Sloan joins the Dietz Family!

Today we got up, left Beijing, and went to the train station.  We had a change in the schedule to get Sloan a day early!  We rode the bullet train from Beijing to Jinan, which is where Sloan’s orphanage is.  We got off the train, grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald’s at the train station, and headed out on a bus to Sloan’s orphanage up in the mountains.  There were five families traveling with us and we picked up one along the way. 

We pulled up into the orphanage which was a huge building buried in the mountains.  We all walked in with our three gifts for the caretakers and butterflies in our stomachs.  We walked into the orphanage and soon after, we walked into a big, clean, sunny room with play equipment.  There were six children milling around and we didn’t realize we would meet them so quickly.  I looked around and there was a beautiful little girl in a white dress on a little car.  Wren whispered to me, “I think that’s her.”  I turned to Josh and asked, “Is that her?  I think that’s her.”  Soon, her caretaker brought her over to a table that Josh and I sat down at with a translator.  We asked the caretaker some questions about her eating, her personality, and if she had any allergies.  The translator would ask her the questions and she would translate for us.  The caretaker said that Sloan was very positive, loved all foods and was not picky, had no allergies, and was very smart, and sometimes a little bit naughty too.  She handed us a little backpack with the clothes that Sloan was found in, a juice box, some candy that she liked in a decorative jar, and the photo album and disposable camera that we had sent her. 

As Josh and I filled out paperwork, Sloan ran around with Kale and Wren.   She went up and down the slide many times and rode her little car.  She was very loud, making many sounds, laughing at the boys and just showing off.  You could tell she was the life of the party at this place!  One of the male caretakers who knew very little English, knelt down next to me while I was next to Sloan and said, “She’s very cool.”   Sloan worked Kale and Wren for over an hour.  One of the other families observing said, “She already has them wrapped around her finger.”   Her activity level and lively personality reminded me of two other children I know very well!  She was chasing and leading both boys, and  giggling at them and loved to take off Kale’s hat and put it back on his head.  We got to bond with her in her environment. 

We had to catch her if we wanted to pick her up.  When Josh finally picked her up, she ran her hand over Josh’s hair.  It was really cute!  Then she patted his face too!  She even called me Mama a few times!  She seemed to be all the caretaker’s favorites!  I’m sure her lively personality will be missed there!

After we finished with the paperwork, we got a tour of the orphanage and we were able to take some pictures of some of the rooms she played in.  At the end of the tour, as we were leaving, a man from across where we were standing was waving and Sloan’s face lit up and was waving back.  She was waving at her foster dad.  He came over to say goodbye.  I got tears in my eyes and after we took a family picture and headed onto the bus, Wren got tears in his eyes as well.  I asked him if he was sad that she was leaving the only place she has known for the past year and he shook his head yes.  I told him that now she gets to have a family with a mom, dad, and two big brothers.

Sloan and the boys hit it off right away because of her energy and bubbly personality!  She’s adorable  inside and out and we are so blessed to have her be a part of our family!