Gotcha!

We wandered around the city a bit today, looking for a tailor to make a suit for my mom, but were unsuccessful. It at least kept us busy.

We met in the lobby of the hotel with the 3 other families who are in our group for getting their babies today at 3 pm. We had chartered a bus to take us to the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Office. It is only about 15 minutes away from the hotel. Once there, we were taken in to a room that had a large table and 3 other families who had just received their babies. They left shortly after we arrived, then they brought in the babies.

They gave Elijah to me telling him I was his mama. He cried. He continued crying until he just shut down and went to sleep about 20-30 minutes later. He didn't just cry, he was hysterical. It was an immediate reaction when he started his fit. (Greg's editorial note: "hysterical" doesn't even do justice to the intensity and duration. From the moment he was handed over, he had one serious meltdown). He was crying for "Ya Ya," which means Grandma. We suspect that is what he called his nanny. That makes me feel good that he is bonded to her. My heart is sad that he will be mourning the loss of her for a long time, but at least he knows what it means to be loved. He keeps calling for her whenever he is upset. We have also discovered that he is a thumb sucker. I'm glad he has that for comfort.

He decidedly prefers Greg to me right now. It isn't as bad as the other family I had mentioned. He cries if Greg hands him to me, but he stops fairly quickly. He cries if Greg leaves the room, but he will stop for me. If given the choice, he will always choose Greg, and doesn't cry when he goes to him. Y'know what? I'm okay with that. Greg isn't as happy, but it doesn't bother me. I expected it. I know that he will settle down. He has to deal with me and settle in at some point. Daddy goes off to work, and Elijah will have me. We'll bond. I'm not worried. He let me hold him, but then I bribed him with banana puffs (I'm no dummy.) (Greg's editorial: I already went through a child pretty well rejecting me for a long time. I am used to it. Guys tend to be a little more detached anyway while women tend to provide the stronger emotional stability. I would much prefer for him to be rejecting me right now. That connection is an area for prayer.)

Kailey and Justin are very happy to have him here. They are so anxious to help and to hold him and to play with him. It will be hard on them when they have to leave him on Saturday. They are going to have to adjust as we have to meet Elijah's needs at times before theirs. When he was so upset when they gave him to us, both Kailey and Justin were working hard to help without any encouragements or suggestions. Justin was singing "Wheels on the Bus" and Kailey was offering him toys. This made us very proud of them and also really touched our hearts.

Elijah is very banged up. He has scratches, sores, bumps and bruises all over him. His feet have dirt in the crevices that will likely not come clean until he has a new layer of skin. His toes are all scratched and banged up. We think that today was the first time he had worn shoes. It looks like he has run barefoot his whole life on concrete. He has a rather large knot on the back of his head that feels very bony. We are curious as to what a doctor would have to say about it. (editorial note: "knot" is too tame a description. He has a large bump about the size of a small fist on the back right of his head. It is not tender to him, nor is it mushy. He does not show any obvious neurological problems, but we will definitely be getting it checked out stateside.) As for his hypospadias, it seems to be pretty serious. We really aren't sure from looking, but it seems to be short, with chordee and have the meatus down near the scrotum. I'm sure the urologists at Children's will be able to give us a good idea of what should be done. (editorial note: I don't know what she just wrote).

After we returned to the hotel, we sat him down on the floor to play with him and start to get to know him. After a while, he did smile at Daddy's antics. I have no doubt that we will have a very different child on our hands by the time we get home.

We went downstairs to get a group photo of the nine families who are here now. Five of them are leaving in the morning. The other four will be leaving on November 18 or later. I think we are actually going to be the first to leave from that group.

We got Chinese takeout (kinda funny, if you think of it) to eat in our room, since we did not want to take Elijah back out again. We got to keep his clothes they brought him to us in. We need to go shopping tomorrow for shoes and a few odds and ends. The shoes he was wearing are thick, heavy, and are Chinese Power Rangers. Hmmmm. That doesn't reflect our taste, now does it?

FATHER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Yeah, the roller coaster hasn't stopped yet. One thing is certain that both Maren and I have already confirmed, we do love this guy. The poor little trooper is pretty beat up. Having been involved in child abuse investigations for so long, I can say without doubt that his bang-ups and bruisings are NOT the result of abuse. I am glad about that but am also glad to get him out of the orphanage to help him get healed up.

I have a lot of questions running through my head that I am eager to ask the professionals at Cincinnati Children's. I really wish we could get there a lot sooner than we can. I am not worried about his hypospadias condition, though admittedly it is much worse than I anticipated. To protect his privacy (no pun intended), I won't go into detail though I think that is what Maren provided with all those medical terms up a little bit! I am trying not to worry about his cranial condition. I can't tell if I am succeeding in not worrying or just doing a good job not thinking about it. One thing I do know, the Lord brought us this far and will take us the rest of the way. This is true whether or not there are conditions we know of or conditions of which we are not aware. When we had Kailey and Justin, we didn't know what we were going to get. We love them regardless. This will be true for Elijah as well. In fact, quite literally, even I as I type this, I am feeling better about things. Our great God feeds the sparrows and clothes the lillies. We have nothing to fear.