WE HAVE CODY

We are so excited to say that we are now a family of 6!! Well officially that will happen tomorrow but we have actually been a family of six for a long time. We finally had a good nights sleep last night. After getting up we called our life group that were meeting on Sunday night at home. They prayed for us for our big day!! It was so great to talk to all of them. We had to do a few things this morning like getting the gifts for the orphanage nannies together and exchange some money into Chinese currency. The breakfast buffet here is huge. They even have a juicing bar for you juicers. Lots of western food. We really fill up on breakfast then Dave and I usually skip lunch. I can't wait for Cody to see all that food and tell him he can eat as much as he wants.

When our guide met us in the lobby we hopped into a van them off to the Civil Affairs Office. When we arrived Cody was not there yet. We soon saw him being taken to the rest room. They then took him behind the curtain. The curtain is in place of a door to a big room. I remember the curtain well with Max. When we were there with Max our group was big and they bring one child out at a time to meet their families. Max was last out. It was different with Cody we were the only ones from our group so he soon came out from behind the curtain and we went over to meet him. He looked to have new clothes and shoes on. We don't have any pictures of that first meeting but it wll be forever in my heart. He just kept looking at us and smiling. So differant than the meeting with Max. Max was pretty much in a trance. Cody was full of smiles and excitement. We really just followed his lead and he shook our hands. It felt a little awkward I so wanted to hug him but wanted to respect him. We then went over and sat down. Cody came with a backpack and inside were a few toys given to him by his teachers at school. He did not have anything we had given him. We brought him a backpack with a few toys inside and some art supplies. We found out he likes to draw. The women who brought him gave us a few little photo albums of some pictures of Cody from when he was younger. We had our guide ask Cody if he was ok with us giving him the name Cody and he repeated it and said he liked it. It was an easy one for him to say Max is a little more difficult because of the x. He knows how to spell his name already. We had a chance to ask the women some questions about him. I really don't think they knew to much personal stuff about him. One was the accountant and the other the director I believe. They said he is very easy and cooperative. We will go visit the orphange on Thurs. and be able to meet his actually caretakers at that time. After a few questions and pictures we need to do about a 1/2 hr worth of paperwork. We were then free to go. When we arrived back at the hotel our guide said "see you tomorrow at 9:30 and we were on our own. Cody walked inside of the hotel and looked around in amazement. He was quick to catch on to how the swipe card worked to use the elevators and to get into our door. That is now his job. He came into the hotel room and quickly gave his approval. We use the ol thumbs up or thumbs down and we have been getting lots of thumbs up. After being in the hotel room we all decided we were hungry so made the short trek to McDonalds. It was our first meal with Max so thought it was fitting. When we were done he rubbed his belly telling us it was full and we went back to our room for the night. We brought a few movies from home that we purchased when we were here with Max so we watched finding Nemo in Mandrin. We also brought Nerf guns so Dave and Max had fun shooting at targets. Cody would not shoot at Dave or I just the targets. I wish I could say the same for Dave because I was shot at several times. Dave showed Cody how the shower worked and gave him the soap and shampoo. He seemed very anxious to try it out. We gave him his privacy and he was in and out of the shower and dressed in less than 2 minutes. I gave him the smell test and he passed so don't know if that is his quick routine or just didn't want to miss anything. The Stellwagens sent along a few litlle gifts for Cody to unwrap and he was very excited to open them and loved them all. I was told Kola and Eli gave them the boy approval. One of the things was this cool little remote control car. He loved that it really zipps around quick. He hops from one thing to another in excitement. We were able to skype with the girls. Kim was up and ready first so we skyped her while she was at school. Cody liked to sit in front of the computer and show her things in the camera. We thne skyped with Kasey, Max and Grandma and Grandpa. Max was didn't want to look at us at first but with some coaxing from Kasey came around. He had just woken up so he was a little out of it. Cody saw everyong and said hello and repeated who they were. Cody and Max then showed each other some of their toys. I think they will be good buddies. Cody blew everyone kisses and we signed off and headed straight to bed we were all exhaused. We really wanted to skype with Grandma and Grandpa Roberts but it had been a very long day so we will be doing that in the a.m. I know I should be sleeping now but can't its 4:15 a.m and I have been up awhile. Sorry this post is so long and may bore some of you but it is also my way of documenting our days. If you would prefer to skip my rambling and head straight for the pics its ok.. Love for now

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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