Day 5-Gotcha Day

Just when we thought we had our sleep pattern down, we both woke up at 2:30am.  Not because of nerves or jitters just because we weren't tired anymore.  Grrr!  We actually turned on the TV around 4am and got up and around at 6am.  We didn't have to be ready until 9:30am.

We met our guide in the lobby at 9:30am and headed to the Civil Affairs office just 15 minutes away.  We were the first family to arrive and the lobby was empty.  So, we waited and signed our necessary papers and turned in the necessary papers and money.  Then we waited some more.  Other adopting families began to arrive and still no children.  The director of the PingDingShan orphanage arrived but since our son hasn't lived there ever, she came alone and we waited on Jordy's nanny and volunteer from Angel House to arrive by train from Beijing.  (Jordy was found in PingDingShan.  While he has never lived in the orphanage, the legal paperwork is still taken care of through that city orphanage).  Children from various orphanages began to arrive and we had the pleasure and honor to sit back and watch these families as they met their children for the first time.  I have to admit I shed tears over and over again as I watched families take into their arms their sons and daughters whom they had only known from pictures.  All beautiful children, all so deserving of a forever family, all with different needs and ALL created by God in their own perfection!  Breathtaking.

A play area in the lobby.

Not sure why this official looking desk exists.  They don't use if for anything but at least it looks official.

A room full of families and children.

Dustin and I along with Kathie and David were the last families to receive our children but alas the volunteers arrived and my tears began.  Not for the usual reason.  I was thrilled and excited to finally get Jordy into my arms but my tears were not shed out of happiness but out of mourning.  Unlike so many orphans, Jordy was well taken care of by Angel House.  There are usually around 40 children living there at a time and it's not a real family but it's leaps and bounds better than the orphanage.  He had a very tight bond with one of the volunteers specifically and she was the one that brought him to the Civil Affairs office.  When she arrived with Jordy, I just couldn't hold back the tears and neither could she.  She loves Jordy so very much and has spent so much time with him. She was with him during his surgeries.  She has taken him home for visits with her husband.  Jordy has been a central part of her life and today is the last day he will see her for a very long time if ever again.  I felt in many ways that I was taking her son away from her.  Don't get me wrong, she and I both understand that this is the way it is supposed to be but it doesn't make it easy.

My Jordy is officially in our custody.  The adoption will be finalized tomorrow.

The two volunteers that came specifically with Jordy.  Notice their shirts.  They are team "Jordy."  You can't tell in this picture but none of us have dry eyes.  I think we are hiding it well.

We had to waste a little time before having an official governmental family photo taken.

These two lived together at Angel House.  Notice how dolled up she is for her big day.  Quite the diva!

After our official Gotcha it was out to lunch with our J-man.  Let me tell you this smile is no rare thing.  He is a very very happy boy.

He is also an excellent and very un-picky eater.

He had to use a fork, a spoon, and chopsticks to complete his noodles.  Just for fun!

Then it was back to the hotel where we chilled shortly.  Jordy is LOVING the track that momma brought for him to play with and the cars his brother Gerik picked out for him to race.

Now for some cultural stuff.  I know you guys really enjoy these.  Here are some random things I've learned in no particular order.

-Sidewalks are for scooters, bicycles, and only sometimes people.
-The lines painted on the road indicating lanes are just for looks because no one stays between them . . . EVER!
-Turn signals are not required but horns are.
-Chinese women don't shave their legs but you can barely tell.  How awesome this would be!!
-Drinks including water are served hot or at the least, warm.
-When it is hot, Chinese men roll their shirts up above their belly.  I need to get a picture of this.
-You cannot drink tap water.  It's not safe unless you boil it.  The hotel provides these awesome machines that boil water in less than five minutes.

This card is actually for electricity which I found out the hard way.  Silly me, I thought it was a key card but when we tried to get back into our room it didn't work and our room was hot because the electricity had been out for several hours.  Oops.  You have to leave this in the slot at all times or the whole room has no power.

I have no idea what kind of flower this is but isn't it beautiful?!!

This is a residential area just down from the hotel.  Sad but true.

Scooters on the sidewalk.

More scooters on the sidewalk.

Big day.  Couldn't make it to Walmart awake.

I have no idea what kind of fruit this is but it awesome to look at.  Didn't try this one because we didn't want to wait at the fruit check line.  They have to weigh it and sticker it for check out.

