So this guy woke up from his first nap, and started experiencing family.
We took off the little girl shirt we found underneath his clothes from the orphanage, and the giggles started immediately.
The next morning, we boarded a train from Beijing to Eli's provincial city, Shijiazhuang, which was about an hour away by train. (3-4hrs. by car from his orphanage.) Here, we promised to not abandon him and to teach him about Chinese culture. We had two appointments where lots of documents were signed, stamped and notarized. Eli's orphanage director joined us at meetings, and our little man was so confused. He shut down completely, going silent and limp. His little heart must have been so afraid, not knowing what changes were coming next. We just held him tight and sang in his ear, and finally he eventually fell asleep. On the van ride to our new hotel, he continued to look simply terrified, and he eventually got sick.
After checking in, we had to immediately bath him, which TERRIFIES him. The poor thing shuts down for half an hour after each bath. Soon though, the smiles return.
Lots of sweet moments happened in Shijiazhuan as well. Eli and Claire met via Skype and he loved waking up to his crazy fam smiling at him through the bathroom glass!
Most of our time in this city was family time in the hotel room. This was mainly a factory town, with little to see as a tourist, plus the smog was CRAZY! So, we soaked up some sweet family time watching movies, playing cars,
coloring, and feeding our faces with noodles and dumplings.
Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head to the train station.
Gearing up for train stations with little people and lots-o luggage warrants a pre-travel treat though, don't ya think?
Thankfully, our mini teammates fit right in, and are ROCK STAR travelers! Now we are back in Beijing, hanging in the hotel room with Chinese snacks and a deck of Go Fish cards (Thanks to you, Brooke!)
Eli is doing so well. We are smitten with his sweet spirit and his little giggle is all kinds of awesome. He still has moments where we lose him to fear, but he comes back quickly with a little smile. Keep praying for his little heart to trust us.
Tomorrow, the Great Wall of China!
7 comments:
Loved the post and pictures of Eli and everyone. Prayers answered and precious time. Can't wait to see Evie and everyone together.
PaPaw
So sweet! See that Sophia is digging those noodles and dumplings. Yummmmm!
Looks like everything is going great. Enjoy each and every day soaking up China!!
Love all the photos and smiles. Looks like Sophia is having a great time with Eli. So wonderful. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Thank you for sharing this. You are a beautiful family and Eli is a lucky boy. XO
Praying so hard for his sweet heart and soul. Can't imagine how confusing this must be for him. He will come to trust our love - then imagine how big his smiles will be?
Yay! Been waiting for an update! Love all these sweet photos. :-)
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