In China
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Monday, January 25, 2010 WE HAVE SARAH!!! At 9:45 we loaded up in the bus to go to the Adoption Registry office. I couldn’t sleep much the night before but when we boarded the bus I felt calm. When we got there some of the babies were already waiting but Sarah wasn’t there yet. For a while I got a chance to watch families being made and act like paparazzi. I didn’t see Sarah come in the door, but another mom did and said that she looked terrified. My first thought when I saw her was “looks like someone cut their own hair.” She had pigtails and a blue headband that attempted to control the spiky chopped hair. The nannies introduced us to her and she immediately plopped down on the floor and opened her hot pink backpack. After scrounging around for paper and crayons we began drawing. Got an artsy girl on our hands. I took out some bubbles that we brought and they were a big hit. She HAD to be in charge of the bottle and would hand the wand to whoever she wanted to blow a bubble which was usually Cody. We’d catch the bubble on the wand and she would crack up when she popped it. Sometimes she would tease people pretending to want them to blow a bubble and then take away the wand at the last minute. She thought she was hilarious. The orphanage brought so many things for her. It is obvious that she was cared for and that they prepared her for meeting us. Her backpack was filled with little oranges, a hot dog kind of meat, juice box, and some crazy soy sauce egg thing. She is a little bandit when it comes to food. Sarah had no qualms about finding food on the table belonging to someone else and eating it. I’d look away for a second and she’d have something new in her hands chomping away. Another group from Spain was there and to her their food was fair game. She always wants to share her food (stolen and otherwise) with everyone. When she kept offering the crazy soy egg thing I just had to pretend to eat it because it was like nothing I’d ever seen. Her belongings included amazing photo albums, pictures she has done, and a lot of info about her. I’ve only had a chance to glance at the things because she is very protective of her things. If I start to look through the books she takes them and squirrels them away into her hot pink backpack. She wants to know at all times where her things are. We took a picture for her passport, signed some papers and then loaded up on the bus. On the bus she entertained herself taking pictures of Mike, the guide, and empty bus seats. She passed out food to everyone and insisted it be eaten. Sarah will point at you until you eat up. She does like to point and direct people. Cody thinks he has a bossy sister. We did more bubbles and that really makes her happy. We ate lunch at the pizza place again. She had sprite, coke, and some pizza. I swear she can speak some English. She handed me the knife and said, “I don’t want.” The waitresses tried to talk to her but she just got this still look on her face and would NOT answer them, no way no how. When we walked back to our room Sarah insisted that we all hold hands. I mean, can you get any sweeter?? Elevators are also great fun for her. She likes pushing all the buttons but we are on the 3rd floor so it’s not that bad. Mike is so concerned about her. He is with another guide taking her to the hospital because she has a crazy infected thumb. Our guide asked her what happened and she said she scratched it. She will probably need antibiotics and a cream. It has to be painful for her. It is painful to look at. I hope she still likes us when she gets back. She was very uncertain leaving Cody and I behind so I had the guide explain that she would be back and we would be waiting for her. Mike said the hospital was a crazy experience. It was hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to see the doctor. Our guide explained that they don’t have personal doctors that if you are sick everyone goes to the hospital. You had to take a number and wait in a crowded and less than sterile environment (blood on the walls kind).

Presenting Sarah Diane Yue Rollins We like to do art anywhere. Coloring with Cody Baba can do the best bubbles Ge Ge Cody is pretty fun. Can you believe this bandage?

Finally they got their turn and they looked at her thumb. Mike said they were discussing parts of her hand and he had to double and triple check that they were not going to amputate. They did have to remove the whole nail bed and she has a doozy of a bandage on her and some antibiotics to take. I didn’t know how to explain to her how to take the pills but she just put it in her mouth, took a drink of water and threw back her head like she was doing a shot. She can’t get it wet so we haven’t bathed her yet. She has to go everyday to get the bandage changed. It is really the only time I can get on the internet because she just loves pushing buttons and ordering people around in Chinese. Sarah LOVES Cody. She calls him ge ge (pronounced guh-guh). Our guide explained that since Cody is the older brother she would call him ge ge and not by his name. Younger brothers are called by their name. She does like to point and give directions in the cutest Chinese. I have got to get video of her doing that. She is very unsteady on her feet. I hold her hand walking down the stairs. It could be the CP combined with multiple layers that she’s wearing and her shoes. One of the first things Cody said is that we need to get her new shoes. I had to pick her up to get on the bus and let me tell you she is SOLID. Again it could be the multiple layers she has on. I bet it could be as many as four layers. I know even her socks are in layers. So to recap the day for Sarah: Got in a car leaving everything she’d ever known behind. Drove for hours to a strange building to be handed over to odd people who don’t even have the good sense to speak Chinese. Went to a crazy packed hospital with an unknown man to get a monster shot and her thumbnail taken off. Went back to the hotel and ate pizza with the odd people. Probably went to bed hoping that it was all a bad dream. This has been an amazing experience and I KNOW that everything is as it should be. She is so funny, brave, smart, and bossy. It is going to be a privilege to be her parents. With love from China, Leanne, Mike, Cody and SARAH

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