These are tiny quail eggs.  There are all sorts of eggs in the stores.  Even the kind that they bury for a long time underground and then eat.

This Mountain Dew looks like it will light you up it's so florescent.

Walmart is two stories high.

The wheels lock onto the escalator preventing it from moving.

This is a "Chinese" hamburger so I was told.  It is a steamed bun stuffed with meat, onion, and pepper.

The inside of the steamed bun.

This we were told is a "Chinese" pancake.  I don't know why.  It's not sweet at all.  It's a rice pastry (I think) with peppers, cumin, and I don't know what else but it's good.

Last, let me just tell you that Jordy is the most delightful, talkative (no we can't understand him), energetic boy and he is so content with his mama and baba.  It's like he's always been a part of us.  Thank you for your prayers.  Keep them coming.  We have a big day tomorrow.  We have to drive 2 hours one way to PingDingShan to apply for Jordy's passport after finalizing his adoption at the Civil Affairs office.  But, Jordy is a trooper and we know we will be just fine . . . as long as their is air in the van.  Whew!

Day 4

We were up and at 'em this morning somewhere between 6-7am.  Yay us!  We knew we had to be ready to leave at 9am to catch our ride to the train and had plenty of time to do so.  We partook of our last western breakfast at the hostel.  Every morning we were able to enjoy breakfast which was included in our stay.

Hash brown, sausage, ham, egg, and toast

Our last breakfast, I had wonderful conversation with one of the hostel employees.  She is such a beautiful girl but refused to reveal here age.  She was stunned by how many children we have.  We also had the pleasure of watching her practice kung fu on Saturday.  It is required of all the hostel employees to practice kung fu on the weekends.

After breakfast we were off to the train station and off to Zhengzhou (joong-jaw) in the Henan (hoo-nan) Province.

On the way to the train station, we passed by the entrance to the Forbidden City again.  As you can tell, it rained but there were no umbrellas up.  Sunshine, umbrella.  No sunshine, no umbrella even if it's raining????!!!

This place is packed!

This is called the fast train.

Wall to wall people waiting.

If you look closely at the sign, it says we are travelling at 300 km/hr or 186.41 mi/hr.

I don't know about you but when I picture China in my own brain, I think about all these beautiful buildings with ornate roofs.  Truthfully, all housing in China is either concrete or brick and not the nice looking kind we have.  While riding on the fast train, I tried to catch some pictures of housing and it was depressing.  Most of what I saw was what we would consider squalor.  Run down, falling apart, concrete or brick buildings and the living spaces are teeny tiny.  Yes, you could tell that from a high speed train.

Excuse the smog but notice the housing and corn.  Lots of corn.  What we thought was interesting is that the corn is usually planted in square plots.  Some corn would be going North and South while the next patch would be planted in rows East to West.  Sometimes, there would be a patch of beans, a patch of corn, another patch of beans, a patch of some other plant and so on and so on.

The other thing we noticed was many houses were either dilapidated or unfinished.  Not sure why but there were so many it truly was sad.

Once again, in case you thought Dustin was Chinese, this proves he is NOT.  This is our floor of the Holiday Inn hotel.  He has to avoid the exit signs. :(

Guess where we went shopping today?  Yep, Walmart!  Boy did we get lots and lots of looks.  Especially since we had a stroller filled with diapers and food to bring back to the hotel.  White people just don't have a reason to be here.  There are no real tourist attractions in this area of China.

I love the fire extinguishers that say in an emergency call 119.

I promise to take pictures inside of Walmart if we go back but we were too busy trying to figure out where everything was located.  Here is one of our finds.  Orange Mango Oreos.  They had other flavors as well.  Super yummy and they smell awesome.

We bought a few noodle bowls to eat in our room.  Don't know what flavors they are but we are feeling experimental until it bites us in the butt.  It is so freaking hot outside, we may not venture out much at all.  It is well over 90* today and the humidity is awful.  This is a subtropic climate.

Our new stroller for J-man.

And a package of over night diapers.  Less than $6.  Not bad.  Again, you should have seen the looks people were giving us.  An empty stroller and diapers being purchased by two white people in China that obviously speak no Chinese.  Say what?

Well, it's 8:30pm and it's hailing now.  The power has gone out more than once, so I better hurry up and post this.  Tomorrow is our big Gotcha Day.  We love and miss all of our friends and family.  Thank you again for your prayers.  Tomorrow, more pics of Jordy!!!!! :)