Wow, how to even sum up the last 24 hours?!  As anticipated, yesterday was an emotional and challenging day, and it already seems like a distant memory.  We met the rest of our group in the lobby at 3:30 to load the bus for the civil affairs office.  On the way over, we got to know the other families in our group a little bit…Jen (mother of 4 boys, adopting 2 girls here in China) is currently living in Saudi Arabia, as her husband works for an oil company there, and she is accompanied by her mother-in-law Lynn (a retired Marine spouse).  Also in our group is Mary Elizabeth, from Tennessee, who has 2 other adopted children (from China and Korea) and is adopting an 11-year old girl on this trip.

We arrived at the civil affairs office, and there were people everywhere, all obviously going through the same adoptive process.  We were ushered into a small room, where our children were waiting with their nannies and the orphanage director.  We spotted Ben immediately in the arms of his favorite nanny, and he was clutching her tightly.  We knew this was going to be difficult for him, so we sat down and pulled out toys, trying to give him time to warm up to us…but he was obviously terrified and wanted nothing to do with candy or toys.  It occurred to me at that point that it was likely the first time he had ever seen anyone with blue eyes before, which I’m sure was not helping.  We were able to ask the nanny some questions about his schedule and talk to her about things he likes, and then the director gave us a bag with his vaccination records, paperwork, a little bag of soil from Shaanxi (his home district), and a baby book with photos of him from the time he arrived at the orphanage!  We were so touched and impressed…this orphanage obviously takes an active interest in these children and their welfare, and we are so thankful for the love and care he’s received there.  They even sent him with a pair of new baby shoes and a warm red coat.

There’s no sugar coating this next part…the 3 hours that followed were extremely painful.  Of all of the children in the room, Ben was the only one screaming and fighting…letting us all know exactly how he felt about this situation. And we couldn’t help but love him immediately!   We were surprised by how strong and alert he was and could tell right away that he’s sharp as a tack and has the spirit and determination of a true Haley kiddo! 😉  Once we got into the van, he calmed and sat contentedly in my lap, watching all the activity outside the window.  Our adoption guide, Anna, shared that Ben would have rarely been outside the orphanage, and his fascination with the city and traffic was readily apparent.  At this point, one of the ladies in our group (Jen) began to have severe pain and nausea, and we knew something was seriously wrong.  We contacted our flight doctor, Kristen, who essentially diagnosed her with kidney stones over the phone.  We took her back to the hotel, loaded her up with some antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine that Kristen had brilliantly sent with us, and proceeded to the nearest grocery store to get the essentials: namely, “Chinese” baby milk and bottled water.

The grocery store was 3 stories and MASSIVE.  It took us almost 2 hours to get our few items and get everyone back together again.  Ben enjoyed riding in the shopping cart but latched on to our tour guide Anna, who was the only Chinese person in our group and the only one who could speak Chinese to him.  So she stayed close and helped us pick out the kind of milk he’s used to, which is a flavored, super-sweet shelf-milk that looks a bit like Ensure.  No doubt it’s full of sugar, but we’re going to chalk this one up to “survival mode” and worry about transitioning him to a healthier alternative later.  We loaded up on enough to get us through the next week, but by this time, Ben was obviously hungry and exhausted.

We finally made it back to the hotel and to our room, where we were relieved to have some quiet time with Ben. He walked over and sat on a flat of water and just took it all in for a minute while I prepared his bottle.  He was very interested in eating and relaxed instantly in my lap while he ate.  Once he had a full tummy, we changed him and put him in his crib, where he played with the lovey lion that Maddie had sent for him, loving it and kissing it until he fell asleep.  We are so amazed by how brave he’s been in the midst of his world being completely turned upside down.  He’s such a special little boy, and we are already smitten.  We look forward to the next couple of weeks to get to know him and show him that he is loved and safe with us.