Gotcha Elliott!

I am sitting in the hotel room and as I type this 3 of my 4 precious children are taking a nap here in Chengdu. (Asher is at home with my sister, having a sleepover with his cousin Chloe.) This morning was amazing. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It was heartbreaking to see the orphanage that my son has lived in for nearly two years. It is a big, bright, fun looking building with two large playgrounds in front. The walls are filled with beautiful artwork made by the children. It looks similar to a daycare in the US, just extra extra big...and very cold! Now I know why all the children are so bundled up in the pictures I have seen. It is freezing inside!

It was heartbreaking to see the faces of many children who will continue to live there. Levi and I pray that each and every one will be placed in forever families. Statistics tell us that won't happen, but our God is bigger than statistics. But our hearts just melted the moment the nanny brought our son into the room and placed him in my arms. He came to us bundled up in three very thick layers of clothes, a hat and scarf. He cried as soon as his nanny let go of him. He did not have one nanny in charge of him but several that took shifts. It was obvious that the nanny had sweet affections for him and for that I am glad. He cried a lot as I held him but was quickly calmed when the nanny gave me a yogurt covered cracker to give him. I loved having him eat it out of my hands bit by bit. Levi spent a few minutes signing papers while the girls and I admired Elliott. Elizabel and Olivia are so sweet to him! They constantly want to give him toys, touch him and talk to him. They have talked about him and prayed for him for months and are now just giddy being around him.

 After the paperwork we got a very short tour of the orphanage. Elliott's room is under renovation so were only shown a few classrooms and the hall that his room was in.

Poor Elizabel wasn't feeling very well this morning. We thought she was just tired but on the way to the orphanage she threw up. Thankfully our van had a trash can in it so it wasn't a horrible mess. She did very well during the time at the orphanage but after we left we had a 40 minute drive back to the hotel and she was very sick during it. She seems to be feeling much better now and I hope that is the end of the illness for her and that no one else gets it. Please pray that is the case.

On the way back to the hotel our guide, Elliott and I went in to a store that is somewhat like Walmart. We needed to get diapers, wipes, a stroller, formula and some food items. Elliott cried when I sat him in the cart and I was thankful that he seemed to prefer being in my arms.

In the car he fell asleep for a short time. Oh how I love holding him! And you can see how happy Olivia is to be with him.

He is just the sweetest little thing! You can't tell by the pictures due to all the layers but he is very small. The orphanage says he weighs around 20 pounds. But he seems to be healthy and doing very well. It is obvious that he is very nervous. He holds his body tensely and is hesitant to make eye contact.  He watched curiously out the car window and all around at the grocery store. He probably hasn't been outside the orphanage in nearly 1 1/2 years, since his last hospital stay. I know his whole world has changed and as he gets comfortable and learns to trust us he will relax. I pray that he will do this soon as it makes me sad to see him so scared. But I know that it is all for good. Elizabel told him when we got back to the hotel, "Brother, you aren't an orphan anymore. You are part of our family." Oh how that fills me with joy! It is so true and I am thankful Elizabel understands. One day Elliott will too.

When we got back to the hotel Levi held him and fed him a banana and cheerios which he really liked. He is just precious and I love seeing him in Levi's arms.