Official parents and visit to Orphanage

So last night was AWESOME!!! Both boys went to bed without a hitch! We have a pack and play for Sammy and PJ slept with Sarah. They never cried or stirred all night. Sammy's crib is right next to me. I kept waking up and looking at him...he is adorable! PJ is a mover and a sideways sleeper. (Poor Sarah) HE managed to fall out of the bed into the 10inch gap between the bed and the wall...he cried for on second and popped back into bed. :)
We all woke up around 4-5 am. We showered and got ready for the day. The little boys were still sleeping. At 6:45 I had to wake them. (I hated to wake them but we are on a tight schedule) PJ was just a wee bit disoriented for a minute. But he quickly remembered where he was and who we were. Sammy is on the other hand is NOT a morning person and does not like to get up before he is ready.
We got to breakfast and had a great time. Everyone ate really well, PJ drank his Exjade like a champ. (For those of you not familiar Thalassemia, Exjade is a drug that gets rid of the extra iron in their body)

We met our guide at 8:30 for the beginning of our long day. Our first stop was back to the Civil affairs office. Their we finalized our adoption. YEAH! For some reason the office workers were really behind. We were there from 9am until 12pm. We had not planned on being there so long. BUT the kids did great. PJ and Daddy had a blast playing with

Playdough, Sammy fell asleep in my arms (Sarah couldn't stand how cute he was asleep, so I had to pass him over (he like a live baby doll to her) All in all, it took forever, but we had a good time playing. We left the office and our guide needed to stop at the bank. Sammy woke up (not a good thing) he only slept about 30 minutes. We then headed to McDonald's (the only food we could get and eat in the van. We still had a 2:30 hour ride to Jinhua City. Now let me tell you, it is not only hot but very humid, we were all hot, sweaty, hungry, and thirsty. AND the van was only dropping the temperature at about 2 degrees per hour! UGH Oh and did I mention, NO car seats...needless to say entertaining a tired sweaty 2 year old was a 3 man job, as in Gabe, Sarah, and Momma job. The big dog (Matty) had the happy child, the most comfortable seat, and the coolest spot in the van. We ate our McDonald's and sweated...(and I prayed this would be the quickest 2:30 ride of my life. It wasn't!!! Sammy did fall asleep in Sarah's lap 30 minutes before we got to the police station (I know Murphy's law, right?) PJ and Matty took a nice long 2 hour nap together...like father, like son and were very well rested when we got to the police station. (I was seriously jealous)

This police station was not like any other I have ever seen. It was utter chaos! We had to wait an hour to get the boys pictures for their passports. People talk over each other, cut in front of each other in lines, and everyone stared and pointed and smiled at us. Sammy was not very happy to be there! He did like running in and out of the ropes that formed the lines. FINALLY it was time to leave. We stopped at a store grabbed some cold waters, coke zero's, sprites, and a few bags of chips. 10 minutes later we arrived at the orphanage. PJ was very clingy in the police station. One of the nannies came to help our guide and PJ saw her. I think he thought he was going to leave with her. I asked our guide to to explain to him we were going to visit the orphanage but that he was coming home with us. His behavior improved. He kept saying Mama, I love you...over and over...It almost made me cry. I just held him tight and kept kissing him.
We did learn that Sammy loves Sprite and M&M's are a universal peacemaker!!!
I wasn't prepared for what we were about to see. It did explain a lot about a few of the boys behaviors. The director and assistant director met us outside the doors. They explained to us the it was a home for mentally disabled adults. We passed a blind man in a wheelchair at the top of the steps to the entrance. We were then hurried onto a very small elevator. When we got to the third floor, we were greeted by about 15 children ranging in age of 12 to 1 year old. They were all special needs children, with different problems. Down syndrome, Apert syndrome, and other disorders that I am not sure of. There were no toys out, just a table and lots of chairs. The director had everyone sing twinkle twinkle little star for us. PJ handed a potato chip to everyone, one little boy ate the crumbs off the floor. Their whole lives were spent in this one room. They had a small 10'X10' class room with a white board and few school items on some shelves. The walls in the hallways were colorful. The only toilet was missing the seat and didn't flush. They had to poop, flush with a bucket and throw the toilet paper in the trash. Their bed had bamboo mats on them. They had one blanket and NO pillow. They have never slept on a soft mattress...that is why they slept so well and why we had a hard time waking them up!!! There bedroom door was a metal door with bars. They were locked in their room at night. They had a small room with a bunch of spigots. That is where they rinsed there hands. There was ONE small metal cup, that was the ONLY cup that ALL of the children shared when they were thirsty. PJ ran and grabbed it and drank some water...Matty almost knocked us down to get the cup from him. He didn't want him to drink the contaminated water. I had to remind him he has been drinking this water for 6 years. PJ had no social life or friends that he could play with. All he has ever know was this small (almost like a prison, but with nice caregivers) home. Matty and I both had tears in our eyes. It was heart wrenching!!!! The children were clean and the asst. director seemed to genuinely care for the children.
We left the orphanage and I so glad our boys will have a family and lots of love everyday for the rest of their lives.
We headed back...the ride home was better...It was cooler and Sammy played with Sarah almost the entire way....He has bonded with her so well...I know I am supposed to be that person, but this day was all about survival, in fact this trip is all about survival. I am jealous though. Gabe and Sarah have been so helpful and just flat out unbelievable. We don't know what we would have done without them!!! They never complain, even when I know they are exhausted. And all they have done is put their brothers needs before their own. I love my children sooooo much!!!!
We got back to the hotel and I was thankful that we were still alive. Driving is China is like playing Russian Roulette....you never know when you might die....SERIOUSLY!!!!
The boys got their first shower...we don't have a tub...PJ loved, Sammy screamed for 1 minute straight...it was the quickest I have bathed a child before. He is clearly PETRIFIED of the water. I then rubbed him down with lotion. He was a happy boy again...PJ wanted daddy...Jammies on a little bit of tablet time. We ordered noodles from room service. Everyone got a glow stick and then the lights off. PJ slept with Gabe, Sammy in his crib and everyone slept all night long. AHHHHH...I am keep waiting for the bottom to fall out....this is going to well.... :)

