realizing what we were used to, and what was right in front of our eyes. We spent a few more days visiting local shops, and gearing up for this drastic change.

For months now, we had been planning and arranging all the details.As the days whizzed by right in front of us, we finally boarded the small taxi van to make our hour long trip to the adoption agency. Finally we were so close! We were eager to catch a glimpse of the nine month old baby girl we had all been waiting for. The agency workers sat us down in a room where we waited for a short time anticipating when our new sister would appear.

At last, the tramping footsteps marched up the hallway, getting louder and louder each step. We knew she was right there, especially following her soft worn out cries. Before we had time to think, our eyes quickly focused on this tiny beautiful girl the worker was grasping and we quickly gathered around to share our first moments with 'Kenzie.' We weren't sure of the last time she had been comforted, nor the last time she had a clean pair of clothes put on, but we did know that she was now treasured more than ever.

Our hearts glowed in happiness that we finally caught grasp of her, but ached for the sadness and pain she had faced previously. She was now faced with not just a new start, but a new life, a new family, and a new adjustment. I was fairly busy that day filming, and taking as many pictures as I could snap, but I was aware that Kenzie was loved, and cherished as a part of our family.

My mother did her absolute best to keep Kenzie with her at all times, to develop and early bond for which Kenzie would feel sheltered and protected. My brother and I played with her, and brought out of the first smiles we had ever seen from her. It was so joyful to see her smiling, which assured us she was somewhat happy with this one hundred and eighty degree life change in just one day.

We had been in China nearly a week and a half already and realized how fast time had passed.. The next few days, we spent our time visiting the city of NanChang, and even took a scenic three hour van ride through the mountains of Jiang Xiu to take a tour of Kenzie's orphanage. The strenuous van ride was unquestionably worth the eye opening experience of the scenery and the emotion near the orphanage.

The orphanage in a way seemed to 'complete' our experience of the adoption. It really opened up our eyes to the incomparable society differences. I now have a much deeper and further understanding of how truly blessed we are here in the United States. As quickly as the last 15 days had gone, the time was nearly over. We prayed that Kenzie would travel well, because 26 hours of solid traveling for a nine month old is no easy task. In fact, Kenzie did well indeed. We looked foreword to entering our civilization once again, and were left with a feeling of thankfulness to live under the roof we do. Our trip to China will be a lasting reminder of the journey we took, and the young life in which we saved.