Day 2-Challenging For Us All

Sorry to the readers out there for the way this blog is going back and forth. Elizabeth is usually able to get on more quickly and get news out before I do. I know she has already told you all how long and difficult Tuesday was, but I want to share another perspective. Everyone is asleep and I am wide awake at a little after 4:30 a.m. I need to use this time wisely!

We were so blessed and relieved that Riley slept all night Monday because we knew Tuesday would be our most challenging day of all this week. We had to have breakfast and be ready to leave hotel at seven thirty. This seemed like an almost impossible task for us, especially with a new, unpredictable person in our family. But we did very well! We took Riley to her first breakfast and my worries about her eating melted away. This child has not refused anything at this point that we have offered her to eat. She ate rice congee (soup mixture), rice, sausage, fruit, and anything else we offered from our plates. I have heard and read that children in orphanages do not get enough to eat. Sadly, this must have been true for our Riley because she is skin and bones. I have never had a child who I could feel her ribs. It was scary seeing how little she was when I undressed her that first time. Believe it or not, the first clothes (12 months) I bought her years ago when I thought we would be receiving a younger child are the ones that fit her the best. She is tall to me though, as you can probably tell from her long, thin legs. I believe after a few weeks she will fill out and soon be in 18 months clothes much better.

After breakfast, we left once again for the Civil Affairs Office to complete her adoption registration paperwork. After doing about an hour of paperwork, we were told there was another delay because an officer was not available to put his or her final stamp or signature on the paperwork. Our trip to Datong would be postponed until this happened. We went back to our hotel and rested a bit not knowing if we still were taking this long journey today or tomorrow. The later it got in the day, the more difficult we knew it would be. After another hour passed, we got a call that our driver would be back in 40 or 50 minutes to take us to Datong. We scrambled things together and headed for lunch, not knowing when we would get to eat again. They certainly don't have McDonalds or Sonic drive throughs on every corner here. We were on the road by 1:00 p.m.

Of all the 10 cities or so in the Shanxi Province that do adoptions, only Datong City required both parents and child to visit the local police station and show their passports and adoption registration paperwork. I had asked so many questions about this day to our agency before we even left the states because I knew it would be so hard on Riley. She had just made this journey the day before when they brought her to us. I was told then (more than once because I double checked) that I could make this journey alone so that Riley would not have to travel again. I wanted her first full day with us to be relaxing and calming. The plan was for David and Elizabeth to bond with her that day. Also, I was supposed to visit her orphanage that same day since we would be in her city where she had lived for nearly two years. At the beginning, I was actually looking forward to this day and getting a chance to talk with her primary caregivers and finding out more specifics about our new little girl. I knew it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. As it turned out, everything I had been told was changed. Both parents were required to travel, as well as the baby because the local officials wanted to see the family together.

Riley was quite a good little traveler as she enjoys being held, fed, and played with while sitting in my lap. She even let Elizabeth hold her for part of the trip so my back could rest. They don't do car seats for babies here, which is more than a little scary with the driving that takes place. It was a very bumpy, nearly four hour ride, but we just held on tightly! It was nice to see the countryside of China, as we have mainly just been in large cities. We even saw part of the Great Wall as we traveled to Datong. We arrived in Riley's city around 5 p.m. Other than being stared at while at the police station, it was a fairly quick procedure. I was excited because the orphanage visit was next, or so I thought. My hopes were suddenly dashed when our guide told us that it was now against the law to visit orphanages. Apparently, the police officer heard of our next destination and said that we could not go to the orphanage. I was devastated! I am starting to believe that rules are made up as we go! At this point, I just had a meltdown and started crying. Poor David, he tried so hard to comfort me. He had to remind me that the important thing was that we had our daughter. I knew he was right, but I was so disappointed and angry! All these details had been approved and scheduled before we left home.

I was absolutely determined to get more out of this long trip to Datong then just turning in more paperwork. I knew that Riley was found at 5th People's Hospital when she was only 24 hours old, so I started asking our guide questions about this hospital. I asked if we could at least go by there and take a few pictures. I had already seen an English sign for 2nd People's Hospital and told David to help me search for Riley's finding site. A few minutes later, we stopped at a hospital that I was told was 5th People's Hospital, although I never saw this in English. It was big and fairly modern and gave me some comfort knowing that Riley was found in a medical environment and not outside in the July heat. This stop was also our bathroom break, so we ventured into the lobby to take care of this. Oh my goodness, did we get stared at by the guards in the hospital. They followed our every move as we headed to the bathroom door and our guide told us not to take any pictures inside. I'm attaching some of the pictures that we made outside the hospital. I was so emotional while we were here thinking of the desperation of Riley's birth mom to have to leave her child in the hopes that she would have a better life than she could give her or was allowed to give her from the government. Riley's cleft lip would most likely have never been fixed if she grew up in China. I am so grateful to God that His divine plan was for her to be in our family. My little girl is awake now and cuddled in my lap as I type this.

We then headed back for the long, bumpy ride to Taiyuan. It was uneventful as we all tried to sleep, and Riley traveled well. Unfortunately, the travels of the day caught up to Riley once we arrived back at our hotel around 9 p.m. She was so sticky and dirty that I insisted on bathing her before bed. Maybe that was my first mistake. She then fell asleep in my arms several times but would wake up screaming if I tried to lay her down. Her screaming and my exhaustion got worse as the night wore on. David and Elizabeth took shifts rocking, walking, and holding her while I tried to rest. Finally, I took over again at 1:30 holding her in bed while I sat up with her. She absolutely would not let you lie down with her at all; you had to be sitting at a 90 degree angle. At 3:30, she finally let me lie her down in her crib, and she slept peacefully until breakfast time. This is not a day nor a night that I care to repeat. Thankfully, Wednesday was much better!