A Long Hard Day...

Am not sure where to start... Yesterday (Friday I think??) we were up early at 5:30am after not a lot of sleep. At 9:00 we went back to the registration office (where we had gotten the kids the day before) to complete the adoption. It was very quick, involved us receiving our registration document and listening to the official talk about how grateful she was to each of us, how we had changed our children's lives, given them a future. Makes me think of how grateful I am to my heavenly father for adopting me, giving me hope and a future.

 From the registration office we went to the notary's office... to get something notarized. Our agency founder told us in a phone call to give our brains to our guides while in china - am doing exactly that, have no idea half the forms I am filling out (as they are all in Chinese), no idea what/why we were getting anything notarized, just trusting and following, doing as I'm told... Am sure there's another lesson in there...

After that we came back to the hotel for a very quick lunch and bathroom break and then it was time to go apply for JJs passport. Long story short but 3-4 weeks ago the local gvt decided to change the process, now requiring the new parents to take the child to the police/passport issuing office in the local city where the child was from. For us that city was Anyang, about 2.5hrs away from ZZ. All 4 of us families were headed in different directions, each on our own without a guide... but in private vans with a driver who knew kind of where to take us. We met up with the staff from JJs SWI (social welfare institute) at a roundabout in Anyang and followed her the rest of the way to the office.

Now it was time to take his passport pic, no biggie right?? Well, poor sweet boy has had his whole world turned upside down and is literally clinging to me for dear life (almost tearing my shirt he is clinging so tightly to me)... burying his face in my neck... There is no way that he is going to sit on a stool, or sit on my lap on the stool facing forwards for his pic. He cried/screamed for over an hour while we tried everything to get his picture taken - they would not accept a picture of him crying because his mouth was open, they wanted his lips together... Grrrrrrr... My poor poor boy... Did I mention yet that he is not feeling good but has nasty green/yellow gunk draining out of his tube in his right ear??? In the middle of all this CC needed to go to the bathroom so we found ourselves in the dungeon of the police station, using a squatty where things did not all go as they should... Am sure it will be funny another day, just not today ;) then it was back to trying to take JJs pic again. CC was AMAZING during all of this - blowing bubbles trying to distract brother, turning on baby Einstein on the iPad, suckers, dancing, books, silly faces you name it. She tried it all in an attempt to get him to stop crying for the pic. All he wanted was to bury his face in my neck, with both arms wrapped around me, grabbing my shirt as if his life depended on it. Finally after a few (not very quick) phone calls, someone high up okayed our crying passport pic and we could then proceed with the passport application process.

More forms in Chinese but this time no guide, just the SWI staff who was oh so sweet but spoke no english. I had a piece of paper with a few sentences written in both eng and Chinese to help us communicate some.CC  was a hit at the police station - had her photo taken with sooooo many people who worked there. She didnt mind the first few but after about 5 she was fed up. Everywhere we go people smile at her/wave/call out to her, like its a celebrity sighting. My shy girl is handling it with such grace, giving lots of waves and hi's back.

Anyway, back to the police station... After all that we got back in the car and headed 'home' to ZZ. About 2hrs into the drive home I handed the driver my handy piece of paper saying my child needs to go bathroom can you find a 'rest station' please. It was time for another squatty, gas station style, this time with JJ on my back while I 'helped' CC.

We finally made it through traffic and were back in our hotel just after 7pm. One very long, hard day...

Today has been much better! No mtgs, no paperwork just free time. I was able to speak with the
Dr from MBHOH and got JJ started on some amoxicillin... We went for a walk to a park down the street (managed to navigate the sidewalk full of motorcycles going all directions and not get run over), found 7-11 and got some snacks, had lunch in the hotel and he is still napping peacefully in his crib. Appreciate your prayers for JJ, for his ear to heal (not what you need on top of everything else), for his eczema (which is really bothering him) and for his heart/emotions with all this change going on. He is so scared... When we are in the hotel room and the door is closed he is ok to be out of my arms and has fun playing with CC and I but anytime we leave the hotel room he is hanging on for dear life, can't quite be close enough or high enough or tight enough :(

PS have I mentioned that *my son* LOVES splashing in his bath??? and has the sweetest giggle!