Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Today was another incredibly emotional day. Today we got to visit the city in China where Kaylee was born, and see her orphanage—an opportunity we never thought we’d have. When we adopted Kaylee in 2001, we weren’t able to go to her orphanage. Thanks to a new highway which has reduced the travel time from 7 hours to 2 hours, we were able to visit Yueyang today.

In the papers from Kaylee’s adoption, they told us she was from Yueyang, a “small village” in Hunan Province. We later found out that a million people live in Yueyang—which actually is considered small by China’s standards. Yueyang turned out to be very different from what we were expecting. It is a very old city located on Dongting Lake, the largest lake in China. It has undergone much construction and has many modern buildings. After visiting Dongting Lake and the historic Yueyang Tower, we enjoyed a great lunch, served Chinese style, at the Zhong Da Hotel. The hostesses and servers had a ball holding the babies—and Jenna, Lila, and Vivienne were all smiles.

The highlight of the day, of course, was the afternoon visit to Kaylee’s orphanage, which is right in the heart of the city. As we pulled up to the orphanage, Kaylee proudly told everyone on the bus, “This is my orphanage! This is where I used to live when I was a baby!” Today was definitely a special day in Kaylee’s life…and in all of ours, as well.

One of the first people to greet us was the Assistant Director, Ms. Chen, whom we met in 2001 when she brought Kaylee to Changsha. After asking Kaylee’s Chinese name, Ms. Chen got a big smile on her face and said she remembered Xiao Xi—her big eyes, her round face, and her porcelain skin. She picked Kaylee up and hugged her a very long time. Kaylee hugged her back with a great big smile on her face.

We visited one of the baby rooms, and saw the cribs that Kaylee slept in until she was 10 months old. Even there was no air conditioning, the windows were open, and it was hot and humid, the babies were sleeping under thick blankets. We then went to the play room, where the nannies were playing with the babies that were awake. They were all wearing split pants and cloth diapers. Kaylee got right down on the floor and started playing with the babies and the toys and the nannies—which she loves to do. Today, though, she seemed to have an extra big smile on her face – she was very proud. It was really neat to see.

I didn’t cry until the very end, when we were getting ready to board the bus. I asked Daphne to please thank them again for taking such good care of Kaylee when she was a baby. Daphne again translated, and told us they were so happy to see these girls get a chance for a good life. They said they remembered Xiao Xi as being such a good baby—and they were happy to see that now she’s a happy, beautiful girl, and part of a loving family.

On the bus back to Changsha, and later that night before she went to bed, Kaylee said, “I miss my nannies, Mommy” and told me all of the things they did for her as a baby—gave her milk, fed her steamed eggs, played toys with her, tucked her in her cradle, read her bedtime stories, and kissed her goodnight. We talk about the nannies all the time at home…I’m so glad she had such a positive experience here today to attach those thoughts to.

What an amazing three days…getting Jenna on Monday…making it all official on Tuesday…and visiting Kaylee’s orphanage today. This trip has been beyond incredible.

Grandad and Jenna at Yueyang Tower,
in Kaylee’s hometown.