The adoption is final... Jack Zhilu is our son!

Tuesday, November 30th

Today was Adoption Finalization Day – Zhilu is a part of our family FOREVER!

Zhilu slept great last night… not a peep from him at all, and we had to wake him up this morning. I was worried about wake-up time, thinking it would go one of two ways… either he’d be happy to see us still or he’d be upset. Well, didn’t my boy wake up and give us the biggest smile ever! I guess we’re in! We skyped with Aunt Erin, Grandma and the girls then rushed down to breakfast. At 9:00, we met our group in the lobby and headed off to the provincial office again. This is the same office where the children were delivered yesterday, so we weren’t sure how Zhilu would react. Adam thought we’d be better staying outside until we were needed, but I suggested going in and just seeing how he did. Zhilu was unfazed! He went into the play area and had a ball playing with the kids and his daddy! We waited while our paperwork was processed, and then the provincial affairs officer came out and gave a short speech. She thanked us all for caring for these children with special needs, and said she thought they would have a very good life in our families. Then one by one, we each were handed our red book containing our adoption certificate. The adoptions were now final! There was a roar of applause in the room… what a wonderful day!!











While we were waiting, it was incredible to look around the room and see the same set of children from yesterday… but while yesterday’s children were scared and hesitant, today these same children were giggling and playing and clinging to their new moms and dads. What a transition in a short 24 hours. These children surely have a resilience that is beyond comprehension.

We then boarded the bus again and headed off to the notaries office. We had to go up SIX flights of stairs to get there… and the room was hot and smoky. The children were beginning to get a little cranky, too… but we all made it through. I let Adam sit at the main table and handle the paperwork… it was nice to not be in charge of a bit of the papers, and all I had to do was sign right where Adam told me. Once the papers were set, we all left and headed back to the hotel.



We hit the Italian place in the hotel for lunch… Zhilu did really well in the restaurant. Not a huge fan of pizza, but he loves bread! Just like his Daddy! We then headed back to the room and tried to get Zhilu to nap before our big group shopping trip to the Lotus Center. He lied down and rested with no problem, but didn’t fall asleep until about 20 minutes before we had to leave. Poor guy… we felt so bad waking him up.



The Lotus Center store was great fun… it’s a two level store kind of like a Walmart or Target… everything from food to clothes to electronics. But unlike Walmart here, it had a much better selection of products and we were able to track down the baby snacks that Leah loved in China. Zhilu is a fan too! We also stocked up on water, milk cartons, Chrysanthemum powder, and soda (apparently, diet soda is impossible to find here but they do carry the new zero calories sodas which supposedly taste just like regular (Coke Zero and Pepsi Max). So that will have to do until we can get to Guangzhou). Zhilu did well with the shopping trip until we got to the food section… he didn’t seem to understand why Mama wouldn’t give him all the food from the cart. Some of the other kids were having the same reaction. When you come from a world where food can be scarce and limited, this new world of abundant availability can be tempting and overwhelming. After we checked out, Zhilu decided to begin jabbering and was cracking himself up. He’d say something and then laugh hysterically. I was dying laughing just watching him. He really is such a silly kid!!







On the way back from Lotus, we got the plans for our orphanage visit and we realized we should have purchased donations for the orphanage while we were there. So another trip to Walmart was going to be in order. After dinner at the hotel buffet (which was wonderful but WAY too expensive!!), Adam and the travel companions of two other moms headed over to Walmart. Zhilu and I stayed in the hotel room and washed some dishes and clothes. Then we headed up to the playroom for a bit. He had a ton of fun, bringing me different balls from the room, bouncing on the little animal bouncers, and organizing them all. He’d be across the room, and I’d say “Zhilu – bao yi bao (hugs)”, with my arms out, and he’d come running across the room and give me a hug and a huge smile. I love this little boy!! He’s already calling me Mama, which feels wonderful! In fact, right now, he’s crying for Mama so I’m going to let Adam finish this one up…



Adam here….

I had a trip to Walmart with some of the ladies from the group to buy donations for our trip to the orphanage tomorrow. We picked up blankets, diapers and formula. Some of the people in the group bought the highly sought after cheap stroller. We’re trying to decide if we should pick on up for ourselves. When I got back to the room , we got Zhilu ready for bed and gave him his bedtime snack. He ate the snack and took his entire bottle of chrysanthemum water. Meg must have gotten the mixture perfect because he seemed to love it. I brushed Zhilu’s teeth, which is easy because he laughs when you do it. Then we put him down for bed, but it was not time for bed in Zhilu’s mind, so we stayed up a bit longer and played with the beach ball. When he grew tired of that we did the stacking cups for a while. I tried to put him down for bed but it seems that it needed a mothers touch to seal the deal. He quieted right down as soon as she laid down with him.


Now it is off to bed for the rest of us as we have an early morning long distance drive for tomorrow. Meg’s looking forward to delivering all the care packages we brought for families of other Luoyang children. Please be thinking of Zhilu tomorrow, as this could be a very hard day for him.