Tuesday: The Orphanage

I am more emotionally exhausted tonight than I have been on the entire trip. I felt physically sick after seeing where Micah spent his first 8 months. Don't get me wrong; I realize, and am extremely thankful, that Micah was able to live in a much better setting than most of the children I have seen on the streets of Liberia. But it's still an institution, not a family.

The Nannies were the highlight! They all lit up to see Micah, and we got to meet the other Nanny who was Micah's primary caretaker after his first Primary Nanny moved to the Special Needs Nursery a few months ago. She was wonderful. The kids' singing was another highlight, especially at the bigger kids' orphanage, where they played drums and danced in addition to singing.

This afternoon, we got to watch another family's three kids while they went to the Embassy and did some shopping. It was so fun to just hang out and play with them, and left us feeling like those parents are superstars!! They already have a baby at home, and are boarding a plane with three more tomorrow! We were hard pressed to keep up with their three and our one baby just for five hours today!!! (And the little ones slept for an hour and a half!) I wish they were on our same flight, so we could spend more time with them and their kids. It has been a ton of fun spending this life-changing week with them.

Micah is still super easy... as long as he's being held! ;0) The first few days, he would grin no matter what. If we held him, he'd grin. If anyone held him, he'd grin. If you laid him down, he'd grin. Even if he wasn't sleepy and didn't feel like sleeping, he would just suck those two fingers with apparent contentment. Now that he has realized we will pick him up and give him immediate attention if he cries, he has found his lungs and is expressing his opinion. And we are happy to oblige. He prefers to sleep in our arms (like during the day) or in-between us (like in bed at night), and will now only lie in the crib if we keep our body and face pressed to his until he falls asleep. Oh--And nobody else is good enough! Just me or Corey. And we are so, so thankful that it appears he is indeed already beginning to bond to us. Praise God!

I feel like I have lived 10 lives in the last week and a half. We've had a wonderful, amazing time here. I'm definitely ready to get on that plane tomorrow, just the same. I can't wait to see my sweet little girl and begin our lives as a family of four!