Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Orphanage Visit

Today started with us and the other adoptive family visiting a walking park with our guide. It's a park where the locals go to exercise, dance, and bring their kids. There's a small area with kiddie rides so we decided to be brave and let the kids ride. Joey LOVED this!! He is so brave and just smiled and smiled... until it was time to leave then we had a MAJOR breakdown. We survived though so we're glad we went ;-)

After the park our guide took us to a local noodle restaurant. The food was so-so but the entertainment of Joey slurping his noodles like a Chinese man made our time there worth it. This boy knows how to eat and he is so funny to watch. We definitely will be working on manners when we get home because many Chinese eating habits are just not acceptable in the US, lol.

After lunch we went to our room for a quick 1/2 hr nap then had to meet our guide to head to Joey's orphanage for a visit.

This is a day that I have to honestly say I have been dreading pretty much forever. Joey has been so good with us but I've known that he has a foster family that loves him so much and have had a hard time feeling like he is 100% mine. I know it is irrational thinking, but I have felt like I'm taking him from a family that he already had. As much as I needed to meet them I was so afraid that he would see them then wave goodbye to Jeff and me and want us to leave. In the same way, I feared for the hearts of his foster parents that he would cry and not want to go to them because of us, then their hearts would hurt. Turns out I had nothing to fear at all <3

Earlier in the week we had shown our guide Joey's paperwork which listed the spot where he was found abandoned. Our guide told us this spot was on the way to the orphanage so we would be able to go there. Joey was abandoned in a small flower garden in a park when he was 3 years old. We found this spot easily and it felt very surreal to be there. To think of a 3 year old trusting some adult who took him to the park and then all of a sudden that adult is gone. I can't wrap my head or heart around that. I understand the cultural differences and I know how hard it is in China to raise a child with special needs, but I can't imagine how alone Joey felt when he realized the person he loved was gone. I was happy to hold my baby extra tight in that same spot today and give him extra hugs and kisses while we were there!

When we pulled up to the orphanage you could tell Joey knew where we were. He jumped out of the van quickly but was sure to hold my hand and Jeff's hand as we walked towards the school. As we were walking up the steps I guess it was snack time because a lady was pushing a cart full of apples. Boy did Joey know it was snack time and ran right over to her. Did I mention this kid like to eat?! ;-)

We went to his classroom first and he walked right in, as Jeff said, as if he owned the place! (We've pretty much figured out that's how he walks in to any room!). All of the kids were sitting around the table waiting on their snacks so Joey went and got his chair... which has his picture on it... and put himself at the table. We stayed for a little while talking to some of the kids then told him it was time to go. He quickly got up and waved to everyone then off we went!

Next we headed over to his foster family's apartment building. I guess there are about 30 sets of foster parents that each take care of 6-8 kids. These are all older kids who are higher functioning we were told. The younger kids or kids with significant special needs stay in the orphanage with nannies.

When we got to the door to Joey's foster home the director knocked and foster dad came to the door. The parents are actually older so they are called Grandma and Grandpa. Joey kind of just stormed right in, again as if he owned the place. Foster grandma didn't know we were coming so she had gone to the store so Grandpa called her and Joey talked to her on the phone. You could hear Grandma on the other end of the phone so excited to hear "Fu Yan's" voice. It was sweet. I was very sad to find out that Grandma wasn't there but I know that God planned out our day and for what ever reason, whether it was for my heart, Joey's heart, or her heart... she wasn't meant to be there. As we walked into the living room Joey pulled each of us by our hand and had us sit on their couch. We spent a lot of time talking to Grandpa and asking questions about Joey. The love he had for Joey was overflowing. <3 He said Joey was the "leader" of their kids in their home... No big surprise there ;) He told us about some of his eating habits, etc. We got to see where he slept and ate. Their home was very clean and neat and they had family pictures on the wall, which Joey was in. It was such a nice home. Grandpa said he and Grandma are so happy that Joey has been adopted and as I thanked him, he thanked us. It was a wonderful visit and when it was time to leave, Grandpa picked Joey up, they had kisses and hugs goodbye then Joey got down and grabbed my hand and waved to Grandpa. And THAT is the moment this sweet little boy became 100% mine <3 I love him so much!!

On the way out we heard some kids playing in the yard and Joey definitely recognized THESE kids! He went running and the kids came running to him too... "FUYAN, FUYAN!!" It was so sweet. There was one little boy who was really happy to see him and we soon were told this was his foster brother that lives in the house with him. All of the kids were excited to see him though. Joey was excited to show them his backpack of course. They all talked for a while and when we were ready to leave they all got together and said at the same time "Zai Jian FUYAN"... Goodbye FUYAN. Again so sweet, and again Joey grabbed my hand, looked up at me and smiled, and we climbed in our van and left.

This boy... We are so blessed that he is ours <3

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