crazy "good" day

We are at the end of our first day with MingZheng and are all exhausted. Where does he get all this energy?? Things went great at the office of civil affairs when we met him. There were 4 other families also there. The 12 year old boy being adopted appeared to be having the hardest time....very quite and shut down. Anne offered him some candy and he slowly started to interact. We were just so happy that he was being adopted after most certainly watching friend after friend find a home and leave him.

We kept waiting. All the other children were with their familes. We moved out into the hallway to be just a little closer to the elevator. Finally, we asked our guide to call and see where they were. He had gotten sick on the ride and that delayed them. Madeline and Christian were monitoring the elevator and finally saw it coming to the 6th floor. Off walked MingZheng, right by us. We were all talking to him and he just went on by. We joined him in the meeting room and all stood around him taking pictures and introducing ourselves. He hugged Mama and looked at Mia as the one he could connect to and play with.

When his orphanage director left, she said bye bye and pointed to Anne and I as mama and baba. He was fine. Pictures and paperwork all went great. Another child was having a hard time but not Colin.

We came back to the hotel and in the elevator he pointed to Mia and yelled something. We asked our interpretor who advised that he was saying he wanted to fight with Mia. That is great, just great. ;) He talks and talks, and looks at Anne saying "mama!!" and then runs to me, "baba!" He is very excited to have a mommy and daddy. It is obvious that the orphanage worked with him and our pictures. He was in the "half the sky" portion of the orphanage, a nonprofit group. They gave us a big book about his life in the orphanage.

We also got a note from his biological parents. It is being translated, but in short, it says they leave him in hopes that he can get the care that he needs that they cannot afford. They feel guilty about abandoning him, but think it is best for him.

That is tough, I can't imagine being in their situation. I will have to digest this later as my mind is spinning and need to put it aside.

Mia is having a hard time tonight. She is crying. We are going to have an all about Mia day tomorrow, to the extent that we can. He is rough, taking what he wants and obviously has had to be strong. She just wilts. I have already told him "no good" in Chinese with a harsh tone a couple of times. I made him return a couple things he grabbed from her. She has been wonderful; just lets him take it. But tonight, she wants HER mommy and they are in a different room. Actually, everyone is going to a different room except for me and Colin! He has worn them out.

Twice tonight, he has started crying for a short period of time (5 minutes)----for no apparent reason. Well, no reason other than his world just changed. Nothing is the same--odors, sounds, looks, toys, food, environment, ---all different. But then, as quickly as he started crying, he stops and starts speaking Mandarin again. Did I say he talks non-stop!

His cleft lip look good. He does have a partially cleft palet, as best I can tell, and a couple of missing teeth. Nothing looks too major.

I will try to post some pictures. Thanks for all your prayer!!