We KNEW we would get an easy one this time!

Yeah right! She's a pistol! We took one look at her and knew that we had gotten ourselves a firecracker!

But let me back up a bit and tell you how the day unfolded so you can fully appreciate our newest addition.

Last night we were really missing the boys so we made arrangements to Skype them when they got home from school (which is 4 am here). So we woke up at 4 and talked with them for 15 minutes or so and then went back to bed. It suddenly hit us both that we were going to meet our daughter in 6 hours and we were so keyed up that neither of us could sleep. We finally just got up, worked on a puzzle book and read while we waited for time to pass. We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel and packed and repacked items to take to the Children's Home. Our ride arrived at 10 and we went on another driving adventure but this time it lasted nearly an hour and it was in the rain. It was dumping buckets. As we approached the Children's Home the roads became narrower and narrower until it was just a 1-lane dirt road down an alleyway and suddenly we were there.

We were greeted by a social worker and went over Jada's social history and the plans for the next couple days. We were able to meet the nurse who had been carrying for her up until July when she married and left the Home. She returned today to meet us. After what felt like an eternity, they took us to a small guest room and brought us tea and water. Finally, two caregivers opened the door, one holding Jada's hand as she walked in.... and then Jada turned around and walked right back out. One of the gals picked her up and carried her in to us and the caregiver just stood there. It wasn't clear what we were supposed to do so I finally grabbed her and held her.... she was stone-faced and she gave me the biggest stare-down! As for first impressions... she is gorgeous. Maybe... probably... most definitely the most beautiful little girl on the planet. Big black eyes and a full head of thick wavy hair. She was wearing a dress with both arms full of bangle bracelets, wearing jingling silver anklets and glittery barrettes. She looked like hot stuff and she knew it. If one of her bracelets fell off, she would hold out her arm and pinch her fingers together so we could slide them back on. She made a point many times of showing me her anklets and pointing at her barrettes for us to straighten.

She didn't really want much to do with us at first and refused to smile. Finally, using the magic of My Little Pony sparkly stickers, she loosened up and would allow either of us to hold her. We spent all day at the Home. The caregivers frequently described her as "clever" and that is probably a good description. She made it very clear through pointing and hand gestures so we knew exactly what she wanted.We found out that Jada was something of a celebrity in the home. She has a giant personality. She is a social butterfly. She lives in the wing with the kids with medical needs but since her health has been well managed, she appears very healthy. Thus, she's doted on and babied by many of the older children.

They showed us her meal routine and I fed her a mush that was rice, veggies, curry, potatoes, and papaya. She ate it pretty well but they informed us that her favorite food is chocolate! While I fed her the nurse and caregivers painted Jada's and my feet with red dye from hibiscus. It is something that is done on special occasions.

Then they fed us lunch. The meal consisted of a variety of vegetarian Indian dishes. While we were eating, Jada played around the room. It was her naptime and she became delirious. Up until then we had heard very few noises out of her. Suddenly she broke into a hilarious belly laugh that she could not control. It was hysterical and we were cracking up. She and I were sitting on a bed, tickling and playing and all of a sudden she put her head down and almost instantly began snoring. She was out. And she slept that way for a solid hour.

As she slept, our room slowly became invaded by older children from the Home. It began with a 5-year-old boy and eventually a posse of pre-teen girls entered and they began manning the door, not allowing any others in. All introduced themselves to me in English and told me that they were "going to America." By this, it did not mean that they had a family waiting for them in the US, rather their goal was to someday make it to America. One girl handed Jeremy a notebook and asked him to write his name in it. He did and then handed it back. She passed it back to him and said "phone number." Jeremy didn't know what to do but finally wrote his number down without any area code or country code and she was satisfied. In fact, she copied it onto her hand and showed all of her friends.

Soon the kids discovered the camera and begged to have their photos taken. THEN one of the caregivers asked to try taking a picture. And from there it progressed into the dozen or so children in our room posing for pictures with any and all combination of kids so that about half of our 300 photos of the day were taken by the caregiver and the older children... many of which are crooked, blurry or have someone's head cut off. Regardless, they had a blast.

Around 5:30 we left for the hotel and the former nurse who visited for the day rode with us in our taxi. She agreed to take us shopping at a jewelry store because we wanted to buy Jada some silver anklets. Tomorrow she will also travel with us to help us find some more bangles for her and perhaps some traditional clothing.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was 7. The temperature was only around 90 degrees but since it rained off and on all day, the humidity was unlike anything else we had ever experienced. Jeremy described it best, perhaps, when he said that we weren't dripping with sweat. Instead we just kind of "oozed" all day and I'm sure we smelled lovely due to all our recent Indian spices trying to escape through our pores.

Tomorrow we return to the Children's Home and we will take Jada home with us then. We were going to wait until Thursday but she is warming up to us nicely. She actually fussed a bit when I turned her over to a caregiver when it was time for us to leave for the day. We will probably take it easy on Thursday and not go to the Home because that evening we will fly back to Delhi to finish the last part of this mission - the Visa.

So now, I will leave you with some of our favorite photos of the day and you can see for yourself the little fireball that will soon be joining the family!