Journey of Faith:Our Little Guy From China

We had a good couple of days.  We have not had any tours so we have mostly been staying around the hotel doing things with Caleb.  Walking around Shamian Island and playing with Caleb has been what we have been doing.  We wish we would have had some tours scheduled through our agency like we did in Xi'an.  It made the time go faster, but we have managed to make it.

Yesterday we had our Consulate appointment.  The drive there was about 30 minutes and back was about 50 minutes.  We left at 2:15 and needed to be there NO LATER than between 3-3:15pm.  Our guide said that they are really tough on the guides.  Everything has to be done just right and don't be late! 

Around 3:30pm our Consulate gal started speaking and all the families with the same Consulate appointment stood up, raised their right hand and repeated the oath.  It was very quick.  Then we waited for our name to be called and we went to a window where we signed a paper and took copies for our guide Lucy.

Once we got back we went and had dinner outside at Lucy's.  It was a beautiful night!  It is so amazing.  They do not see stars here.  They may see them sometimes in the summer.  Just simply amazing to me that the air pollution is that bad.  We then went to the play room pretty late last night and there were quite a few families.  Caleb really likes it when other kids are there.  He opens up.  So we stayed in there for about an hour to wear him out.  It didn't work.  We got back to the room took a bath and got into bed.  He didn't fall asleep until 10:30pm, but of course he slept in until 8:20pm.  He is an excellent sleeper!

We got up today late, went to have breakfast, went to the playground, walked the island, went to dinner at J.M. Chef's with some new friends, the Kennedy's.  That was an interesting dinner.  Good thing the kids did well.  I think we ate horse.  :)  Really, I think I am joking... the menu was interesting.  I don't want to butcher everything so I won't try and name the dishes, but they had a menu that included snake, frog, pigeon, and corn worms on noodles.  Thanks to the Kennedy's for a nice dinner!  We came back to the room and I gave Caleb a bath and got into bed and he has already fallen asleep.  Wow! 

Caleb did exceptionally well.  He had a meltdown in the early morning, but the rest of the day he did well.  He was very polite and did well at our meals.  Yeah!!

Tomorrow will be an interesting, long day.  We have a few things to get done.  We have to visit the deli downstairs--there are a few things we were told to try.  We need to get some snacks for the trip to Hong Kong and home.  We need to make sure all the electronics are charged, do a little more shopping and we need to pack!  Lucy was able to get the hotel to let us stay until 3pm.  Then we have to be out and do something until 6:30pm.  We will do dinner and probably go back to the Swan Room for Caleb to play one last time. Like I said before, we will leave for the airport at 6:30pm.  We can check in at the airline counter 3 hours ahead of time--so 7:40pm is the earliest.  We will be stuck at the airport for that long!  I dread that time.  It is not because of Caleb, but I am the antsy one.  I am an impatient person.  I just want to get moving and not wait around.  Humph!

Well, when I first started writing this I thought this would be my last post.  Consider it the last and if you see another one it is an extra treat.  Tim thinks that I should be able to do a post in Hong Kong--we will see.

Wan an from Guangzhou!

Love,
Tim and Shelly

Fun at the Park

A New Friend!

Caleb loves bathtime!

We went to the Guangdong Folk Art Museum on Sunday.  It was an okay site to see, but not really kid friendly.  Caleb wanted in to everything.  There were little steps every where and people everywhere.  We bought a Chop for Caleb.  We did some shopping and then had dinner at the Cow and Bridge Thai restaurant.  It was good food!  So, I looked at Caleb's injection site at dinner and we were talking with some families from the US.  One of the sisters of a guy adopting is very knowledgeable in medical stuff since she studied in medical stuff and her husband is a pediatrician.  She is a psychologist.  She thought his bump might be considered positive.  There was an induration (a raised bump--I am not medically word savvy) at the site.  I started praying immediately.  We talked with the families for quite some time and left at 8pm.  We got back to the hotel and we have not been able to give Caleb a bath since he got the TB shot because there is a chance of infection.  We are doing exactly what they tell us!  :)  Of course, I got really worried, got Caleb into bed and then surfed the net for information on what a "bump" could look like if it was positive.  Tim said, "we cannot worry about it, God will get us through, he has this whole time". I was still a little bit of a wreck, but soon realized he was right and God will take care of us and I went to bed.  Of course I prayed before I fell asleep.  I did not want him to have TB of course, but we were also told we would have to stay here an additional two weeks!  I just want to be home!

