Day 6: The Story of MeiMei Day

We woke up to the realization that we are FINALLY having a baby. We must of said that 25 times..."We're having a baby today!". After breakfast with our travel mates, we all headed to the bank to exchange money. I resisted the urge to take photos in the bank even though I REALLY wanted to break out the Nikon. The "NO PHOTO" sign on the wall and the uniformed guy in the lobby waving an AK47 was a great deterrent. You'll just have to trust me when I say exchanging large sums of money in China is quite an experience. Two HOURS later we all got what we needed and promptly returned to the hotel. We prepared our gifts and ran back out to pick up a few things we had forgotten. By the time we got back to the hotel they had cleaned our room and left MeiMei's crib behind. I nearly cried when I saw it. Tonight our MeiMei will be sleeping in that crib. Oh my goodness this is really happening!

We freshened up and met Grace and the Guarino's in the lobby at 2 pm. We rode about 20 minutes across town to the Civil Affairs bureau. Grace said 46 families were meeting their children today so it was going to be very busy. Ha. That was the understatement of the year. It was chaos: too hot, too many people, nervous parents, fearful children (some terrified). It was sensory overload at it's best.

They keep the children behind a curtain in the playroom until the paperwork has been completed. We caught our first glimpse of her sitting on a stool in the playroom. There she was in a little pink outfit as cute as a button. Jenny, True Children's Home Executive Director, presented us with a scrapbook of photographs from birth until this month, a calligraphy pen made with MeiMei's hair from her first haircut and a blanket made by an organization in Arizona. They choose blankets based upon their personalities. MeiMei's is green with crabs all over it. Hmmmm...wonder how that resembles her personality? I guess we'll figure it out soon.

When the time finally came to meet MeiMei, the Chief received her from the Nanny. Of course she was terrified and cried hysterically. We tried to find a quiet spot to sit down but with 46 families there was no quiet to be found. She cried for a long time and wailed for a bit. She wanted no part of my bag of tricks and finally gave up and collapsed into my arms. She wouldn't look at my face. She just molded into my body and wouldn't let go. It took forever to complete the paperwork and we were the last three families to leave the Civil Affairs Building. About the time we stepped on the elevator she lost it again.

Grace took the guys into the Carrefour (AKA Chinese Walmart) to buy formula while the Mom's waited in the van. Poor MeiMei was still wailing and pushing me away the entire time they were in the store. She kept crying for Mama (her foster mother) and pointing out the window. She would point to her backpack, point to herself and then point out the window as if to say "I want to take my backpack and go home to Mama". Oh--it just broke my heart in tiny pieces. Absolutely heartbreaking. How do you comfort a child who is broken hearted? How do you explain that we love her so much even if it doesn't seem like it to her right now? Once the Dad's found what we needed, with Grace's help of course, we went back to the hotel, ordered room service and tried to settle in for the night. She would not eat or take her bottle but we did get her to drink one of her favorite yogurt drinks TCH gave us.

We gave her a quick bath which went about as well as the time I tried to bathe Hershey (our cat) with vanilla cat shampoo. We are pretty sure she has never bathed in a bathtub before which is probably why she was so afraid. After bath and another hour of wailing she finally fell asleep in my arms. She would be very quiet for a minute and then it was as if she would remember something and the Charlie Brown tears would fall. It was a hard day for her and us in return.

There have been moments when she cried, when the two of us cried and when we all cried together. I have become a Mommy three times and I can honestly say the first two were much easier than comforting a heartbroken baby. There is no epidural in the world that can make this kind of heartache go away. Not for her or for me. Tonight we go to bed exhausted and with heavy hearts. We know without question she is our MeiMei but we also recognize all she has lost today in order to become a part of her forever family. With time we know her heart will be healed and we look forward to that day with anticipation.

Welcome to your forever family Molly Hope Yangsu Womble. We have waited a very long time to meet you. We pray above all things you will find...

peace in knowing you were chosen to be part of this forever family,
joy in all circumstances--even those that are difficult to understand,
love within the arms that hold you from this day forward and
hope in the God who knew your beautiful face long before the day of your birth.

With overflowing love on our first forever family day,
Mommy and Daddy