The top photo is of Noey with one of her nannies.  They seemed to love her but not overly so - it was hard to tell.  I know when we got out of the van to walk into the orphanage, Noey got very tense and ger bottom jaw jutted out as it did on gotcha day. She went to each nanny willingly and did not cry but there were no big smiles on Noelle's face by any means.  When Noelle was handed back to me I almost sensed relief from her, which broke my heart.

The gal on the right is the orphanage director - not a good photo of her - she is very beautiful.  She had a quiet elegance about her.  Vivian our adoption agency Chinese guide here in Jengzhou had arranged with the orphanage director to take us to lunch and they presented us with the above painting done by the girl below (when she was 10) - she was adopted by an American couple.  We were taken by surprise and so humbled by the attention given to us. 

The above 2 photos are the outside front of the orphanage.  It was a big "institution" basically and the photos are not realistic of the sterileness and the coldness inside.  The playroom reeked of urine and the walls needed paint badly.  We were told there are 700 kids there and that most will grow up in the orphanage - having been brought there by their parents to be raised, not adopted out.  I don't quite believe that.  We were not shown much of the orphanage - I kind of said I wanted to see more rooms and kids but they brushed that aside and we left.   The crib room where Noelle slept was sparsely decorated but clean and the cribs were so nice.  They showed us the exact crib where she slept - with another little boy who was adopted out 2 weeks before Noey.  The children we saw seemed very developmentally delayed and special needs - they just were not "pretty" kids like Noelle and they did not seem "right."  It broke your heart.  There had to have been "pretty babies" somewhere in that orphanage as I have the You Tube video here on my blog to prove it.  I have heard they put the prettier babies up for adoption and also now I truly believe they are sequestering girls away to be married off when they grow up.  China has millions more young men right now than young women and they traffic girls for marriage purposes.  

The resturant in Luoyang where we were taken.  The first fabulous Chinese Chinse food we had had since being here - barbecue duck wraps, cooked vegetables - it was an amazing meal.   I wish we could have taken some of the leftovers with us!!  :(   It just made me feel a bit guilty as most adoptive  families give money (lots) as an orphanage "gift" (it is part of the adoption expense) and truly you don't see where that money goes except for the well dressed director and the lunch.  Don't get me wrong, it was such a wonderful gesture on her part and the orphanage, but the orphanage made me sick to my stomach just thinking of the days that Noelle languished there - around 570 to be exact. 

Carving the duck outside our private dining room.

Note the "wine" in the wine glass.  It was Coca Cola!!  I found that so amusing - I let Emma drink hers and mine - the most pop she has ever been allowed to drink and it will be a long time to come before she ever drinks that much again.

Vivian (our adoption agency guide) and her mother who lives in Luoyang.  Her mom was adorable - she reminded me of a Chinese Shirley McClaine.

One of the pretty girls at the restaurant.

Driving through the streets of Luoyang - millions of people live in this city.

I am not going to post a photo here of the exact finding spot as that is private for Noelle and our family but this photo shows what the area was like.  We were told the gal probably came in from the countryside and left Noelle swaddled in a quilt (as is usually the case).