Update on Caroline!

Thursday was Moving Day, and it was one of the most exhausting days I can remember. But in the midst of upheaval and craziness, we got an incredible surprise: new pictures and VIDEO of Caroline!!! For the sake of her privacy, I will not post the videos here. However, I have posted a few pictures as well as the translations of the video conversations.

The videos appear to have been filmed on October 13th, just a day after we received pre-approval to adopt her. So we can't believe that she was told the news so soon! She would have received pictures of us, a letter, and a care package from us a few days after the video was filmed.

Many of the pictures are candid, so you don't get to see Caroline's beautiful smile that appears in the videos. She seems to be a little shy and has such a sweet and gentle spirit.

(As a reminder, I am not allowed to mention Caroline's Chinese name on the blog, so while she may keep her name, we have to call her Caroline for now.)

In the first video, we learned that Caroline loves to play badminton, and her favorite color is purple. She is in the 6th grade, and her favorite subject is literature. She said her English may not be very good at first, and if we would please be patient with her. Her foster mom pipes in and says how excited Caroline is to be going to America. Caroline also says that she is excited to have a new mom and dad.

Paraphrase of 2nd Video with Foster Mom speaking:

She said she did not want her to go, but was not capable of taking care of her. "Caroline" loves her step-sister very much. They love each other so much. She understands that it is the best thing ever happened to "Caroline". She wish her well. Hard to let her go....

We are more anxious than ever to get our dossier to China so that we can officially begin the wait for LOA and Travel Approval. We are still waiting on approval from the USCIS.

In other news, we are settled into the poolhouse until next Friday when we can move into our new home. Our first night here, Grace had a very difficult time. She woke up screaming and crying around midnight and did not stop for 30 minutes. She backed herself into a corner of the room and screamed "NO mommy!" or "NO daddy" if we took any steps toward her. We asked her if she was mad or sad about the move, and she would just yell with rage, "I. AM. NOT. MAD!!!!!!" and other such statements with the words cut short and staccato-like. We hadn't seen this type of rage/fear/grief since our 2nd night with her in China. I am sure that she was scared we were leaving her. After all, every change of scenery she has ever experienced involved a change in caretaker. The last 2 nights have been fine, but please pray that she will know (subconsciously too) that she is with us forever.

Of all times, a big winter storm of snow and ice is predicted for Sunday through Tuesday. Because I only brought enough clothes for one week, I didn't pack gloves, heavy sweaters, or anything necessary for snow. And if ice causes the power to go out (as it has done in Birmingham before), we're really in trouble. It was 65 degrees the day I packed our bags for the poolhouse, so you can imagine what type of items I brought. And have I mentioned how livid we will be (and ALL of Bham) if loss of power happens on Monday night as Auburn (my alma mater) plays for the national championship??? Let's just not go there.

Thanks for all the sweet comments on Grace's coat and hat in the previous post. It's made by Corky and Company, and I found it online during a store's huge sale. (I can't recall the name of the boutique.) If you find one of the coats, don't pay full price because you can buy them for a lot less!!

In the next week, I hope to have some more news and a better timeline to bring Caroline home. I'll update soon!