First Night at Zhengzhou from Arlene

Hello all-

Loy's been the main writer on the blog since we left -it was his idea so he's been the main historian. Now that we have Zhang Rui- I'll chime in too.

It's 6:45 am and we're waiting for her to wake up so we can hit the breakfast buffet. I'm all ready- have her clothes laid out, wearing my ergo carrier thinking today I'll give my arms a rest. She's bonded to me (I heard all the caretakers at her orphanage were mainly women) and yesterday I carried her about 2 miles through the sidewalks of Zhengzhou to get her passport photos. We had to dodge all the electric scooters and the bicycles who were sharing the sidewalks with us. They told me Zhang Rui's never been out of the orphanage before except for medical reasons- so she was pretty wide eyed-taking all the sights in. We got a nice shot of Loy, Zhang Rui and I -but her individual passport picture is teary eyed.

Yesterday was our Gotcha Day - It was also a Chinese holiday -Children's Day so we saw numerous carnivals around town. The other 10 families got their children in the morning at 10 am -so we went to join in the momentous moment and took lots of pictures. The night before we joined with 3 other couples praying for our new children -and for peace to reign for them as they join our new families- I could truly see how God answered that prayer . Of course there was inconsolable crying for some, but there was a lot of joking, horseplay and running around for others- The range of children were from 9 mos to 10 years old- with the majority being toddlers. 5 of the children were already there when we arrived, but we had to wait for another group from an orphanage van that went to the wrong place. It was quite a site seeing the van drive up and all the cameras out catching the moment of them getting out of the vehicle. We would make great papparazzi!

Our girl Zhang Rui was going to arrive late at around 330 pm we were told. She had a long way to travel- from the southern portion of Henan to the capital of Zhengzhou. She was coming by train - Our travelmates were very supportive -offering to take pictures when she came. In fact they were pacing the hall of our hotel floor -hoping to catch a glimpse of her when she arrived. It actually turned out nice getting her in our room. We got to ask a lot of specific questions to the orphanage rep and helper to learn more of Zhang Rui's routine, likes and dislikes. She cried non stop for over an hour- I was stressing out- since all my tricks didn't console her- I was trying to be positive - because I've heard if they cry when first left with you- it means they've formed a healthy attachment to their caretaker- and that's good ! I was thrilled to learn that she comes from an orphanage that Half the Sky Foundation works with- so she has been a part of an infant program with trained caretakers that give one on one nurturing and stimulation to the orphans.. (Their name comes from the Chinese saying- Women hold up half the sky)

Never had time to finish yesterday's blog- Zhang Rui's been adjusting fairly well. We have her laughing, playing peek a boo, playing dress up, piling up her plastic cups and now sh'e turning the pages of her mirror book- looking at herself in each page. She had an episode during the night where she cried for about 20 min non stop. I think she had way too much stimulation yesterday (Walmart, bus rides, walking through town), and we're trying to keep things real low key today. Maybe she had a bad dream, or is missing her life at the orphanage. She's been eating and pooping well - We have much to be grateful for- Thanks for your prayers and support- Until later- Arlene