Visiting Anyang

Dear Vivi -

Today was a long day, but one more step towards getting all of the necessary paperwork done so we can get you home!

We left Zhengzhou at 8:00 a.m. and drove just over two hours in a van with another family (thank God for the wonderful Cram family!!) whose daughter is also from Anyang.  We needed to go back to the city of your birth to register you for your passport, which will hopefully be delivered to us Thursday or Friday before we depart for Guangzhou.

Here we are in the van, crossing a bridge.

We crossed the famous Yellow River as part of our journey.  This is it, but with the smog, it would be more accurate to call it the Grey River.

You were totally unimpressed by the scenery, preferring to play with your toy instead.  The good news is that you're warming up to bows!

In front of the passport registration office.

I don't think you can really take pictures inside - it's a governmental office and I wasn't quite prepared to have my camera potentially seized - so we played it safe. But we did get a group shot once we were out, mostly to prove that Mommy is actually physically present on this trip and not just narrating it. :)

Our next stop was the orphanage in Anyang.  Vivi only spent a few weeks at this orphanage at the beginning of her life, two years ago.  We are grateful for that.  Not because we don't think that the nannies don't love the children - we think they do.  But the reality of a ratio of so many children to not enough caregivers can lead to less than the best of circumstances.  We did have the extreme pleasure of meeting and holding several of the babies from Mommy's Anyang Facebook group.  We got to take pictures of them and tell them how much their families love them and are waiting to come and get them.  Having been on the other side where you are so desperate for any update or picture or information about your child, we were happy to provide a glimpse for those still in the wait.

There were some cheery paintings on the walls, but nothing like what awaits these babies when they get home!

We were happy to walk away at the end of the visit knowing that you will not need to be in an orphanage ever again.

Next stop was visiting the Crams' daughter Anna's finding spot.  Vivi, we wish that we could have given you the same privilege, to see where your birth mother left you to be found.  But we really only know that you were left at an intersection in a certain section of the city.  We have no idea about specifics, so we chose not to take the extra time and make that trip.  We hope you're okay with this, and maybe someday, with more research, we will be able to know the actual spot and we can come and see it together. 

Some pictures of your hometown.

Yes, this guy really was selling plastic blowup pool animals on a chilly street corner - actually, right on the street itself - in the middle of Anyang.

A museum that takes you back through 3700 years of Chinese history.  And we Americans think 300 years of history is ancient!!

It was a long day for all of us.

Tomorrow we will go and visit a temple that we are told is the birth place of Kung Fu.  Daddy is excited. Mommy, not so much, but as they say: "When in China..."

Vivi, we are just so proud of how you are doing.  We know that your easy demeanor, your ability to go with the flow, and your sunny disposition are a testament to how much you were loved and cared for by the families in your healing homes and by the Baobei Foundation.  We are told that you are "one of their stars." We are so grateful that we get to see how brightly that star is going to shine!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy