After many months of preparation, followed by several months of waiting. Beijing has assigned us a baby. When I opened up the package that awaited me, I was rewarded with a picture of a beautiful baby girl from Xiamen, China. This was our Molly, and immediately I felt a bond with her. The date was July 2, 1997.

Six weeks later I clutched that same picture in my shaky hands as our plane lifted off from Logan Airport. We flew over the Arctic Circle and touched down in Beijing, China, where we discovered a world very unlike our own. The streets were teeming with cars, bicycles, and all sorts of carts and wares.

Although Molly was in an orphanage in Xiamen, on the southeastern coast of China, we had decided to first do some sightseeing in Beijing for a few days.

When the time came to board the plane for Xiamen, we were more than ready. Our plane touched down in Xiamen, a coastal resort city in the Fujian Province, on Sunday afternoon, August 17, 1997. After a taxi ride across the town, we found ourselves walking into a lovely flower-filled courtyard. This was the Xiamen Social Welfare Institute.

We met Ms. Guo, an orphanage official, in her office. After exchanging a few pleasantries, we were ushered into the lobby area of the orphanage. We had no sooner sat down when a worker brought a sleepy little girl and placed her in my arms. She nestled there as if it were the most natural thing in the world, keeping two fingers in her mouth at all times. For a few moments, we just sat there quietly, smiling and gazing at Molly, enjoying this most amazing moment in our lives.

Documents were signed, the orphanage donations were presented to Ms. Guo, and a nice acknowledgement was presented to all of the parents. An orphanage worker brought us a warm bottle of formula with instructions to give it to Molly at 10:30. Then we were whisked away into a van and driven a short distance away to the office of the local Notary Public. After this there was one more stop at the office of the local Justice. The baby's documents had to be forwarded to the capital of the Fujian Province, where the babies' Chinese passports were issued. In the Fujian Province, we had been told that this process could take up to 8 working days.

There would be no more red tape for several days, so Skip and I were free to get to know our new baby. Even though she was 13 months old, Molly was very lacking in the hair department. We discovered that Molly had two teeth and liked to say "I di di di di!" She had a cold, which did concern us as brand-new parents greatly. And she seemed to be quite thin. This was probably because she had not yet started to eat solid food. Molly could not walk yet and actually had trouble sitting and standing at times. But she seemed alert and healthy, except for her cold.

Waking up in the morning to find our own little girl grinning away at us was one of the nicest experiences we can ever remember. Molly seemed to bond with us overnight. This was a great relief because we had heard of a problem that could arise with orphans called "attachment disorder", in which children, because of lack of attention in the early part of their lives, cannot form meaningful attachments. But Molly accepted us immediately.

Everywhere we ever went in China, we were amazed at all the enthusiastic attention Molly would attract, and at how helpful and friendly the Chinese people always were to us.

After eight wonderful and relaxing days at the Holiday Inn, Molly's Chinese passport arrived. It was time to board a flight to Guangzhou. It was hard to say goodbye to Bruno, who had helped us immensely, and who tried to refuse payment. We wouldn't let him get away with that, though! Bruno had never facilitated an adoption before, but he did an admirable job for our new family.

We were taken by a guide and driver in Guangzhou and taken to the White Swan Hotel. At this five-star hotel, we really felt like we were on a luxurious vacation.

Our first order of business in Guangzhou was to complete the processing necessary to obtain Molly's US visa. First, she needed an examination at the Quarantine Hospital. Our next stop was a local photographer's booth to have Molly's picture taken for her visa application. With pictures of Molly in hand, all that remained was to fill out our visa application and await our appointment at the US Consulate, which also was in easy walking distance of the hotel.

My favorite feature of the White Swan Hotel was the huge outdoor pool, which - curiously enough - was built in the shape of "Snoopy".

Our consulate appointment was successful, and after a pleasant chat with the Consulate General, we were told to return the next afternoon to pick up the visa.

We then took a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, spent one night in Hong Kong, and then we were off on a fourteen-hour flight to Seattle, Washington. After three weeks away from the States, touching down in Seattle was a good feeling! We proceeded through the Immigrations area with Molly successfully. In was a great relief for a couple of tired new parents! Our last leg of the trip was a five-hour flight from Seattle to Boston. By the end of this leg, our nerves were beginning to fray and we were dead tired. It was all we could do to stay awake to keep Molly from rolling off the seat where she was propped up between us. On September 3, 1997, at around 9:00 p.m., we arrived at Logan Airport. We expected to be met only by our ride, but some friends could not keep themselves away. There they were, with a camcorder rolling, and with smiles and tears, to greet the new member of the Gray family. Molly Lin Shuxian Gray.

Molly is now almost 3. Her hugs, kisses, and shrieks of laughter keep us smiling. She is an alert and happy child with a sense of humor. Her health is excellent and she is thriving in all areas, except of a bit of a struggle with speech. Her speech has lately made rapid gains, and we know it will develop just fine.

Although Molly was 13 months old when we adopted her, we didn't miss out on many of the milestones that children of that age have often already attained. We got to experience the fun of helping Molly take her first steps. We were thrilled when she learned to call us "Mama" and "Dada". We suffered through the anxiety of helping her learn to eat solid food on a delayed timeline.

We did not journey to parenthood on the "usual" path. But the path we took proved to be the adventure of a lifetime.

...the efforts we went through were more than offset by all the support we received from relatives, friends, co-workers, the folks from the Florence Crittenton League, and others who had adopted previously. In the end we can't help but feel that we were blessed throughout the experience, and have been allowed the privilege of adopting a wonderful child. In a letter he sent to us from China, Bruno, who had been our guide through the Chinese adoption process, wrote, "She is a good and beautiful baby, your sweetheart".

She is that and so much more.