End of Day 4

Well, another day it has been. The morning started off great until we went to the Civil Affairs Office to start the adoption registration process and Xu Hui's nannies were there.  She was fine until we were asked to step into another room and then she had a meltdown.  For what seemed like a hopeless eternity she cried and kept saying she wanted to go back to the orphanage.  She had both of her nannies plus the Civil Affairs lady talking to her at once.  I finally picked her up and carried her to the elevator where she wiggled free and went back to her nanny.  Our guide got her talked in to going to the store to get some new markers and books.  We ended up with a bunch of other stuff from the store.  One of which was a pencil sharpener but we didn't buy any pencils.  However, I have to say it sharpens pencils better than any manual pencil sharpener I have ever had. 

Once we were done in the store and back in the van our guide told us that adopting older children is tough because they have so many memories.  She proceeded to tell us that we should have adopted one around 3 and said that if any of our friends were thinking about adopting, we should tell them to adopt a child around that age.  Needless to say, this didn't help me feel any better about the situation.  By the time we got back to the hotel, it was all I could do to keep myself together. 

When we got back to the hotel, Xu Hui got out all her new things and seemed very happy.  She purchased several containers of gum so she was chewing one piece after another and then was in to all sorts of other snacks.  For the moment, I wasn't going to make a big deal about it.  After a few hours we went to McDonald's for lunch and then it was back to the hotel.  I decided to play some solitaire while she was coloring.  Marissa asked if we could play cards, so we sat on one of the beds to play War.  We asked Xu Hui if she wanted to play and she crawled right up on the bed and got all excited.  Oh my gosh, she loves to play cards.  She must have played the game before because she didn't have any trouble with it except for some of the face cards.  She got to laughing like you wouldn't believe.  Then we taught her how to play Memory.  Grandma Ruth, you had better be ready because you are going to have another one to challenge you now.  It was so funny because if Xu Hui knew where the match was she would get excited and turn over the match even when it was Marissa's turn and would hand Marissa the cards.  I had to watch her too because she would be taking peaks at the cards while it was Marissa's turn.  When I would catch her she would just giggle.

So the day ended on a positive note.  We got her a bath and she went to supper without her backpack.  When we got back to the room she put her PJ's on, brushed her teeth, and crawled in to bed and I think is already out like a light.