Shiyan arrived, and soon after the bus did, too. We had an hour long bus ride to get to the hotel. We drove through a desert mountainous area, which is Gansu province. Everything was tan and frozen. This is a fairly dry area, but there is a lot of farming that goes on during the summer. We arrived in Lanzhou , a city of 3.1 million people, and quickly went to our rooms to gather our cameras and had about 30 minutes until we were to meet in the lobby to go meet our girls.
We all went to the fourth floor, and in a conference room they were all waiting, surprisingly happy. All 12 families were peeking through the open double doors trying to spot their baby. I found Graycen right away, she was right in the front, she looked just like her pictures. They called each family in alphabetical order, so we all waited for our turn and were oohing and ahhing over each sweet baby. We didn’t know it at the time, but the 9 babies that were in foster care were given to the families by the foster mothers. One lady was crying, it was very sad. Then they called, “Wu Hong Yuan”!
Kevin and I went to the door, and the lady holding her was trying to get her to smile. I was trying, too, and between the both of us we got a little grin. Finally she handed her to me, and I just held on tight and looked into her eyes (through the tears). 
She never cried, and seemed to know us, so I think the foster family had been showing her the picture album I sent. The lady that handed Graycen to us was her foster mother, and she seemed very nice and sophisticated. She wasn’t crying, and I am glad I looked her in the eyes after she had given Graycen to me, and said, “Xie, Xie,” which is “thank you” in Chinese. She has done a wonderful job caring for Graycen, and we are so thankful. Graycen is very healthy, just tiny and a little delayed developmentally. She will catch up quickly with us working with her—she has three brothers to help with that!
We went up to our room right away to check her out and get our things together to go get our pictures taken for our visa. We didn’t really have time to do much, but just look at her sweet face. We got her coat and hat and away we went. She didn’t cry yet, but when we went into the elevator, one of the other babies was VERY upset, and when Graycen heard her cry she started crying, too. She cried all the way to the photo shop, but once we were there, she stopped, and even almost smiled for her picture! As soon as everyone got their picture we were back to the hotel. A lot of crying was going on at this point—Graycen included.
We were back to our room, and then one parent had to go to the conference room to get the paperwork in order for the next morning, the adoption process at the civil affairs office. Kevin stayed with Graycen and I went down to the meeting. The four staff from the orphanage were at the meeting, and it was so touching to be able to see them. I was given an envelope with four pictures of Graycen with her foster family. Some of the other families were given pictures, too. One family was given a present of 2 journals that the foster mother had written in each day since she started caring for their baby in August. What a treasure! It was then that we all realized that the foster mothers were the ones that had indeed handed us our babies. Graycen had a foster brother that looks to be around Garrett’s age. We were pleased that she is used to a brother, since she will have three when we get home!
Then Shiyan told us we could ask questions of the orphanage staff. A few questions were asked, then I asked if they had any information about each child. The lady that was with them, Dr Zhong (I think), opened a notebook and said that she had something to tell about each baby. It was mostly about their personality and if they had been sick recently. This is what she said about Graycen: she doesn’t like a bath, likes fruits and snacks, has a “fast temper”, and that she was a little “lazy”—she likes to have her bottle held for her.
Shiyan told us that these babies were very healthy and well-cared for, and that she felt the orphanage staff really cared for these babies. She said that she can tell the ones that are working the orphanages as a business and the ones that truly care for the babies. We all agreed, we could tell that the director, Mr. Wang and Dr. Zhong were sincere people. Someone asked what criteria they used to find the foster parents, and we were told that they were very strict and only chose about 1 of every 3 applicants. The parents have to be married for at least 5 years, have a good sized home, and if there are any other children in the home, they must be out of elementary school. They had just started the Wuwei SWI foster program in August. I was very concerned about this before we came to , but it seems they are doing a great job with this new program. It was very touching to experience this meeting, and we will see them again tomorrow at the civil affairs office when the adoption is made final.
Back to the room and then trying to get everything in order for meeting at 8am in the morning!
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