It was a life changing day for the Regan family! It was the day when we first met our daughter in person. We had only seen pictures of her smiling face and waited for two years prior to that day. The day before, we were unable to meet her, although we were in Udon Thani, because it was a national holiday and the office at the orphanage would be closed. So, we had one day to relax with time to kill and to wonder and daydream about what the 11th would hold in store for all of us. It was a fantastic day. We were all so nervous and excited. Both Penny and I had been too excited and awakened around 5 a.m. unable to go back to sleep. The workers at the Udon Thani Girls' Home said that she had been so excited the night before that she couldn't eat her dinner. When we drove up to the grounds that morning Jay suddenly shouted, "There she is!". I looked over my shoulder and saw her through the window. She was jumping up and down in excitement to meet her new mommy and daddy! Jay missed that part because, in his excitement, he started crying tears of joy and set the video camera down on the floor of the van. So, you can only hear our voices while the tape is running, showing scenes of his leg, the van floor, etc. When our van stopped she ran to my side first to give me a big hug, then she ran around to the other side to give Jay a hug. Everywhere we walked she wanted to hold my hand.
She made sure that we got a dessert that she had bought for us. We got to listen to her playing a Thai instrument called a "khim" (similar to a hammered dulcimer). We watched her inquisitive mind at work figuring out our electronic dictionary. She was soon figuring it all out. A smart girl, I observed! We took a little walking tour around the grounds and did some paperwork in the office, etc. Then we all drove into downtown Udon Thani for a fair. Penny had been wanting to take us there for a long time! We were so fortunate that the airports had finally reopened just before we were set to depart so that her dream could come true. It was a great first day! We couldn't believe how blessed we were. We could immediately tell that this girl was very special with a caring and tender heart! We are so blessed that God has allowed us to become her parents!
4 comments:
Oh, what sweet memories! Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful memory of the beginning of your lives together. So precious! Thanks for sharing this great milestone.
Beautiful!!!! God has brought us all so far! So awesome!
The story of your meeting Penny for the first time is one of the sweetest things I've ever read! God is good; He creates families and fills them with blessing :)
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