Thursday, March 21, 2013

Day 6 Recap ; It's Official & Orphanage Visit

The next day after we got Rex, we headed back to the civil affairs office to obtain official documents saying that we are now Rex's parents. We were given our adoption certificate, took a picture for keepsake and then headed to the notary office to notarize the paper that we all just received. Once back to the hotel, we had a quick bite to eat and then met our personal guide and driver who would take us to the city of Jiyuan. This is Rex's hometown and it is about a two hour drive from Zhengzhou. Rex chilled in the back with Jordan and stared out the window at all the cool sights . We saw tons of wheat crops, farmers,a goat herder, a flock of sheep, two trucks full of pigs and caves. Our guide told us that the caves are still lived in by many old Chinese people...because they are much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It seriously looked like something out of a movie. The orphanage director met our car at the exit ramp and led us to the police station. Rex was so delighted to see a familiar face and she was so happy to not only see him, but us too. She led us into the police station and once they saw Rex, ALL the officers came over and gathered around him, swooped him up and passed him around all giving him tons of kisses and laughing. Apparently,this little guy made quite an impression here when he was brought a few weeks back to get his passport taken. The head officer asked Rex where his mama and baba were, and he turned around and pointed to us. The head officer signed our papers, and then we were done... A 2 hour van ride just for the police officer to sign a paper.. But of course, well worth it and plus it is mandatory. At gotcha day, we had asked the director if we had time after our police station visit about the possibility of visiting the orphange and she was more than happy to have us. This was such an important thing for Jordan and I to see. It was hidden down a narrow street and there was a security gate for protection. The building was white and large and was in great condition. This orphange is new and Rex is only the second child to be adopted out of this particular one. The courtyard had two little tykes play sets. The minute we drove in, the van was surrounded by ladies who were so excited to see Rex one more time. We were greeted with smiles and excitement. they escorted us into the building and up to the 3 rd floor where Rex'S room was, The room was large, had 2 dozen or so pink cribs , a large flat screen tv on the back wall, and lots and lots of colorful pictures on the wall. We saw Rex's crib , met some of his friends, and talked with the nannies for a very long time. they were very curious about how he would live once back home and what his life would look like. they asked us how old we were and how long we had been married. They practice saying his new enlglish name and that brought tons and tons of laughs from the whole crowd. They took tons of pictures of us...and of Rex. All this time, he was just being doted over and loved on by all these women. We obliged and kept close, made sure Rex saw us , but it was evident that these women were so happy for him. There are several things that we really enjoyed about our visit. The main one is that every time a nanny was holding him, they were asking him " where is your mama, where is your baba...?" They made sure that he was FULLY aware of who we were ; always directing his attention toward us during their snuggles. The other thing that was of course invaluable was the fact that we had a Translator. Jordan and I were able to fully communicate and that was sure a blessing. We did take the time to give a short speech about how grateful we were for their care and how we were excited to have him in our family. Our guide even cried during that part. They showed us the reading room.. it was full of books and even had a yamaha piano set up for music. Rex and one of his friends drew while we visited with the orphanage director. They showed us the older kids room, but they were away at school so we didn't get to meet them. Overall, it was pretty amazing experience. Rex was certainly in one of the better orphanages and we are so grateful to these women who loved on our son for his first two years. The orphanage had 28 kids and 8 nannies and 2 women who did laundry that also helped out. Very good ratio. As we said our goodbyes, I held Rex in my arms and allowed him to give each nanny a kiss goodbye. They waved at us until we couldn't see them anymore. It was very moving. We left feeling very glad we made the trip and even more humbled by the fact that our son was in this specific orphanage.


































4 comments:

  1. Can't help tearing up a little reading this post. I love that he already knows who his forever mama and baba are - blessings abound!

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  2. Sitting here with tears! What a wonderful experience and it's so clear they loved him.

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  3. this brings tears of joy to my eyes!!!! wow- it just warms my heart that this orphanage-- so new to adoption-- has done such a great job-- i LOVE that you let them hold him again--so many parents don't let the caretakers have one last snuggle with a child that they often loved.. and i loved seeing him with them but yet knowing who you were. i had the same experience with our last one-- you and rex are so blessed that he was loved-- it doesn't always happen that way-- loved this post:)

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  4. What a blessing to take this journey and see into your sweet boys life before he was in your arms. So thankful he was loved on and cared for in an amazing way. Even more thankful for the way that he seems to be bonding with you. Precious! Blessings and prayers!

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