Sensory Overload

It's been a few days since our journey from Guiyang to Guanzhou.  Our flight was delayed form Guiyang and we spent a little extra time in the airport.  By the time we made it to Guanzhou, met our guide and got checked in at the hotel is was after 11pm.  Needless to say we took the chance to enjoy the working air conditioner and immediately go to bed!

Breakfast dawned bright and early on Saturday as that was the day that Jonathan had his obligatory medical appointment before the US will grant his immigration paperwork and allow us to take the oath on his behalf.  We do not have any pictures of that event, because that is not something that we care to remember......

Although they did move the medical office since our last visit to a new building with more space, it was still chaos.  There were at least 25-30 families who were there for appointments for their newly adopted children.  There were people and medical personnel everywhere, and Jonathan wanted none of it.  As soon as the first doctor attempted to listen to his heart and lungs, he was done and he wanted to make sure everyone on the entire city block knew about it.  We had 4 stations to go to and he never stopped screaming at any of them.  To make matters worse, the last station was a blood draw and they wouldn't let me go in with him, so they pulled him out of my arms kicking and screaming and pulling on me.  By the end we were both crying and couldn't wait until it was all over! 

We made it back to the hotel after that and were able to enjoy the nice new surroundings.  At this hotel, we have access to a pool, playground and basketball court (although to get a basketball you have to pay about $4).  There is a McDonalds next door and most importantly there is a Starbucks IN the hotel itself!

Yesterday we visited the Chen Clan Academy.  It is a place of worship that was built in the 1800s by the Chen family.  This was a sight that we visited before when we were here with Caleb, but it was nice to see it again.  I have decided, however, that when we are out and about, and there is a lot of people around and a lot of sensory stimulation, Jonathan goes into overdrive.  He becomes a squirmy, fussy mess which puts me into sensory overload.  And before it is all said and done, we can't wait to get back to the hotel.

After getting back to the hotel, we were able to rest and then take the boys to the playground and the pool.  This is such a nice change.  We have a way to escape from the room and allow the boys to run off some energy.

For supper last night, we ventured out on our own and got a taxi to a small island of restaurants and shops.  We ate a place called Lucy's Bar & Café.  It was a nice place to eat outside.  Sam ate almost a whole pizza by himself, I had grilled cheese and fries and Jeff had chicken breast.  Unfortunately, Caleb had run so much energy off earlier in the day that he fell asleep and slept through dinner. :)

It gets dark here pretty quickly and by the time we finished with dinner it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready to sleep for the night.  With the use of our VPN we've been able to watch "The Amazing Race" which is a nice way to settle in for the night.  It's one that the whole family enjoys.

I found out this morning that Jeff got up in the middle of the night around 2 or 3am to watch some football.  Nice to know that the Redskins 3rd string quarter back was able to lead the team to their second victory of the year.  Apparently the Lions and the Bills came from behind for the win too, but I wasn't as excited about those games as Jeff was (just kidding).

So far today has been a day of shopping and sight seeing.  We have our consulate appointment tomorrow morning and then we are free on Wednesday.  We leave the hotel early Thursday morning to get to the airport to catch our flight to Beijing and then Chicago here we come!!!!

Burnt coffee, congee and bathtub laundry

The last couple of days have been filled with sight seeing, hotel room time, venturing out with the family for supper/shopping and more hotel room time.

Generally our day begins with breakfast at the hotel buffet.  I usually try to get my vegetables in. :)  My plate generally holds an egg with soy sauce, bok choy, broccoli or cabbage and some sort of pastry or bread.  Jeff has had a variety of items.  Sam and Caleb have been living on cereal and bread.  And, Jonathan eats whatever is on my plate, because what I get him is not nearly as interesting.  His foster mom told us that he typically had congee for breakfast.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is basically milk paste and rice.  He went to town on that the first day, but after tasting a few other things off my plate, he didn't really have any more to do with that. 

Although they are very sweet to have coffee for us every morning, it really leaves a lot to be desired.  It definitely has been sitting on a hot plate for a while and is VERY burnt.  Jeff couldn't even finish his yesterday.

After breakfast, we typically come back to the hotel room to Skype with family.  (That is a highlight of our day!!)  Then we usually meet Iffie in the lobby around 10 to go sight seeing for a couple of hours.

We have visited a local Monastery/Park, Pavilion and today we will be visiting a "flea market."  We have seen a lot of cool/amazing things. One thing that we weren't expecting was seeing quad copters at the monastery. :)  We had to get a few pictures for Uncle Frank!  There were also wild monkeys at the monastery which the boys loved seeing.

 

Once we get back to the hotel, we have a lot of free time.  Usually Jonathan will take a nap and we'll try to find other things to do.  Yesterday I actually got the opportunity to run on the treadmill.  It was definitely something that has not been used much.  It squeaked with every step. (Good thing I had my earphones with music!)