PS...I miss you Jack!!!! You will get to meet your new brothers soon. You are all that I am missing right now!!! Love you baby!!!!

Gotcha day!!!

We woke up this morning at 4am. Our sleep is still very broken (as I type, I could definitely use a nap!) We got up, dressed, got keys to our adjoining room, got luggage shifted around between both rooms and then headed off to breakfast.
Breakfast was awesome again!!! We LOVE the breakfast buffet!!
We met our guide and van driver around 9am....off to the civil affairs office we go. Driving around here is a constant life or death affair. At any moment you could crash. I honestly thought a few times we weren't going to make it to the civil affairs office to meet our new children. I all I could think was we have come this far, are 10 minutes away from meeting our new boys, and we are going to have a major car accident! Good news is we survived (for today)
We got the civil affairs office and filled out ALOT of paperwork. Some of it was things we had already done for our dossier. Everything needed a red thumb print over our signatures. Very time consuming but kinda cool!
Gabe and Sarah were getting very excited waiting for the boys. I told them to go stand by the door and look down the hall way, the way they could see them before anyone else. A few minutes later, Gabe's whole expression changed...Our boys were here. I hugged PJ (Ji Wei) first. He called me mamma and wrapped his arms around my neck. He then went to Matty and hugged him tight too. Samuel (Rong Chong) hugged Sarah first and then went to me. He was not as happy to see us. He didn't cry but he did not want to be held. PJ couldn't get enough of us. We had a back pack, for each boy, filled with little toys. PJ loved everything. He colored, played with cars, held glow sticks, and sat in our laps. I can tell already the he is incredibly smart. (I know he is my boy and all mama's think their kids are smart, but he really is SMART!) Sammy ate a lollipop, drank water, and held whatever he could fit into his hands.
This morning, was one of the best days of my life! It was in the top 5, right there with the birth of my children and my wedding day with Matty! I am so happy! My boys are PERFECT!!! AND we are so in love with them.
We finished up our paperwork, took some pictures with the orphanage director, and headed off to go take official pictures for our final adoption papers tomorrow. While we were waiting for our pictures to process we went to a mall/store to pick up diapers, night time pull ups, and snacks. We muddled thru the store...we were all getting tired and it was about 90 degrees in there. While leaving the store there was a MacDonalds connected to it as we were walking out. PJ kept motioning that he was hungry. I asked our guide to please let us go in there. I could tell she didn't want him to eat that BUT it was 1:30 and the child was hungry. We still had to pick up our photos and then drive back to the hotel. So being the good mama that I am, we got the McDonald's (plus my other sweet boy, Gabe, was hungry too!)
Both of my boys got Happy meals. PJ ate the whole thing in the car.
My sweet baby Sammy....He ate a handful of fries and laid his head on my chest and fell dead asleep. He is still sleeping as I type. We got back to the hotel and the front desk brought us portacrib...Sarah left her phone in the van, so we had to call our driver and he came back with her phone...that could have been a full on crisis. We put little Sammy in his crib and he never stirred. He slept for 2 hours with all of us talking. PJ is having a ball. He loves his new brother and sister. They have been playing with toys, bubbles, play dough, but most of all he loves being with his brother and sister.
Sammy just woke up from his nap...we changed his diaper, gave him a snack, and now he is blowing bubbles. PJ is watching the Pleasant Goat. Life is GOOD!!