We got up this morning had breakfast and headed out to walk to the clinic.  We got there, got right in and the nurse did measure it, but quickly said we were okay!  Yeah!  We were so thankful.  We headed down the street and saw a market where they sell a lot of dried items such as lizards, mushrooms, berries.  They are mostly used in tea for good health.  A little farther down the road there was a part of the market where they sell animals such as cats, dogs, fish, turtles, all sorts of things.  It is like a pet store.  We did some more shopping and Caleb got crabby.  When he does not get his way he yells and screams.  I took him out of a store we were buying things in and he threw a fit.  An all out tantrum.  Even the the store manager came out and all I could hear out if what she was saying was "Ayi".  I believe that means auntie and I felt like she was trying to tell him that she was there for him.  She reached out her hands and tried to hold him. I was not very happy with her, but I think she meant well. 

He was very stubborn today and everything he wanted to do was something he should not be doing.  We felt we wanted to get back to the hotel sooner than we would have if we walked so we took a taxi and tried to get him to sleep before lunch.  In the taxi he kept playing with the power window and kicking the seat of the driver.  I tried to tell him no and hold him back from doing these things and he threw another tantrum.  I am not good with this part.  I am struggling with disciplining him this early.  We have some work to do when we get home, but he is definitely getting more used to us.  I guess that is a really good thing.  We have to remember he has only been with us for a week and he has been through a lot in a week.

He loves music!

Night out the window of our hotel.

Night out the window of our hotel with the lighted boats.

Baba and Caleb near the Guandong Folk Art Museum.

Waiting to read the TB test.

Yeah, TB free!

Down the lane of the market.

Dried material at the market (the tall items in front are snake).

We made it to Guangzhou!  We got a late start out of Xi'an for our flight to Guangzhou, but it went good with Caleb.  We got to our room about 11:00 pm.  There was a problem getting our room and Tim was very upset.  It was a difficult check-in process.  With a tired 3 year old who was fighting falling asleep and staying awake because there were 50 million people in the hotel because of Christmas.  Just a little note:  there were literally hundreds of people and lots of kids in the lobby area, which is very large when we got to the hotel.  We have learned that the Chinese do not celebrate Christmas, but here in Guangzhou many celebrate something on Christmas Eve and that could be taking the family out to eat and doing special things.  The hotel had a lot of things going on on the main level as we checked in.  We could not see what was going on but there were kids with party hats, flashing light yo-yo's, flashing rabbit ears and things such as that. There were a lot of things going on as we drove to the hotel and many, many people out and about on the streets.

We got to the room, Caleb took a bath and we all fell asleep.  We had to wake him up this morning because we needed to get up to make copies of Caleb's passport, exchange money and eat breakfast.  We met Lucia, our guide, at 9:45am to head to the medical exam.  Well, first we went to a little storefront to get his visa photo taken, then we headed to the medical facility.  There they took his weight, height, temperature, did a hearing test (squeak in the ear with a squeaky toy :) ), looked in the ears and the throat and lastly, the first part of the TB test.  Caleb cried.  He has seen the needle before.  It was short lived when they offered him candy.

We came back to the hotel and Lucia showed us the play room where she and I sat down and did paperwork while Tim played with Caleb a little.  It is a carpeted room with lots of good toys that a parent does not have to worry about them a lot.  I, of course, worried about him running and stuff, I guess the motherly instinct.  Caleb loved the room.  We needed him to have this kind of kid interaction.  He did not have that in Xi'an.

This room is where we met a lot of great American families.  We went to have lunch at Lucy's with many of these families.  They are a fun group!  We are learning quite a bit about the orphanages and Chinese culture from the families that have adopted more than once.

We went to find the 7-11 for some pop for Mama then came back to the hotel.  It is 4:30pm now and Tim is trying to get 15 minutes sleep.  We do not know what we will do for the rest of today.  Probably stay here.  When we go to where the breakfast buffet is there are ponds and a huge waterfall and a very tall Christmas tree.  The ponds have huge Koi fish.  Caleb loves them, so we can walk around the hotel, go back to the play room (I guess there are other play rooms too that we hae not found), and play in the hotel room.  There are so many people gathered around the ponds and the waterfall it is hard to take photos.  We are hoping that there are not as many people the later it gets so we can get some photos.

It is pretty cold and rainy compared to when we got here last night.  Even at the time we got in it was 65 degrees.  It was so refreshing.   It is pretty green here.  It is much prettier and has cleaner air than Xi'an or Beijing.  Since it is a drizzly day we did not get a lot of photos, but we will get more and show more later.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The view out our room.  We are on the 18th floor.

A Barbie that was given by the hotel.  It is an adoption Barbie with a baby. He likes the doll.

Baba and Caleb on the way back from Lucy's.  Lucy's is the purple and yellow restaurant in the background.

The 7-11 store.  I should have taken a picture of the store.  Just a tiny little store jammed with drinks, candy, chips, crackers and lots of treats.

Caleb playing with Baba.