Last night I also attempted something that I had never tried before.......bathtub laundry.  The last time we came to China, our guide arranged for us to have our laundry done.  We learned our lesson that time....it was very expensive!  So, this time I brought some travel packets of Tide and attempted it myself.  Let me tell you.....that is HARD work!!  But, we have clean clothes......they're still wet, but they're clean!! :)  That was my second workout of the day.

 

We also try to venture out each evening to get supper and do a little shopping.  We've been able to have pizza from Pizza Hut twice and the boys were able to have grilled cheese and French fries last night.  Jeff had a cheese burger, which he tolerated since it was obviously a frozen beef patty.  We also do a little shopping, however have quickly learned that it is not easy.  Typically the cashier cannot speak English and communication is very difficult.  We also continue to have a lot of pointing and stares.  Needless to say, by the time we do that, we are exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.

Nights are going better and Jonathan is mostly sleeping through the night.  He also is crying less when we get back to the hotel room.  We're still having some issues with jealousy between him and Caleb, but that is also getting better.  Whenever we can have them sitting or playing beside each other without Jonathan hitting or biting Caleb, we consider it a major success!

We will be flying out tomorrow from Guiyang and heading to Guanzhou where we will spend the remainder of our trip.  We will re-unite with the other AWAA families and will have access to other hotel amenities such as pool, gym, basketball court and STARBUCKS!!!

Gotcha Day and beyond.....

Gotcha day dawned bright and early.  Our flight was scheduled to leave Beijing at 10:10am; however the other two families that we are traveling with were leaving at 8:30am to go to another province.  So, we had to leave the hotel at 6:00am to make it to the airport for their departure which meant that we had a couple of hours to spare in the airport waiting for our flight.  We found our gait and claimed a spot to wait.  While waiting another Chinese family came and sat next to us with a little 2 year old boy.  He and Caleb played together a little and I couldn't help but think that this would be our life in about 5 or 6 hours.

We had yet another very smooth flight from Beijing to Guiyang, Guizhou.  The flight took about 2 hours and 50 minutes.  Once at the airport, we met up with our guide, Iffie. (I'm not sure if that's really how you spell her name, but it's my best guess)  She speaks English very well and has been very talkative. :)  We've learned a lot about Guiyang.  It is a city of about 4.5 million!  Guizhou is situated in the mountains; however they are still kind of hard to see from the smog.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we had about 10-15 minutes to get our luggage to the room and then we had to head out to the Guizhou Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption where we would meet Jonathan for the first time.  When we arrived, Jonathan was already there with his foster family and came running to meet us which we really weren't expecting so we did not have the video camera ready!  However, that lasted about 30 seconds because as we soon learned, Jonathan is a man on the move and ready to explore anything and everything.  So between asking the foster mother about his habits, likes and dislikes and keeping Jonathan from taking pictures off the wall (quite literally), we were a bit overwhelmed.

Jonathan's foster family is an older couple who have been fostering children for about 15 years.  They were very sweet and opinionated. :)  We learned what we could about Jonathan through our guide's translation.  The foster mother had also brought along some of Jonathan's special items.  He has a small towel that he uses as a security blanket, some drinks/treats that he enjoys, a bottle with formula and cereal and a picture that brings him comfort.  She also included several printed pictures of him over the last year and a flash drive with more pictures.  We haven't looked at the pictures yet, but it's really nice to have them!  Once we had asked all of our questions, the guide helped us distract Jonathan so that the foster family could leave without creating a scene.

Sam and Caleb have been little troopers.  Sam has been titled the "baby whisperer" as he has had an exceptional ability to calm Jonathan down when he has been upset.  I think Jonathan has a special connection with Sam already and gets a little fussy if he can't find Sam right away.  Caleb and Jonathan are definitely taking their time getting to know each other.  Both are very concerned for their new brother and want to make sure that he has everything he needs.

Once we finally got back to the hotel, we spent some time playing and getting to know each other.  We were all exhausted so we decided on an early bedtime.  However, it was at that point that Jonathan began to realize that we were not going back to his foster family's home.  Needless to say, it was a long and sleepless night.

The next day, we headed back to the Guizhou Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption to get our finalized paperwork.  It was then that we received his official adoption certificate as well as gifts of appreciation both from the government office and the orphanage.  After this "ceremony" we headed to another government office to check on Jonathan's passport.  Even though these appointments didn't take as long, we were exhausted from the night before and were happy to return to the hotel to rest.

After resting for a couple of hours, we ventured out in the rain to find the "Wal-Mart" of China to buy supplies such as diapers and formula.  We returned to the hotel, and Jeff went to Pizza Hut to get pizza and salad.  Yummy!  All the boys enjoyed supper, even Jonathan who ate a whole piece himself.

