The Mangels 5

The day we have hoped and prayed for, the day we had (not) patiently been waiting for, the day that almost a year of paperwork has led up to . . . has finally come. Today Samuel is with his family.

Our day started off early. The alarm was set for 4am. We had a flight to catch. This morning we flew from Beijing to Xi'an. Our flight was at 7:45am. Our guide picked us up at 5:30am. Fog delayed our flight for about an hour, but 2 hours after we finally took off, we landed in Xi'an. Xi'an is the capital city of Samuel's province. We will be here until Friday when we leave for Guangzhou.

We found our new guide at the airport and after we loaded up, we drove for about an hour to our hotel. Our hotel is VERY nice. Xi'an seems busier than Beijing. It is very dirty. Lots of smog. Traffic is overwhelming. So many cars, bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians it seems like it is just chaos. There must be some type of flow though, because in so much chaos somehow we don't see accidents.

We got checked in to our hotel and got a few minutes to rest. Our guide told us Samuel would be at the Civil Affairs office at 3:30pm. He had a 2 hour ride in from his city. We arrived before Samuel at the Civil Affairs office. While we waited, it was neat to sit and watch other families meet their children for the first time.

Finally it was our turn. In walked Samuel in the arms of one of the nannies and he was not a happy camper! It's no wonder. This was probably the first time he left the orphanage. Probably his first car ride (that's enough to make me want to cry. It is so stop-and-go crazy driving that we have to take dramamine). There were lots of people in a few small rooms at the Civil Affairs office. The nanny handed Samuel to Amy. He was crying a lot but he held on tight. At one point during paperwork the nanny was going to hold Samuel, but he turned in to Amy so he didn't have to go back to the nanny. It breaks my heart to think about why he would turn away from a familiar nanny and turn in to a stranger . . . but it was also a very neat moment. Samuel held tight to his momma.

We were able to ask a few questions. Some felt like generic answers. Others were documented. We learned that Samuel was found at a hospital. This not only helped Amy and I, but it may also help Samuel someday. His biological mother cared enough for him to make sure that he was safe. What safer place is there for someone than a hospital. I'll never know Samuel's biological mother, but I am grateful for her decisions. There are many decisions she could have made that would cause this story to have a very different ending. I don't know any of the details of her life. I don't know any of the circumstances surrounding her decision to let Samuel go . . . but I am learning to see her differently.

Samuel cried continuously for the first 2 hours. Not hysterically, but constant. We tried formula, we tried food, we tried rocking. In the end, toys prevailed. We brought stacking cups and a texture book. Both were a hit. Amy and I weren't necessarily included in the play (although we tried), but we caught him several times peeking at us out of the corners of his eyes. He played for probably an hour and then cried some more. We gave him a quick bath. Most children don't get baths in orphanages. I've heard it's because they aren't well heated and the idea is it's better to suffer the consequences of no baths than to suffer the consequences of a cold wet child. I don't know if it is that, or a simple lack of resources. But bottom line, our cutie was stinky. Really stinky. So he got his first bath and got all lotion'd up and smelling like a baby. He got out of the bath and played with his cups again, this time on our bed. Amy was exhausted. She decided to try to put him in his crib to see what would happen. Without a peep, he was out like a light in 2 or 3 minutes. We looked at each other in disbelief and just smiled :)

We were both very impressed with Samuel developmentally. He is no doubt behind, but not as bad as we had prepared ourselves. He is very curious and explores like crazy. He is pretty skinny and consequently is pretty weak. As his diet improves, we expect his muscle tone to improve. I think that now that he will have the opportunity to, he will blossom. He hasn't started much eye contact, although we catch him every once in a while. We've even seen a few small smiles. His cleft doesn't seem to be crazy wide, however his gum line is almost growing forward (so his front teeth point out). I have absolute trust in the surgeons who will repair Samuel's lip. But this protective daddy is concerned how others will see him. I am excited to see his lip transform, but I can already tell you that I'm gonna miss that tongue pushing through that cleft. It's really cute.

Today was such a special day. Today is Samuel's Gotcha Day. January 27th is the day we Gotcha. We love him like crazy.

We can't wait to see what special plans God has for Samuel Mangels.