Yesterday we went to the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.  It was quite interesting when you learn the history.  Tim took all that in while I ran around with Caleb.  He was video taping it too.  We had lunch at the Museum's restaurant and that was good.  We got back a little after 2pm and tried to get Caleb to nap, but no such thing.  We played a little longer in the hotel and then went back outside to walk and find Pizza Hut.  We went the wrong way, but we were okay with that because we needed to spend some more time outside with Caleb.  We got back to the hotel late--about 8 pm.  Caleb took a bath, which he loves.  I let him play a long time and then we got him into bed about 9pm.  He then fell asleep about 10 pm.  We got up late today and then went to have breakfast and are trying to pass the time in the hotel until 3pm.  Then we will check out and head to Guangzhou. 

It has snowed a little here and we see little snow flakes coming down from the hotel window.  When we went to breakfast we stood near the front entrance and it was pretty cold.  We have decided to stay in because it is very wet outside.  Caleb has had a little cough and we do not want that to get worse.  We have to start packing things up and heading out soon so I will post more later.

Love,
Shelly

We traveled to the Wild Goose Pagoda today.  It was a pretty site.  Tim learned more of the history while I ran around with Caleb, but I do remember that the tower (it is huge) was built 1400 years ago.  It is the original.  There are lots of temples and such around the tower, which was made to be a library, that were built more recently.

It was a great day with Caleb!  He loves to play kickball with Baba!  We did not see him get sad today.  He has definitely bonded with me more.  Yesterday he would push Baba away, but still would give him hugs and kisses, but today he would be with Tim more.

Did I tell you how smart this little one is?  Oh, I cannot even explain how smart he is.  Right now he is learning some English.  If I had it all to do again, I would definitely learn more Mandarin.  His vocabulary is excellent.  He picks things up quickly.  He know shoes, coat, pencil, socks and he says "thank you"  the cutest way.  He is very polite.

I could go on and on about him.  We feel very blessed and thank God so much for him.  We cannot wait to get back to introduce him to all of you.

We love you,
Shelly

Xi'an's large shopping mall.

The biggest smile and we see this all the time (I just am not a good camera person to get them at the right time!)

From the top of the tower.

He is so cute, has a very contagious smile and his giggle is so cute.  I thought I would post this so you can see what we get to see most of the time.   Tim is talking in the background on Skype with Chad about the vehicles in Beijing.  We mostly saw Audi's and BMW's and Volkswagon's.   Tomorrow we go on a tour.  I think it is the Terracotta Warriors tour.

Yesterday we finished the second part of the paperwork in the early afternoon and then came back to the hotel.  Jenny said that she would take us to find the entrance to the Walmart.  The Walmart sign is out on the main road but the entrance is way far away.  We found it and they have a lot of things.  Of course it is a much smaller store than ours in the States.  We then went for a long walk and went to McDonald's.  We did not want to get him started on that kind of food, but it was quick and we knew what it was.  We walked back to the hotel and then settled in to our room for the night.  We play a lot with Caleb and watch cartoons as we are holding him.  We get pretty bored here, but we know that we are bonding with him and that is what gets us through.  He took a bath and then fell asleep about 9pm and slept until 6:40pm.  We are so lucky that he sleeps so good!'

We got up this morning and kept it very casual.  It is a day to ourselves.  We went to have breakfast and then ventured out to the Bell Tower.  We walked there, saw the big Xi'an Mall and then went up the Bell Tower and took photos and spent some time with Caleb.  He seemed very tired and so we headed back toward the hotel to eat and get him to bed.  He slept for an hour.  We are now trying to read to him and we will venture our in Xi'an tonight.  We have not verntured out at night yet.

We met Caleb last night about 4pm. We were heading up the elevator and I just had this feeling everything was going to happen so quickly and it did. We got out of the elevator and I saw him! He ran to us and said Mama and Baba and wanted to show us what he had in his bag. He showed us the photo book that we sent him. He sat mostly in my lap and Tim took a few photos, but we did not get a lot. We just enjoyed our time with him and kept forgetting to take photos.  We did what we needed to at the civil affairs office and headed back to the hotel.  He did really good to that point.  Then Jenny our guide brought us to our room and we talked about some things that needed to be prepared for today.  When she needed to leave he got really upset.  He cried for and wanted to leave.  We took his coat off and he would put it back on.  We would take his boots off and he would put them back on.  It was heart wrenching.  He was confused and sad. He finally fell asleep about 7:30pm and slept until 6am.  That was a good nights sleep.  Through out the night he woke up a few times and smiled at Tim and I.  He awoke at 6 am and he just looked around and we stayed lazy and Skyped with a few family and friends.  He was very happy.  Today we have done paperwork and stayed at the hotel to bond with him.  He has been very happy today.  We played hide and seek, he loves the blow dryer.  He likes cartoons.  He has been tickling Tim in the belly and gets a big kick out of it.  We are heading off for our second round of paperwork and I will write more later.

