Whew, finally some time to sit down and process our last few days! We started
out Gotcha Day with a run through one of two parks that surround the hotel.
Ashley and Aimee watched the kids so we could go and it was awesome! Guangzhou
is a tropical area, so there is a lot of green.....banyan trees, plumeria trees,
palm trees....its a really beautiful place. The parks are huge and hilly.
There were paths up, down, around, everywhere you turn. The one we visited is
"famous" they tell us & it deserves to be.....it has an amusement park, an
olympic-sized swimming pool, a playground, vintage military equipment, lakes
with boats you can rent. Lots of people out walking around the park and doing
their exercises.....its interesting, they use the playground equipment, they do
dances, they do tai chi and their version of hackysack (which is about 4-5 flat,
round pieces of metal bound together with feathers sticking out of the
top....we'll have to bring one home!) They also clap their hands and slap their
backs as they walk around.....we haven't asked yet, but we think its to get
their blood flowing??? It was an adventure navigating through the metro tunnel
to get to the park, but at least we didn't have to cross the street. I can't
remember if I mentioned it in a previous post, but crossing the street here is
crazy! Pedestrians don't have the right of way, and drivers don't always obey
the traffic signs/signals, so it is every man for himself. Poor Aimee has had
several close calls already and she just about ended up on the handlebars of a
bicyclist as we walked out of the civil affairs office!
After our park run, we had a quick meeting with Holt where they told us
what to expect for the afternoon. Ralph and I had to bring our passports and
some gifts for the orphanage staff, then some things for Leah.....it was so fun
packing a bag for her! We brought some toys and some snacks that we thought she
might like. Time dragged by until it was time to leave for the civil affairs
office. The kids were bouncing off the walls, so we had them take a little rest
before we went. We were all excited/anxious/happy when it was time to go. The
bus ride there was about 10 minutes & we realized how stressful a day it
must have been for these babies, who have likely never been in a car or bus
before, to take a two, three, four hour drive to come to this place and be
handed to someone they didn't know. We waited about 20 minutes before Leah
arrived, but while we waited, we got to watch as about 20 other families were
united with their children. You're almost speechless as you watch, it is such a
beautiful thing. There was a back playroom the kids were playing in while they
waited, and they would bring the kids out as each families' paperwork was ready.
The kids ranged in ages from infant to about 10.....and the families ranged
from those with four kids to this being their first, from the US, Spain, Germany
and more. Some of the kids came out pulling a suitcase or carrying a backpack,
with big smiles on their faces, others were crying, some screaming in fear.
Older children are allowed to make the decision if they want to go with their
family, and we have heard that, while it is seldom, there are those who do
choose to stay. There was a family who had a child around 12 and were adopting
a little boy who looked about 3 or 4.....he was having a really hard time, and
bless them, they just kept at it, working with him to get him settled down,
trying to comfort him. We have been so blessed that our children have had an
easy transition, but we can imagine the difficulty you would have in seeing your
child go through such anguish and emotional pain, but knowing that, if you can
just get to the other side of it, you are fulfilling what they need and long
for.
As they arrived, the caregivers had to walk through the room we were
waiting in to get to the playroom, so I was keeping my eye on the door. With
all of the other things to see, I almost missed her, but happened to look just
as someone was walking past with a sweet little girl in a headband.....I pointed
her out to Ralph and we both said, "that's her!" I lost it at the
point.....just seeing her in person after all these years of waiting was, well,
emotional. Our escort told us they would give us about 5 minutes heads-up
before they brought her out so that we could get cameras and snacks/toys
ready.....after waiting about 5 minutes after we initially saw her, Joyce, our
escort, said, "she's ready" and there she was! We scrambled to pull things out
of our bags....luckily, Aimee & Ashley were ready with cameras and video.
