WE ARE IN LOVE!

We told Sienna last night that she had a baby sister and she was so happy that she kept asking over and over again to see her picture. I printed a picture for her to take and share with her friends at preschool, she is so proud!

The orphanage that Brooke is in is Poyang SWI, in the city of Poyang. They are on the other side of the Poyang lake, but you have to drive around the lake to get there about 3 hours. The orphanage just began participating in the international adoption program about a year ago. I went onto the parents yahoo site last night and found that one of the parents visited "unannounced" the orphanage prior to receiving his child 3 weeks ago. Fortunately his was received well and he was let onto the grounds. He said the babies were surprisingly well cared for and happy, very social and developmentally on track. He was very impressed and surprised as the orphanage and staff had surpassed his expectations. He did post a slide show on his trip. The orphanage is on the outskirts of town and replaced an older SWI (Social welfare cetner/orphanage) in town. The grounds and buildings are very nice and there is ample green space for children to run around. We feel so much better knowing the city and orphanage she is from and seeing it for ourselves. Oh he also said that many of the babies go to foster care the 6 weeks prior to adoption but there is no record of that. He found that out by bumping into the foster mother and his child while walking through the city. He bumped into the Asst. Director who confirmed this was not a normal occurance and should not happen. But he said everyone was very nice!

We are awaiting the Fed Ex today and the rest of the pictures and our acceptance document.

Thank you everyone for the giant outpouring of love you showed our family yesterday....We know we have a great support system and wonderful caring friends and family. Plus the adoption community of families with children from China is amazing. They are there for you all the way cheering you on!