We arrived in Xi'an at 2:50 pm yesterday.  We were picked up by Jenny our guide for our trip while we are here.  She knows good english.  The ride was about an hour to Xi'an from the arirport.  The airport is in the countryside.  There are 8 million people here (and I thought this was going to be a small town!)  As we traveled many narrow streets it was so surreal again to think we are here.  What I saw on our way here was more of what I thought China looked like--small streets, small vendors along the streets, like alleys. 

We did not get a chance to do much this evening--we will send more photos later.  Today we meet Caleb!  We meet him at 4:00pm.  We will meet with Jenny at 2:00pm to exchange our US dollars and then at 3:45pm we will head to the "office" where they will make sure we are the right parents and he is the right child.

I will post more later.  Pray for us as we meet Caleb.

Love,
Shelly

This is going to be a quick post and I will post more later.  We did an all day tour yesterday to the Great Wall Badaling and the Ming Tombs.  Also included was a trip to a Jade factory which included a traditional Chinese lunch. Then we got to go to the Beijing Zhong Yan Wan Kang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Where they told Tim and I (and squeezed our bellies) that we needed to loose weight to be healthier :).  Well that should be enough to get us motivated huh?

The Great Wall was an awesome sight.  Unbelievable!!  It was very windy, but we made it to the top!  It was quite a bit of work to get there, but if we took a few breaks we could keep going.  For those that get to the top, the Chinese say we are a Heros.  WE ARE HEROS!

We are leaving for Xi'an today--on the plane at 12:30pm and there by 2:30pm.  We will get ourselves set up there and find out when we meet Caleb.

I will post more later.

Love you,
Shelly

We ventured out a little yesterday (it's already after midnight, Friday, the 17th). We got up for the day, logged onto all of our email accounts and such. In doing so I fried our converter. It sparked up my arm, and smelled burnt. At first we did not know what appliance it was, our new portable dvd player, Tim's work laptop or mine. It blew all the power to our room. A hotel service lady came up and could not fix it then a maintenance guy came up and did fix it. Whew!


Finally we got out of our room and went to have breakfast, American breakfast. :) (sorry Eric we are not adventurous!) We went to talk with the tour company within the hotel to set up our tour for today. We are going to the Great Wall Badaling and the Ming Tombs. Tim loves to ask questions so we were probably there an hour. He made them laugh so much. He would ask questions and they would not understand and then they would all giggle behind the desk. We got a kick out of them laughing at us. Hee hee.

We walked around our hotel, went to the Silk Market, where we only bought some kids DVD's that we can play for Caleb that are in Chinese. Guiyou Department Store, walked down the main road for what seemed like forever just taking in all the sights and sounds.  Again, traffic here is incredible.  There is always traffic.  It is 12:30am and the main road is just outside our room.  The cars zooming by and honking is again, incredible.  We cannot imagine what it was like here for the Olympics.

We came back to the hotel to put some goods in the room and then ventured down to the subway to go to Tienamen Square.  It was an adventure.  We were stared at a lot.  The policeman the security people here wear the long dark green coats and fur hats.  It is very formal and there are a lot of police on duty.  We spent about 4 hours getting there walking around and talking to some Chinese people that knew English. 

The first lady came up to us and knew we were looking at how to get back on the subway.  She asked if she could help us.  She knew a lot!  We took it all in, but knew there was another motive.  When we said we needed to get going she said that she volunteered at the Xi'an University with art students and she would like us to come and visit their gallery (just inside the Forbidden City gates).  We did and loved the art!  We knew we were going to get suckered into buying something though.  We bought two scroll art pieces.  The student that created them was there.  If we were to believe what was being told to us, this was like a donation to the student to help them study abroad and make more out of an art career.  I have to say we learned a lot in this conversation.  We learned what some of their characters mean.  We did not buy anymore but will be looking for a few items while in China because of this interesting adventure.

We finally got on our way and crossed the street (which means go under the street in a tunnel) and went to stand on Tienamen Square.  I had learned and remembered about Tienaman Square and Chairman Mao from History in school.  It was neat to just be standing there looking at his photo across the street.

We got back about 5 pm rested a little and then headed out to find food.  We ate at the Pizza Hut in the hotel.  Wow, that was an interesting menu.  They have all sorts of Chinese cuisine on the menu.  I felt like having pizza so that is what we got.  I could not keep my eyes open so we headed back to the room and fell asleep, hence why I am awake now!

We will get up this morning and go downstairs to hop on a mini bus to go tour the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.  We will be gone from 7:50am to 6:30pm for that, so I will not be posting.  I may not be posting until we get to Xi'an.

We leave for the airport to Xi'an tomorrow at 10:15am.  Our flight leaves at 12:30pm and arrives at 2:30pm.  Okay, I am going back to bed.  Here are some photos....