Thursday, July 1, 2010

Headed to the Good OId USA!!!


Well, this will be our last post from China and tomorrow morning we are headed to the Good Old USA! At this point, I do not take those words very lightly. I want to go home!!!!! I miss Dakota and this is just too long to leave a child at home. I will never do that again! Today we had a free day, so we shopped some more and visited the White Swan Hotel where we got Shiloh's picture on the famous red couch. Poppy found a couple with a son and asked them about buying their Adoption Barbie that is only available if you stay at the WS hotel. This couple was on their second adoption and since it was a son, they had not even gotten their Barbie. They gave it to us and it was free! Sweet!!! So we can add that to the collection. We shopped at Sherry's place and Poppy sat and talked with the male owner, even sitting together for hot tea. They discussed politics, religion and a multitude of topics. Poppy enjoyed himself. In the afternoon, we got Shiloh's passport and Visa back and now we are ready for home. So I suppose since this is the last post, I need to sum this all up with something profound to say besides saying I am homesick. I have enjoyed this opportunity to bring another child into our family in a unusual way. I have enjoyed the trip for the most part and as I look back on the 2.5 years of waiting.....I am overwhlemed by the fact that we are done. We've got her! I use to wonder what Shiloh would look like, how old she would be and how she would fit into our family. I use to wonder if we would ever get to her with the paperchase and all the red tape on the US and China side. A couple of times along the way, I use to wonder if we were crazy! I sat for those years and watched other families unite and so many children come home from a country that offers much in cultural history, but little to the forgotten orphan. Again, we will never know what happened in Shiloh's past like why her birth mother left her on the side of a road in North China. As Americans we will never really understand the pressures that overwhelm a birth mother of a less than perfect child to simply walk away, but one day Shiloh is going to ask me about her birth mother and all the reasons why. While I may not have all the answers, I am sure that her mother loved her and tried to leave her in a location that she would be found, so that she could recieve medical help. While it is easy for me to judge a birth mother who could actually go through with leaving a child like this, I can hold back and think about the fact that I am sure she cried as she walked away and I am also sure she wonders of Shiloh's fate. I know that 11-11-07, Shiloh's legal birthdate is on or close to the date that her birth mother said goodbye to her and I am sure each year her birth mother will remember and maybe her birth father or family too. So tomorrow as we leave China, we leave all of this behind so Shiloh can move into her new life with us, her forever family. We will not forget Baotou, the foster families, the orphanage nannies and leaders or the other children that were her friends while in the SWI. We also do not want to forget that so many other children still wait. People here have told me that Shiloh is a "lucky" girl because she will go to America. I do not think Shiloh is the lucky one.....we are! Dakota, we miss you more than words can say and we love you forever and ever and always...we are bringing your sister home!!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful love story! We cannot wait to meet Shiloh. You have a beautiful family. God bless you and your new addition to the family. Love to all, Dan and Theda Kirby

Anonymous said...

Welcome Home Taylor Family...Welcome Home.

Andrea

Jane said...

I have been watching your wonderful adventure! I am so very happy for you, Chuck, Dakota and Shiloh; what a great family!!!
May God bless you all as you begin your life as the complete Taylor Family.
Love,
Jane Yearwood

Anonymous said...

I would like to exchange links with your site thissideofchina.blogspot.com
Is this possible?