Well day 1 in Zhengzhou is in the books.  After 34 hours of travel we finally made it to our hotel.   Thankfully the flights were fairly uneventful.  I can’t say that for the rest of the afternoon.  We arrived to our hotel just before 1 pm with what seemed to be just enough time to pull some clothes out of the luggage, shower, and leave to get Patrick.  As Lauren and I were organizing the suitcases, Maggie took a shower without a problem.  When it was time for Lauren to shower apparently the cold water quit working.  5 minutes later the hot water quit working.  After freaking out a little, and going to the front desk to check into things, I learned that a construction project down the street had all water to the hotel turned off.  This is my 5^th trip to China so I must say I wasn’t very surprised.  Shower or no shower, the day went on, and with two days of travel behind us we went to get Patrick. 

“Gotcha Day” at the registration office was as exciting as it has been for each of the other children.  Anxiously awaiting for the orphanage director to walk in with our child, we were overjoyed when they finally brought him in. Patrick, not so much.  He got hugs and kisses from everyone of course.  He cried, but honestly not as much as you might expect from a 3 year old being handed over to someone he doesn’t know.  After a pack of cookies and a little candy he was laughing and smiling for the camera just as we remembered him from our 2 weeks at New Hope in Beijing. 

 The rest of the day was filled with lots of laughing, playing, and of course a little birthday cake.  Our sweet guides from CCAI, brought him a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him.  He smiled as they sang and then ate his cake, Lauren’s cake, and pretty much anyone else’s who would give him a bite.    He got his bath, and honestly went to sleep much more easily than I had expected.  I guess getting adopted wears a little guy out.  I know the paper work, travel, and anticipation definitely wore the rest of us out.  We could barely stay awake long enough to walk to the bed!!! I look forward to the next few days of learning all about Patrick, enjoying a little sightseeing in China, and visiting with the friends we have here.  I pray that everyone reading this had a very Merry Christmas Day! It certainly was a different one for us, but a wonderful day for sure!!!