Luckily, we had a much smoother night after that.  We were all in bed asleep by 9:30pm and everyone slept all the way through the night.  Thus I sit here typing this morning with all my boys still snoozing in bed.  I am so blessed!

Smooth Sailing

So here we are....in Beijing!  That's seems so awesome to say!  I can't believe we actually been here for 3-4 days. (I never know how to calculate that with the 12 hour time difference)  It really has been a whirlwind, and we are exhausted as we climb into bed at 7:00pm each night, but we are enjoying ourselves.

We truly have had a smooth trip so far, and we have felt your prayers.  It all started with the trip to the airport.  No traffic, no line at check-in, helpful attendant, breakfast with Mimi and Pawpaw and quick trip to Chicago.  From Chicago, we had seats all together and Jeff had an empty seat next to him (one of probably only two empty seats on the plane).  The boys were amazing, switching from watching movies or playing games to reading or coloring books.  Granted, it was a LONG flight, but it went very smoothly.

Once we arrived in Beijing, we were able to make it through immigration and customs, get our luggage and meet our guide.  There was also another AWAA family at the airport from San Francisco, CA that had just arrived before we did.  (we won't hold it against them that they are Giants fans!!)  They have two boys also, ages 6 and 10 and will be adopting a little 18 month old girl from Guangdong.  Since they will be going to another province for their adoption, we won't see them again until we meet up in Guanzhou next week.  We'll miss them for sure, they have been really fun to hang out with the last couple of days.  Ryan (the dad) is a physical therapist who works on a primary care team and we've had some interesting conversations comparing notes.  It's also been fun watching the boys interact with their sons.  Caleb has shown (and narrated) the monster truck videos that I have on my phone to their 6 year old son, Martin.  Sam and John (their 10 year old) also have a lot in common and both play baseball.  They also brought Ryan's parents who have been helpful with watching the boys.

Our first day in Beijing, we visited The Great Wall, a jade factory, a silk factory and Beijing's Olympic park.  Sam and Caleb loved The Great Wall!  They were both an inspiration to the people around us, as they out climbed a majority of them.! :)  They were both troopers and came away with t-shirts that declared "I climbed The Great Wall!" which Caleb wore with pride today.  Both boys fell asleep during supper on the first day.  It has been a little harder this time with getting into the swing of this time zone.

On day two (today), we visited the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City, a Tea House and had the infamous Peking Duck Dinner.  At the Summer Palace we were almost hit by falling power lines.....that's a story for another time.  Let's just say I think I know an electrician that can do a better job!  Today was a lot of walking and we are pretty exhausted.  Caleb fell asleep during dinner again.  We have seen so many amazing things in the short period of time that we've been here that it is hard to take it all in.

Everywhere we go, people ask to get their pictures taken with us, or stare and point.  You can see that in the picture above from The Great Wall.  Someone is talking about the boys and what a good job they did climbing the wall.  I'll have to admit, it feels a bit uncomfortable, but we try to be polite and comply as much as possible.  One lady actually picked Caleb up from his stroller!!  I was about to go mama bear, but she quickly put him back down.

The excitement is pretty thick this evening because we will meet Jonathan tomorrow!! We leave early in the morning to fly to Guiyang, Guizhou and should meet our new son sometime tomorrow afternoon.  We continue to appreciate your prayers as we venture into this part of the trip since we're not sure quite what to expect or how he might react when we meet him for the first time.

Since we are leaving so early, I guess we had better get packing!  The next time I will be able to write something, we'll have 3 sons!!!! :)

Can't Sleep

Well here I am.....4:56am on Monday morning.  Why up so early on a Monday?? Why so ready to start another week??  Because I'm going to meet my baby boy in less than 7 days!!  I can hardly wait.

For those of you that know us well, you know that Jeff and I like to make check lists.  That's what we spent our evening doing last night....trying to remember all the things that need to happen between now and Wednesday when we hop on the plane for China.  I'll have to admit, the checklists are a little longer than I would like for them to be, but we will get it done.

As we prepare to leave, I just wanted to take the opportunity to ask you to pray for us.  I have several prayer requests:

• Please pray that we have a safe trip.
• Please pray for Sam and Caleb as we make the trip over and that they are ready to meet there little brother and welcome him into our lives.
• Please pray for Jonathan - that the transition to our family will be as smooth as possible, and that he will be comforted through the grieving process of leaving his foster family.
• Please pray that Jeff and I have the wisdom to handle and challenges that may arise that we aren't expecting. (feel free to pray for no challenges as well)  :)

Feel free to add anything to the list that I may have forgotten.  Or perhaps you should pray that I don't forget anything! :)  Either way, I know you have us covered.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank you.  Thank you for reading my blog.  Thank you for the support that you've shown our family both emotionally, logistically and financially.  Jeff and I feel so blessed that you are a part of our lives!

Now.....let's tackle that "to do" list!