Monday, July 13th

We had a great day yesterday. We left the hotel with our adoption guide at 1:30 and after about a 20 minute taxi ride, we arrived outside the front gates of Reuben's orphanage. It's quite deceiving. It's found nestled in behind and to the side of a drive way, almost resembling a ghetto and actually appears quite small from the outside. This is the home of approximately 240 children. As we entered, we were guided into the Orphanage Director's office where we presented her with gifts and money (which is the custom here). Within a few minutes, we were guided out through the office back door, which led into an open area with two play areas. Here is where we found this beautiful little girl about 4 years old just looking at Portia. She quickly ran to the side of an older girl, probably 16 years of age. Infact I recognized the older girl right away from other photos people have posted. It was a touching moment, since although these children have no families of their own, they become family to one another. We climbed the stairs to the first floor and were greeted with a group of smiles from all the nannies that were busy feeding all the babies. One lady was in the corner and just finished washing one of the babies. That baby was our son. As I walked slowly towards him, I felt tears of joy and an overwhelming feeling of love in my heart. The nanny asked if we had brought any clothes for him, since they need clothing for the remaining babies. I started to pull out a few outfits, but she felt they were too small for him. Alex said to me "How big does she think he is?" as she pulled a polo type shirt and pair of pants that would fit a 2 year old. He's small. Actually, that's an understatment...he's quite petite and is probably equivalent to a 6 month old baby if that. He was shy and quiet at first and then he started entertaining the crowd. Yes, we know now that he's a little monkey. They put him in a walker and he was chasing the head nanny down the aisles at remarkable speed and even tried to make a get-away out the door twice. He had us all laughing. We got it on film and will have to share. We were warned that he was likely going to play strange and cry, but that moment still hasn't taken place. It's like he felt he was home the moment he saw us, the moment he lay calmly in our arms, taking everything in. Portia just loves her baby brother and it warms our hearts to see how she is receiving him so lovingly. He was very stimulated and fell asleep 1.5 hours before schedule and after a good bottle of milk at 4:30 am, he is still fast asleep. His wake up time, we are told is 5am (5 AM!!!) yet it's 6 am now and he's still counting sheep. Let's hope he can keep the new schedule going.

As I sit here and write these words, I think of how grateful I am to God for these kind blessings, for giving me a family of my own (something I longed for since childhood) and for not giving up on my dream, a dream that was quickly slipping through my fingers with time. I also feel grateful to God for blessing me with such a loving husband who never left my side, who continued to walk and sometimes even lead me through this long road, painful road....and what I refer to as "The Broken Road."

Love
Letizia (Mommy to Portia Fu Ning and Reuben Tuan Vu Dipietro)