(I'll update this post with pictures when I can hold my eyes open longer.)
I knew today was going to be a long day with a lot squeezed into the daylight hours, but I never dreamed it would begin so early! A big "thank you, man!" goes out to Dean Robinson for setting the alarm for 2:30 am and then sleeping through the sound while I hollered, "Dean, turn the alarm off! Dean! Dean!!" The man can sleep through anything but a dog choking!! He'll probably blame Riley for setting the alarm for such an ungodly hour, but since I'm up and at 'em at 2:30 in the morning and Dean's sleeping, I'm totally blaming him.
Breakfast was sweet as several families with children they received yesterday were dining in the restaurant with us. We swapped stories about our first day with our children and chatted about the cities we'd be traveling to. In Henan Province, adoptive families must travel to the city of their child's birth in order to apply for their child's passport. There were no other families traveling to Xinxiang City where our little one was born.
Celine picked us up at 8:00 in the lobby and we headed out the door. We first returned to the Civil Affairs office to complete the registration of our adoption. We were the only family there. The building was quiet and Wyatt played happily the whole time. Such a nice change from yesterday! We were there for only a minute and had our picture taken with our adoption registration and the Civil Affairs representative. We then drove back toward our hotel, stopping at the notary's office to have our registration notarized. They took our picture and offered congratulations and we headed back out the door. These events were monumental - life changing for our new son and for our family. My heart is full and we are very happy, but everything seems very, very foggy in my mind. I know I should have more heartfelt reflections to share, but it's hard to feel anything but exhaustion right this very minute.
After the notary office we headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out. We ended up with a few hours to spare so we ate some noodle bowls in the room and put the little boys down for a nap. Celine returned at 1:15 to pick us up. We checked out, loaded up and hit the road for Xinxiang City, 2 hours away. We weren't there long, maybe 30 minutes. We only had to file copies of our adoption registration with the police department and pick up Wyatt's. passport. I know it seems inconvenient to travel so far for such a small little task, but here if you just go flow you'll be happier. After a sweet little encounter with Riley and the squatty potty we returned to van to head back to the Zhongzhou. By the way, I totally get split pants now. Dean said that helping Riley go to the bathroom was a nightmare. (So glad I missed that one!) He had to take Riley's pants and shoes off and hold him and the clothes up off of the wet bathroom floor. The platform around the squatty potty isn't really designed for little people. Split pants for a little squatter would've been just the ticket. (You could've called out a "mayday", Dean. I would've come to help you -and take a picture of the great fun!!
I was hoping Riley and Wyatt would sleep on the way back to Zhengzhou but they didn't. Jumping all over the van and playing different songs on both mine and Dean's phones on the highest volume possible was way more fun. Don't judge me, folks. There are no seat belts and I was tired of saying in my singsong voice, "Let's sit down now. Let's be calm. Remember to be kind. Only one song at a time. Let's not pull hair. Let's not pinch." It might have been weak to just let them go, but enduring Third Day's "I wanna be a rockstar" and Matthew West belting out , "Hello, My name is...", was easier than fighting the fighting our two littliest during the LONG RIDE! I'm so sorry, Celine She probably breathed a huge sign of relief when we finally arrived at the security counter at the airport.
Celine took us to a Chinese restaurant on the way to the airport. I wish I hadn't gone to the bathroom. In an effort to be positive about our experiences here, I will reserve all comments. We ate there anyway. Call me brave or call me stupid. I think the exhaustion has effected my ability to worry about germs and safety. I figured if I was in a little village in the eastern mountain of Honduras I would be willing and eager to share a meal with the people there, even if the surrounding weren't what made me feel the safest. Riley and Tate complained the whole time. It's been a long time since they've eaten Western food. They've done so well and Riley just wants a cheeseburger!! The food was very good. We ate sweet and sour pork, dumplings, green beans and eggplant and noodles. It was strange that the restaurant does not serve anything to drink but hot water but no biggie. We've got three hours to kill at the airport. Drinks aplenty there!!
The airport in Zhengzhou has a nice indoor playground and the boys had a great time running, climbing and playing with a few other little boys there. Wyatt was precious and giggled and laughed the whole time. I was thankful for the time there because both Riley and Wyatt were asleep before the plane took off and didn't wake up until we were at the gate and leaving the plane.
Rebecca picked us up at the airport. She's amazing. Y'all, Lifeline is amazing! We have wanted for nothing (but good Internet) our entire time here! Our guides, Helen, Celine and Rebecca, are sweet, kind and helpful. They tell us what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Our drivers must have been former race car or demolition derby drivers. They've gotten us safely from place to place, though I will say my heart jumped into my throat a time or two. People drive a little wild here, y'all. There are no seat belts or carseats, or expectation that you must drive on the right side of the road . If you will soon be traveling to China, gear yourself up for this now, folks. Remember, expectations higher than reality will equal disappointment! Our Western ideas about traffic flow, the painted lines on the road, playing highway chicken, seat belts, and carseats don't apply here. Think the 70s and the back end of a green Oldsmobile station wagon! We survived! It will all be okay!!
Our hotel is luxury to someone like me that is surrounded every day by the chaos of so many peanut butter covered fingers and baskets of laundry piled to the ceiling. They replace the flowers in the lobby every day and it's quiet and has waterfalls. I know a third grader could've written a more eloquent description of this amazing hotel, but I'm tired and excited about tomorrow. In about 12 hours we will have Jubilee in our arms!!
