HERE HE IS!

Well, now the big day has come and gone.  It was surprisingly calm and easy.  The flight to Lanzhou went smoothly…well, the check in and so on did…the flight was actually quite turbulent, then we got off the plane and were immediately met by our guide, Kaige.  She is a Holt employee and actually runs the foster care program for the Lanzhou orphanage and another nearby city's orphanage…about 110 children currently under her organization.  How thrilled I was to learn that R.J. was a part of her foster care organization, and so she knew him personally.  During the bus ride from the airport to the city center she was able to tell me many things about R.J. and his foster family and his life over the past two years.  What a blessing to get to talk to someone who has known him personally. 

We got to the hotel at about 3:00 and were told that he would arrive around 3:30!  We got checked in, took our bags up to the room and by the time all that was done, we were told R.J. was in the lobby!

We immediately went down to meet him.  There he was, just sitting on the woman from the orphanage's lap, eating a sucker.  Emma got to him first and then he came to me without making any sound.  He was very calm, or maybe in shock, not sure what was going on.  We played a little bit there on the floor of the hotel lobby.  Then there was a little paperwork to do.  Karen, Matt and Emma just played with R.J. We had taken a few toys from the room, plus he had the little toy truck that I had arranged through a service (Red Thread China) to have sent to him.  I was told that it was against the orphanage policy to give the children personal toys or to take pictures from a disposable camera that I had also had sent to the orphanage so that they might take some pictures  of him for a bit of a record of his life.  Nevertheless, there he was, happily playing trucks with Emma and running around.  He was very quiet throughout.  No cries or anything.  It was not what I was expecting, even though I didn't know what to expect!  I thought there would be some kind of outward indication of trauma or something.  But there was none.

After I finished the intial paperwork, we went back to the room and played some more.  He was delighted with building towers from the stacking cups I brought and he loved rolling a little ball.  He and Emma got along great so far.  He laughed a little bit as they played, but was overall quiet as could be. 

We were then whisked away to get some pictures taken that are necessary for the adoption paperwork.  Then we were on our own to find dinner.  We walked down the street but really didn't find much and ended up in a restaurant that none of us really liked much…except R.J.  The boy is a great eater…even though he is quiet small and thin…he had no trouble with any of the food and probably would have kept eating all night if we would have let him.  He especially seemed to enjoy the Sprite.  He would drink, then wiggle up his face when the bubbles of the carbonation set in to tickle him.  He was delighted with dinner and with his bath afterwards.  The hotel we are in doesn't have bath tubs in the rooms, but they supplied us with a little tub that we put on the floor of the shower.  Emma even enjoyed a little bath in it!

Emma and R.J. played some more, until I finally insisted that they lay down.  Both went to sleep quite easily, but R.J. has been restless, crying some, seeminingly quite uncomfortable with the circumstances of his new sleeping arrangements.  We tried the crib, but ultimately now he is sleeping next to Emma.  I am quite tired and as soon as I finish posting this, will go to bed, with him next to me.  Hopefully that will ease his little spirit enough so that he can sleep.

It was an exciting day, but really quite calm.  I was not the emotional wreck I expected to be…just very peaceful and happy.  How blessed we are!