18 March 2008



and then there were four

It's been a whirlwind...we arrived in Nanchang, had our CCAI meeting and 15 minutes to get prepared before it was time to meet Paisley! We arrived downstairs five minutes before we were supposed to meet and guess who we saw in the hallway!! Paisley was with the Orphanage Director waiting for her new family to arrive! We were ushered in the meeting room and 10 seconds later we became a family of FOUR! It all happened so suddenly we barely had time to get any photos! Piper was so excited to meet Paisley, Paisley...um not so much excited to meet us! We also found out at the CCAI pre-gotcha meeting that Paisley had been in foster care within the SWI since December, I wish we'd known earlier, but this is a good thing, it means she had plenty of attention and love from her foster Mother. It has been a crazy two days, last night we were able to get a small smile and some babbling from our sweet-pea, no small feat I assure you, we have had a lot of tears, a lot of grief...but we hope, as the next few days pass, we will see our little bud start to bloom.

15 comments:

Gail said...

So glad everything went well. She will be wonderfully happy to be with you soon.
Gail

Stefanie said...

YEAH!! Another morsel at last :) So glad to see the whole beautiful family together... Piper looks like such a BIG girl now, I'm sure it's bittersweet that she's not the baby anymore. WELCOME Paisley!! Can't wait to watch you bloom in your fabulous forever family!!! And bloom you will, I have no doubt :)

Special K said...

Congratulations!
Both of your daughters are beautiful. Both. Yep...you have two now. :)

Matt said...

Hello Hayley and Mike,

We send our congratulations from Minnesota! Look forward to seeing you all when you return.

All the best,

Matt and Rachel

Fliss and Mike Adventures said...

I am so happy for you all... can't believe that you finally have Paisley... seems so unreal... but a picture says 1,000 words... love to you all...

kitchu said...

I'm just grinning from ear to ear.
I'm so dang happy I can't stop smiling.

Thanks for inviting me to be such a huge part of this- posting for you, emails, at least one phone call- I feel like I'm almost there with you, and that has been such a gift!

tiffany said...

WOW! So great to see you all together. And she is wearing the stripey outfit from her pix! Love that. :) Congratulations Hoppes!

Tamara said...

It is good to see you all together! What a beautiful family you make. Congratulations guys!

dawn said...

Congratulations,
lots of sweet smiles to come.
What a wonderful big sister Piper is.
Hugs being sent you way

Patricia said...

It's so darn AWESOME to see you all together!!! Beautiful family of 4!! Piper looks like such a big girl now!! :) WOW!! Can you believe you have TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS now?!?!

Unknown said...

Cool - she even has her tiger coat on still! So happy for you all!

JMCS said...

I am so happy that you all are finally together. I know that Paisley will open up after a little while. You are a great mom and you know how these things go.

I know what you mean about the Gotcha moment not going the way you intended. After our 30 plus hour flight (including layovers)Sofia was placed in our arms 20 minutes after arriving in Gansu. I looked like road kill in the short video and pics we got, but I will always treasure them.

You guys look so happy and you just hang in there my friend, I know that things will get easier with each passing day. We love you guys. Send more pics please. I can't wait to get on my computer everyday. Hope Piper is feeling better too.

Hugs,
Jonni

redmaryjanes said...

I am so happy for you guys. How can she resist you guys? In a couple of days, there will be hugs and love. What a beautiful baby and family!!

Barbie said...

Congratulations!! It so wonderful to see Paisley in your arms!!

taiwanbaby said...

how wonderful!!!!!!