The Long and Winding Road..... Literally

This morning we were meeting Tingting at 8:30 to head out to Harper's orphanage, so it was a fast paced morning trying to get everyone dressed and out the door on time.

We met Tingting in the lobby and headed out to the driver who was waiting for us outside.  In China infants/toddlers car seats are something you just don't see.  So, you hold them.  While this goes totally against everything that I know, it was ok driving the 10 minutes or so to the civil affairs office.  Driving 2 1/2 hours (or 2 and 1 half hours as Tingting says it) was not going to be pretty.  The beginning of the trip.... let's say a whole 10 minutes.... was going smooth.  Harper just sat on my lap, but as any good two year old, she soon got wiggly.  I passed her to Scott, he passed her back.  She sat in back with the boys, she soon came back.  We got juice out, crackers, suckers, you name it and it was coming out of the bag trying to get her to sit in one place.  I was exhausted and we hadn't even gotten out of Hefei city limits.  If this is how she travels, we're screwed on the 14 hour flight home!

Soon, we got into a groove and she settled down.  Just as she did, the driver had to stop for gas.  Not the best timing, but oh well.  We all got out to use the restroom and in this rest stop not one.... NOT ONE stall had a regular ol' toilet.  They were all squatty potties.  Up until this point I had managed to get the stall that was for the handicap, elderly....Americans... but no such luck here.  I hesitantly went in and prayed for good balance.  HA!

We were all back in the car and back on the road, and in no time, we were in Fuyang City where the orphanage is located.  The driver had never been there, and Tingting couldn't remember how to get there, so the director of the orphanage met us and led us there.

I can't even describe to you.  One minute we are in Fuyang, which is no Beverly Hills by any means, but it is modernized a bit.  The next thing I know, we make a turn and we are in a Twilight Zone kind of moment.  It is complete squalor and looks like it was frozen in time.  The "road" we take to get to the orphanage is more like a path that has very steep drop offs on each side.  We needed to make two hair pin turns on that path and I just knew we were going to roll down one of the drop offs.  I wanted to take a picture of it all, but I felt if I stood up, I'd throw the balance off in the car and down we'd go.  By the grace of God, and our good driver, we roll into the entrance of the orphanage.

It immediately looks familiar because whenever they would take pictures of Harper, they would take them there in the courtyard.

Still not sure why they sent me a picture of her crying as an update

Picture from today

Harper was thrilled to be there.... can't you tell?

The whole place itself is not very big.  They said they have about 40 babies at the orphanage, and about 150 placed in foster homes.  They led us into another courtyard and asked if we would like to see were Harper had been.  

We are led into a room the size of a shoebox just about.  There, 5 cribs are up against the perimeter of the wall, and the first we come to was Harpers.  They wouldn't let me take pictures since there are babies in those beds.  I walk to that crib and a complete sadness washes over me.  She was here.  Laying in this bed.  All by herself.   Much like the little boy was who in that very same crib now.  She was only here for four months before moving to her foster home, but this is where she started her life.
I looked up at the ceiling to see what her view of her world would have been.  The ceiling had dingy old tiles that looked like they were the original tile when it was all built.... about 50 years ago.  It was dirty, musty, and mold had crept into a few places.  It was more than I could take.  
I distracted my mind by asking Tingting a question.  I have no idea what that question was now, but I just needed to get my mind on something else for a moment.  I walked to the other 4 beds in the room, and the tiniest baby was in one of them.  She had just been born last week.  And just like that.... a new cycle begins.

The whole tour of the place only took about 20 minutes total.  Not much for the 2 1/2 hours we spent in the car getting there, but it was worth it to see with my own eyes.  The staff at the orphanage wanted to take us out to lunch, but before we left, they gave me a copy of the note that was pinned to Harper!  Tingting translated it for me, and then rewrote it in Chinese because she said the original was not grammatically correct .  It said she was born January 19th, 2011, which is by the lunar calendar.  Convert it to our calendar and it's February 21, 2011.  It even listed the time of her birth at 6:08 in the morning.   Roughly translated it says she has a cleft lip and that Fuyang People hospital can give her a free surgery.  Then it said, "I have many kids".  What?? What does that mean?  I thought they could only have 1, 2 kids tops.   Does that mean Harper has brothers and sisters?  There's really no way to find out.

We head out to the place we're going for lunch.  I wasn't sure what type of dishes to expect being served, but I had a pep talk with the boys (focusing mainly on Scott) to try everything at least once and to be respectful.  To all of our surprise, it all was really good.  Probably the best meal we've had since we landed in China.  

They ordered rice wine for us, and Tingting said it was a sign of respect for them to fill our glasses (the glass was about the size of a thimble) and for us to drink it with them.  That was ok for the first couple "thimble shots", but the wine was so strong -  it could've taken paint off a car - we really could have stopped there.  

I was taking pictures around the table, and took this one of Harper.  She was making faces at the camera and the ladies from the orphanage couldn't believe it.  They said they took her down to the police station to have her passport photo made there and she wouldn't look at the camera, open her eyes or anything.  They said they waited two hours trying to get a picture and here she was goofing off for the camera.  haha!

The whole group at lunch

Once the food was on the table there was no holding Harper back.  She eats more than any kid I've seen.  Plus, this was 'her kind of food' so she REALLY was shoving it in.  There were several "Mmmmm!" heard coming from her over the course of lunch.  She even was slurping with the best of them!

It was time to go, and since Harper was up (unlike when we got there) we decided to get a few pics with the staff.  The lady below is the director.  They had asked Harper's foster mom to join us, but she's been sick for a while and couldn't.  I REALLY was hoping to see her just to say "thank you"  In a weird kind of way, I was sad.  Sad for Harper to leave her hometown, her culture, everything, but I know she's right where she needs to be.... with us.

 Griff, still living the rock star life on this trip, was asked to take a picture with the director.  Blond hair and blue eyes do it everytime.

On the car ride home...

Griff does anything to get a laugh out of Harper

Back at the hotel we just hung out and stayed in.  Harper was a ball of energy and all over the place.  We can tell she's getting much more relaxed with us as the days move on.  She's even comfortable to throw down and give us an all out 2 year old tantrum.   I'm still amazed at how well she's done.  It feels like she's always been with us.  God has definitely blessed us with the perfect girl for our family.  He's given us more than I could possibly ask for.   

Trying on Brannen's shoes.

Tomorrow night we pack our bags and fly out of Hefei and head to Guangzhou.  Just one more step closer towards home!