It was love at first touch....she was beautiful, and tiny! She is 3 1/2 and is
wearing 18 month shorts. She's long, but very petite, about 22 lbs. We spent
some time asking the caregiver questions.....her name, Shun Mu Yi, means - Shun
(is like her last name and is the name of the province/area she is from), Mu
(flower) Yi (elegant, graceful). She had a little cold, so they gave us some
herbal medicine as well as a small plastic bag with a few diapers, some cookies,
a pair of lace pants and a cute little Pooh bear washcloth. For an orphanage to
bring even that is a big deal....they don't have much money to spend on extras,
so we were very grateful.
Since then, we have been doing a little paperwork and spending some
downtime together as a family. Yesterday (Tuesday), we had to go back to the
civil affairs office to make it official (they give a 24 period for the parents
to make sure that they want to proceed with the adoption). It was a long
morning, about 2 hours and the kids were such troopers. We had two interviews
where they asked if we were sure we wanted to adopt her and if we were sure we
would never abandon or abuse her. We can't imagine answering anything other
than "yes, yes, yes!!" Back at the hotel, Leah & I took a nap while Ralph,
A & A took the kids to the pool. Papa Johns pizza delivered to the hotel
for dinner last night (we haven't been too adventurous with food yet), then out
for a walk & some ice cream. Leah has been pretty subdued since we met her
& she has attached to me more than Ralph or the kids at this point, but
she's warming up very little by very little. Its going to take her time to
realize that we are her final stop, that she won't be left again or given to
someone else. Continue to pray for her, if you would, that she will begin to
feel safe and secure in our family. She still has her cold with an icky cough,
so we're guessing she also doesn't feel 100%.
The most we've seen her open up is when we are out and about, especially
shopping. A & A were thrilled to see how much she enjoyed the mall and were
promising lots of shopping trips when we get home :) We found a little place
with several shops and bought her some new tennis shoes. She was so excited to
put them on! She started pointing to all of the different things they had...the
little cats with the swinging paw, bracelets, sunglasses, chopsticks, anything
and everything she wanted to hold, touch, feel.....and the ladies in the shop
were happily handing them to her in hopes that we would realize how much she
loved it all and would buy it for her! Ralph was excited to do his
bargaining....its only just begun....and we bought swim goggles for him, Makena
& Josh and Leah's shoes for 180Yuan, which is about $30 US, not too bad, but
he says he just getting warmed up :). The exchange rate is something like 6.24Y
per $1 US.
Not great sleep last night, Leah was awake again at 3am, not crying, just
looking around. At some point during the night, her and Josh had switched spots
so she was next to Ralph. We could tell she was nervous, so we moved her back
to next to me and she fell asleep again. Then it was off and on again for all
of us.
Finally, to today....we slept in since we didn't have anywhere to be and
had breakfast later than normal. We found an indoor/outdoor kiddyland (as they
call it in the hotel) that the kids had fun with. Just finished up a nap (we
were all being lazy, Ashley was the only one to hit the gym) and in a little
while, we head to a local place to get Leah's visa picture taken. Tomorrow is a
free day, so we're headed to Shamian Island, a place we LOVE, for laundry and
more shopping and wandering around. Shamian Island is a cool area where the
White Swan hotel is located. The White Swan is typically where adoptive
families stay, but it is under complete renovation. Everything is in walking
distance from the White Swan, so it was always so nice. We like the hotel we're
in, but there is something special about the White Swan. At least Holt borrowed
one of the red couches for the red couch photo......The WS had these couches
that all adoptive families would sit their kids on to take photos. We thought
we'd have to miss out on it this time, but our Holt staff showed us the couch in
their office...Yay!! Nothing like tradition!!
I'm sending lots of pics to post this time, as everyone requested!! We can
read our emails, so if you have anything specific you want to see, or have any
questions you've been wondering about, let me know! Thank you so much for your
words of encouragement and support! We miss everyone and can't wait for Leah to
meet you!
Oh, and one fact that I forgot to post from when we were in
Beijing....Beijing is a big city, 140km by 160km, but the amazing part to me was
that its population is about that of all of Canada. What!?!
Oh, and we forgot to wish a happy birthday to Uncle Dennis last
week......sorry Dennis! And thanks again for taking us to the airport!!
