Day 7 Dalian

Today was so special! It started out with a more mundane activity which was going to the Dalian police station to apply for AiJun's passport. We had to be interviewed by a police officer and I had a scary feeling it wasn't going too well, but then he just smiled and said he hoped we would all be happy. Whew! I'm not sure what he could have done about anything because the adoption has been finalized, but it was a little intimidating nonetheless.

After the police station visit, we went to the orphanage. It was really a highlight because it was clear that everyone there loved AiJun and they all had such nice things to say about him. He was really excited to be there and was completely hanging out of the window of the van as we approached . This was great on a number of levels, one being we were pleased that he has such happy feelings about the place he spent all of his early years. (At age 8, he was transferred to the orphan boarding school as is typical.) The orphanage is a very nice building, clean and bright with nice furniture, wall paintings and lots of pictures everywhere. Ai Jun found some pictures of himself on the bulletin board and we photographed those so we will have some more pictures of him. He wanted pictures of several staff members, especially his three favorites. (We were happy to learn he has 3 favorites!) The people at the orphanage were truly the nicest people I have met in China, and they were obviously delighted to see him and to know he is adopted. He very proudly introduced as his "Mama" and "Baba", it was a thrilling moment. We were able to see the bed that was his (#4), where he ate, played etc. I was afraid he would be sad to say goodbye, but he was happy to jump back in the van and move on when the time came.

We had an early dinner at our guide Kathy's hotel which is just down the street. We had a nice variety of Chinese food which we all shared and it was nice to get to know the kinds of things AiJun likes. So far, I think I can fix all of them, but I can promise you I will never cook an octapus. Dave and the boys went to an electronics shop after dinner and I came back here to rest. I am emotionally drained tonight. Everything is going very well, but it is a lot to take in and to process. AiJun is a darling boy - so sweet and always trying to help with any little thing. It is adorable how he follows Jake around and is learning English expressions. My favorite is when he says, "let's go." His voice is just a little husky and so cute. I just keep staring at him and can't believe we finally have him. God is so faithful and good.