Orphanage day yesterday!

I can't check out my blog from here for some reason, so forgive me if I repeat myself. It kind of all blurs together and I can't remember what I've shared. Keith left for the orphanage yesterday morning at 8am and got back at 5:30pm. I was nervous because Emma hates it when she sees one of us leave. She doesn't want us to separate, afraid we won't come back I guess. It was OK though because Keith slipped out while she was still sleeping. We decided it would be too much for all of us to go. I gave Keith a list of things to do that I promised the adoptive parents we'd take care of for them. He was amazing and did it all! First I'll tell you about our day, then Keith's. I dressed the girls in matching sweaters, jeans, and tennis shoes... so cute. All Emma's clothes are too big. I brought size 2, but she wears 18 months. The size 6 shoes stay on good though. We walked down 4 flights of stairs because now I've developed a phobia of elevators. When we got down to the restaurant, Emma insisted that we sit down immediately. She didn't want me to fix a plate; everything has to follow the same routine or our little volcano erupts. She's used to us sitting down while Ellie and Keith fix our plates. The waitress was kind and helped Ellie fix our plates from the buffet. We will accommodate Emma while we're in China, but official training camp starts when we get back home. I still have nightmares of congy flying, so I'm playing it safe for now. After breakfast we tromped back up 4 flights of stairs with no fits and no tears. We hung out in the room most of the afternoon which was fine with me. The girls have a ball playing together. Emma tore up the newspaper into little pieces while Ellie watched Curious George. Thankfully, we have HBO. Emma flushed the toilet all day long and punched buttons on the telephone. What else are we gonna do in a hotel room for a week. Oh, by the way, she sits on the toilet front ways now!!! She holds onto me for dear life, but wants to sit like Ellie. Yesterday I discovered 2 new things about our Emma: she loves to fold washcloths... perfectly, and she smokes. She took her Dora chap stick and put it between her fingers like a cigarette and began to take puffs off of it. I shouldn't be surprised, everyone in China seems to smoke, even in the elevators. She brushes her hair with a spoon and brushes her teeth with a comb. The girls played hide and seek, peek-a-boo, and jumped on the bed. Ellie jumped from one bed to the other and before I could catch her, brave little Emma jumped across and didn't quite make it. We made a tent with a crib and a blanket. That was a big hit. We decided to venture out to the park and before we left we asked the front desk what the temperature was and they said, "9214." I said, "in Fahrenheit", they said, 9214. Our walk was interesting. We are used to getting boldly stared at and many ask us if we're from New Zealand or Australia, but never the US. But this time we were waiting at the crosswalk, which by the way, absolutely no one pays attention to, and this man on a bike stopped right in front of us and stared. I glanced his way and gave a polite smile, then looked away. He continued to stare with a blank expression on his face. The wait was soooooooooooo long at the intersection. Finally I decided to blankly stare back just to see what would happen... He won, too uncomfortable, can't do it. When we got to the park, Ellie was so disappointed. It was nothing more than sidewalks, benches, and grass. She wanted a playground. We went back and ate lunch at the hotel. So far every day, except for once, we've eaten western food at the hotel. When we were in China getting Ellie, our guide took us to great restaurants every day and ordered safe foods for us. This time we're on our own and we are so afraid of eating something that will make us sick. On the way back from the park we did try to go to a place near the hotel that Sarah told us about, but they only sold coffee, in bags. Anyway, Keith and Sarah got back from the ophanage. Sarah took Ellie with her to run an errand and Emma began to fall apart. Partly because no nap and partly because she can't bear to see us seperate. When they got back she hugged on Ellie and Sarah left. Not too bad, that was the only meltdown that day. When all was calm, Keith told me about his day at the orphanage. There are somethings I won't share with you on the blog, it will have to wait til we get home... But what I can share is, Keith took the suitcase full of clothes, toys, socks, shoes... mostly donated by our Athens Area Chinese group to the orphans. He was able to give out candy and a toy to each of the children. Hopefully the rest will be saved for the children there. The things we mailed over for Emma were unfortunately nowhere to be found. Only one photo album was returned I will email privately each of you that have children at the Nanyang orphanage tonight and give you more info and pictures of your children. Keith said the orphanage looked like a 3 car garage. Walls and floors were cement and it was cold. Garage #1, steel beds all lined up in rows. Garage #2, children's play area with a few toys and the only room with part of the floor covered with rubber matts. Garage #3, little tables and chairs. I didn't realize Keith had rewound the camcorder to show me the orphanage film and I picked it up to tape the girls and taped right over it. I wanted to cry. Emma's only link to the past and I erased it. Last night Emma didn't sleep well, she had an upset tummy (diareah) and her head was all stuffed up. She woke up several times through the night and fell off the bed once. She moves so much in her sleep. By morning she has done a full 360 degrees turn. Ellie gets squished and kicked, so she slips down to the pad on the floor after Emma falls asleep. Ellie misses her brothers so much and cried after she got off the phone with them yesterday. I know Emma will fall in love with them as well. Ellie told me she was feeling a little jealous. Poor thing, she said, you hold Emma all the time mommy. She has been so good about not complaining about us giving Emma so much attention. I made sure I held her and gave her some extra attention... it seemed to help. We have to go do more paperwork today and then I'll send out the private emails to the adoptive parents. I'm sorry, I know you are on pins and needles. The wait will be worth it. Thankyou so much for all the prayers and encouraging posts... they are a lifeline. Chris, I can't believe you will be here in a week!!!!! You will finally get to hold your sweet LULU!!! Hugs to all. We miss you so much boys and thankyou grandmommy and grandaddy for holding down the fort while we're away.