Introducing......

Please meet the newest member of our family: Emery Wynne Lantz!

So here is a quick rundown of our week:

Monday:  We went to the adoption registration center in the morning to meet our new daughter.

It went surprisingly well!

We spent the morning with our guide and went out to lunch--- apparently we were the first foreigners to visit this restaurant (Langer Restaurant) and if you ever go there in Changsha you might see our picture on the wall. :)  We then went back to the hotel to relax.  Emme Lu (this is what we are calling her right now as a transitional name between Lulu and Emery) played with Colin, Kyle and Raegan all day.  We were grateful for such a happy day.


Tuesday:  We went back to the registration center to finalize the adoption so that they could prepare her papers for her visa.  Things went great until we were about to leave.  Raegan and Emme Lu had been playing when Emme tripped and fell.  She started crying and that was the catalyst to unleash all that was going in her little mind and heart.  For the next thirty minutes (although it seemed much longer at the time) she proceeded to unleash (loudly)  everything that she was processing. Through the interpreter she shared that she didn't want to go to America, she hated us, hated airplanes, shewanted to know why if we were her family we hadn't come to get her as a baby, how she was never going to forget her Chinese, how she was going to send money to her Granny (her foster mother), and a number of other things.  It was so hard to watch her little heart break and not be able to do a thing about it.   When she finally settled down, we went to the park and walked around (even though she said the park was ugly and she didn't want to be there :)).  Over the next hour her mood slightly softened and we went back to the hotel where she seemed to regain some of her previously happy mood.


















Wednesday:  We went to the orphanage to meet her foster parents. We found out that she had been with them for several years and they were very attached.  We were a little wary after the previous day, not knowing what this might trigger, but it went well.  She was happy to see them, but as we were leaving took my hand and Raegan's hand as we got in the van. Visiting the orphanage was difficult.  It is a very well run facility, but it is still heartbreaking to see all the little faces.  I was so ready to scoop up one little girl and just take her with us.  It was hard on our big kids too, the reality of an orphanage is truly heartbreaking.

Thursday:  We did a little sightseeing around Changsha.

 The weather is cold and rainy, so we are pretty much stuck in our hotel with little to do.  We pick up our papers on Friday and take the bullet train back to Guangzhou to complete the remaining paperwork with the US consulate.  While an interesting city, we will be happy to leave Changsha. (There are so many more photos I would like to upload, but I have been having difficulty with our connection) Thank you so much for your prayers and support thus far. One more week to go before everything is finalized and we can come home.  We know that we have a ways to go before Emme Lu feels completely secure, and we are sure there are some meltdowns to come (without a translator to tell us what she is saying!) but we know we are right where God wants us to be!

Please continue to pray for our transition to a family of 6!