Vist to Abby's Orphanage

Monday, March 9

It's been one week since Abby joined our family, officially. Of course, she's been in our hearts as family since August 2008 when we first got our referral and saw her picture. Today will be an emotional day. We will travel to Shenzhen, about 2 1/2 hours from Guangzhou, to visit the orphanage where Abby lived since she was born. We'll take a van there, just our family and a guide. We hear the Shenzhen Baoan Social Welfare Centre, to be exact, is very nice. The photos we've seen look that way. Shenzhen is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in China. We'll know more about the city and, of course, the orphanage later today.

Ana asked yesterday why we're going to the orphanage. "Will we be leaving Abby there?" It's hard to know what a five-year-old can process. She seems to understand the adoption concept, having heard Steve and me talk about it openly since we brought her home from Russia. Plus, she is blessed with several friends that have been adopted, so it is not foreign to her. In fact, when Ana hears that one of her friends is getting a baby brother or sister, she asks "is it from your mommy's belly or is it being adopted." What a great view of how God builds families.

We think the visit to the orphanage will be good for Ana to see; maybe it'll help fill in some details of her own history. It'll be an emotional experience for all of us, for sure.