I can't wait to share the details of another new little Robinson tomorrow!
I knew today was going to be a long day with a lot squeezed into the daylight hours, but I never dreamed it would begin so early! A big "thank you, man!" goes out to Dean Robinson for setting the alarm for 2:30 am and then sleeping through the sound while I hollered, "Dean, turn the alarm off! Dean! Dean!!" The man can sleep through anything but a dog choking!! He'll probably blame Riley for setting the alarm for such an ungodly hour, but since I'm up and at 'em at 2:30 in the morning and Dean's sleeping, I'm totally blaming him.
Breakfast was sweet as several families with children they received yesterday were dining in the restaurant with us. We swapped stories about our first day with our children and chatted about the cities we'd be traveling to. In Henan Province, adoptive families must travel to the city of their child's birth in order to apply for their child's passport. There were no other families traveling to Xinxiang City where our little one was born.
Celine picked us up at 8:00 in the lobby and we headed out the door. We first returned to the Civil Affairs office to complete the registration of our adoption. We were the only family there. The building was quiet and Wyatt played happily the whole time. Such a nice change from yesterday! We were there for only a minute and had our picture taken with our adoption registration and the Civil Affairs representative. We then drove back toward our hotel, stopping at the notary's office to have our registration notarized. They took our picture and offered congratulations and we headed back out the door. These events were monumental - life changing for our new son and for our family. My heart is full and we are very happy, but everything seems very, very foggy in my mind. I know I should have more heartfelt reflections to share, but it's hard to feel anything but exhaustion right this very minute.
After the notary office we headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out. We ended up with a few hours to spare so we ate some noodle bowls in the room and put the little boys down for a nap. Celine returned at 1:15 to pick us up. We checked out, loaded up and hit the road for Xinxiang City, 2 hours away. We weren't there long, maybe 30 minutes. We only had to file copies of our adoption registration with the police department and pick up Wyatt's. passport. I know it seems inconvenient to travel so far for such a small little task, but here if you just go flow you'll be happier. After a sweet little encounter with Riley and the squatty potty we returned to van to head back to the Zhongzhou. By the way, I totally get split pants now. Dean said that helping Riley go to the bathroom was a nightmare. (So glad I missed that one!) He had to take Riley's pants and shoes off and hold him and the clothes up off of the wet bathroom floor. The platform around the squatty potty isn't really designed for little people. Split pants for a little squatter would've been just the ticket. (You could've called out a "mayday", Dean. I would've come to help you -and take a picture of the great fun!!
I was hoping Riley and Wyatt would sleep on the way back to Zhengzhou but they didn't. Jumping all over the van and playing different songs on both mine and Dean's phones on the highest volume possible was way more fun. Don't judge me, folks. There are no seat belts and I was tired of saying in my singsong voice, "Let's sit down now. Let's be calm. Remember to be kind. Only one song at a time. Let's not pull hair. Let's not pinch." It might have been weak to just let them go, but enduring Third Day's "I wanna be a rockstar" and Matthew West belting out , "Hello, My name is...", was easier than fighting the fighting our two littliest during the LONG RIDE! I'm so sorry, Celine She probably breathed a huge sign of relief when we finally arrived at the security counter at the airport.
Celine took us to a Chinese restaurant on the way to the airport. I wish I hadn't gone to the bathroom. In an effort to be positive about our experiences here, I will reserve all comments. We ate there anyway. Call me brave or call me stupid. I think the exhaustion has effected my ability to worry about germs and safety. I figured if I was in a little village in the eastern mountain of Honduras I would be willing and eager to share a meal with the people there, even if the surrounding weren't what made me feel the safest. Riley and Tate complained the whole time. It's been a long time since they've eaten Western food. They've done so well and Riley just wants a cheeseburger!! The food was very good. We ate sweet and sour pork, dumplings, green beans and eggplant and noodles. It was strange that the restaurant does not serve anything to drink but hot water but no biggie. We've got three hours to kill at the airport. Drinks aplenty there!!
The airport in Zhengzhou has a nice indoor playground and the boys had a great time running, climbing and playing with a few other little boys there. Wyatt was precious and giggled and laughed the whole time. I was thankful for the time there because both Riley and Wyatt were asleep before the plane took off and didn't wake up until we were at the gate and leaving the plane.
Rebecca picked us up at the airport. She's amazing. Y'all, Lifeline is amazing! We have wanted for nothing (but good Internet) our entire time here! Our guides, Helen, Celine and Rebecca, are sweet, kind and helpful. They tell us what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Our drivers must have been former race car or demolition derby drivers. They've gotten us safely from place to place, though I will say my heart jumped into my throat a time or two. People drive a little wild here, y'all. There are no seat belts or carseats, or expectation that you must drive on the right side of the road . If you will soon be traveling to China, gear yourself up for this now, folks. Remember, expectations higher than reality will equal disappointment! Our Western ideas about traffic flow, the painted lines on the road, playing highway chicken, seat belts, and carseats don't apply here. Think the 70s and the back end of a green Oldsmobile station wagon! We survived! It will all be okay!!
Our hotel is luxury to someone like me that is surrounded every day by the chaos of so many peanut butter covered fingers and baskets of laundry piled to the ceiling. They replace the flowers in the lobby every day and it's quiet and has waterfalls. I know a third grader could've written a more eloquent description of this amazing hotel, but I'm tired and excited about tomorrow. In about 12 hours we will have Jubilee in our arms!!
I can't wait to share the details of another new little Robinson tomorrow!
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