Clara Rose

We have Clara Rose. The meeting was a bit hectic to say the least. Clara Rose was with a foster family, which was not specifically stated to us. They dropped her off and were there this morning, but we did not really get to talk to them or were told they were her Foster Parents until they were gone.   It seems that the orphanage has a room in a separate building dedicated for adoptive families and the kids. We were not able to see any of the kids in the orphanage nor were we able to go inside the building where the kids reside.   Clara Rose was  very upset-- crying inconsolably while our guide and the orphanage nannies gave us papers etc. Things got disorganized pretty quickly.   We went to the passport office immediately afterward. After Wim and our guide came back to the van for the 2nd time looking for paperwork (I stayed in the van with the girls) we decided it would be easier for us to all go inside. I still ended up going back to the van one more time. On the bright side, Clara Rose had calmed down a bit. She prefers Wim, but will interact with me.   After the passport office, we went to the Bank of China so Wim could exchange US to Yuan currency. Then we were able to go back to the hotel. It was close to 12:30 at this time-- both girls nap at about this time, but were too jazzed-up to sleep nor had we eaten lunch. Clara Rose's foster family sent her with a lot of her favorite snacks and a bag that we have yet been able to look through.    We finally got the girls to calm down and they were just about to doze off when our guide called us to tell us we would need a bit more money for the paperwork fees tomorrow.  Three hours later, the girls are finally taking their nap at about 4:00 pm Tianjin time.   A VERY hectic day, but we are so happy to have Clara Rose. Hopefully, things will be a bit more calm the next few days. She is a very sweet girl. She opened up rather quickly back in our room and was exploring everything.. WE definitely have to watch where we put things. Her and Josie played with the play dough, colored a bit, had some snacks and we got quite a few smiles and even a few laughs.    I didn't get much rest last night either-- who knows how tonight will unfold. Between Josie waking-up every few hours and Wim coughing all the time, it is hard for me to fall asleep and stay asleep. It is starting to really wear on me.   I will upload all of the days pictures to shutterfly-- very interesting drive to the orphanage-- lots of people out shoveling the streets!