Visiting the Orphanage

 Today was a great day! I was nervous about it at first, but I had a real peaceful feeling by the time we arrived. The orphanage is really pretty. Wuxi City is a rich city and the faculties were maintained really well. The orphanage is shared with a retirement home and is planning to move March 18 to a new facility for only the orphans. It was nice to have the elderly combined with the children so that they can love on them, but they need more space so they are moving and will not have the advantage of grandparent-interaction soon.

 

    When we arrived they showed us the letter that was found on Aimee. (See photo.) It's nice to have her birth mother's handwriting and I know that it will mean a lot to her one day! Savor read it to us and it said that because of her special need, the family cannot take care of her and hoped that someone would open their hearts to her one day! How wonderful! God had her planned for our family even before I was He created me!  I have such a heavy heart for all of these mothers. There is a 1 child law in China and if you can afford it, you can have another, but most don't. Our family gets many stares because we are so big compared to everyone here. That breaks my heart! We are so amazingly blessed....and don't realize it until you see how others live.

 

    There are pictures of her nannies in her room. They all seemed to love her a lot. She would not make eye contact with them and they acted like that bothered them, but I know they want to see the children bonding with their new families. There was one special nanny who made the bracelet for Aimee. Today was her off day, but she came in to meet us. She is the lady in the red sweater. The bracelet was a blessing for a good life or something like that. It looks like baby Moses' basket his sister put him in and placed him in the river for the Egyptians to raise. Actually it is a little bitty pit of a peach seed that represents blessings in the Chinese culture. These Chinese people have a symbol for everything! We are still going to call it baby Moses' basket--it sounds better that a peach pit on your wrist! Ha!--(was the peach pit the 90210 hangout?? that just made me laugh!)--You can tell I'm getting really tired!

 

    The photo of the little boy is the bed Aimee slept in and now has a new owner. There were 12 babies in her room and 14 babies in the class below hers. That's a lot of children under 2 years old that are waiting for families! We couldn't take pictures of the children. It was nap time and many were already sleeping. Aimee started crying really loudly and we had to leave. We gave them gift--the bracelets I made for the fundraiser-with small hearts instead of initials. We thanked them over and over for loving our daughter for 2 years. The orphanage director then took us to a really nice restaurant for a celebration meal. We really enjoyed it and he enjoyed it also. There are only about 10 adoptions at that orphanage each year---which seems like a low number, so they really want the adoptive parents to celebrate in the meal. There were about 214 kids in the entire orphanage! My girls got to try out the swatty potties at the restaurant! UGH!!! Not something that I want to do again! I should have had my Daddy take them in the woods and practice---silly city girls!

 

    We then went to her finding site, or where her birth mother left her. It was a nice hospital in the city, not too far from the orphanage. She was left by a door with her note, a red sleeper and a red blanket. We took pictures at the location by the DSA entrance. Aimee was in a jolly mood and ran around the area---so differently than how she was left! I wonder if her birth mother ever walks by that spot and aches with pain? I wish I could let her know that her baby was found and now will be loved forever.When we got back in the van Avery found the Casting Crowns song, "So Far To Find You", and this mommy held a beautiful little girl and wondered how I could have been so blessed to have found her.

Blessings from around the world.......Laurie