Shaiman Island Part 2

Part 2 because yahoo it's not letting me send large posts. We also visited Old town/New town and got my favorite snack: beef, pork and chicken jerky. Delicious! Also end up buying 2 sets of the famous Pheasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, a very popular chinese cartoon character. So far, it played on my computer but not the DVD. Although it says its for DVD. I will need to figure that out later. The kids watched it 2 times already, in the same day already. It's in mandarin and Emily was so into it too. Nathan loves it and sings along with the character. We ended the day with diner at the 1001 nights arabic restaurant with our new friends Teresa and Curtis from IN. Their little girl Gabriella who is 2 1/2. Then it was time for the famous pictures on the red couch at the White Swan. Of course, the emperor did not wanted out of his trone (the stroller) and I bribed him with potato chips. Yes, that's me! It worked long enough for a few pictures. Unless Emily that wanted me to take her picture on every corner of the hotel. We applied for Nathan's visa and tomorrow will be taking the oath at the US consulate. So far, it was a very good day!

Shaiman Island Part 1

Nathan passed the TB test with flying colors and because we are non-Hague he didn't need any vaccinations. After lunch at the Thai Restaurant Cow and Bridge on Shaiman Island, which by the way was very good, I did a little of damage to Ken's wallet. I bought some Chinese outfits for the kids and 2 more linen dresses for Emily. That girl loves dresses and she was so happy about the new shoes too. I was able to bargain and paid only half of what they started with. Besides, that was the only money I had on my purse. I told them how much I had with me and said that's all I had with me and started to walk away when he said, OK, OK I will give it to you for that but I still loose money. Woo-hoo! Shaiman Island is preparing for the Asian Games this fall. There is a lot of construction going on and many of the shops that were here just last month are now gone. All of the street shops just across from the White Swan are gone. The noise level is amazing and we are very glad we did not stay at the White Swan. It has been difficult to push the stroller on bare dirt and mountains of broken cement just piling up on the street, hearing cling-clang non-stop and trying to find a store that it's open. Also very dusty and did I said noisy? Guangzhou is preparing for the Asian Games which is like a mini-olimpics but just for China. We also shopped at The friendship store which I love. Very good quality pillow covers, outfits for kids and souvenier gifts and the best of all, it's that 100% of the proceeds go to orphanages in China. The owner is American and she livesin Hong Kong and has 2 adopted Chinese girls.

The good, the bad and the ugly

I am catching up on recent days and sending posts thru email so there will be a few on the same day. Still, cannot access blogger but that hasn't stop me. He he! When Susan our guide, translated the latest documents on our son, we found out that he has been living with his foster parents for almost 3 years. The foster parents have a grandson about his age that live with them. The 2 of them played together very well. He is very sweet and has a ready smile for you most of the time. The foster parents also spoiled him, a lot. So much that he never had discipline of any kind. Which by the way, it's not my style of parenting. Yes, the good, the bad and the ugly came out of Nathan. He spits, he kicks, and hits you when he doesn't get his way. He also repeats bad words and thinks is funny. And he gets frustrated and we do too because we don't speak the same language. I tried to put a twist on my Cantonese with him and so far it has worked half of the time. The other half we are just blank and make our best guess. Nathan has a lot to catch up with. I know I shouldn't be comparing him with his sister. At almost 4 years old, he has never been in a classroom or had any form or education. His foster parents allow him to do whatever he wanted and never corrected him when he has been a bad boy. I will be forever grateful for them that he was loved and was well care for. We got the email address of the SWI and we can email them pictures and updates about Nathan. But, we cannot contact the foster parents directly. They will be able to see him grow and know that he is in very good hands. Do you have any suggestions of where do I start looking for help? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Last Day in Taiyuan

Today is our last day in Taiyuan City. I am sad and happy at the same time. Sad because it will be a very long time before Nathan can visit again. It will be up to him if one day he will like to see the city and places where he spent the first 3 years of his life. I have no doubts that he was well taken care of, well fed and deeply loved. The foster parents did the best for him for almost 3 years. Happy because we are going to GZ, where Emily was born and spent the first year of her life. Our rep Susan told me that Emily's orphanage is one of the best in China. They both will have the option to decide if they want to come back some day. Our Chinese roots will always be here and our hearts will follow them on whatever dreams they might have. Susan told us that 90 percent of the kids at the orphanage in Taiyuan are in foster care. That the foster parents are very happy to know and approve for CCAA to send them for international adoption. They always think of them in terms of a bright future, with a family that loves them deeply and where they can follow their dreams. There are 1.3 billion people in China. His/her chances in China are very slim. They said, kids adopted internationally are always lucky and everyone wishes them the best. I think we are the lucky ones in this case. Foster parents will always love them and teach these kids that they have a family somewhere waiting for them, a bright future and a better life. Even if they have to say good bye to them one day. Lilly PS: Once again, Yahoo is not letting me attach photos so I will try later.

Siblings

These two have been having a lot of fun together. Emily is very protective of his new brother. When she wakes up, she asked, "Where is Nathan mommy? or did Nathan want to eat a cookie? such a sweet big sister. This afternoon, while getting lunch together (room service of quick ramen :), he shared his potato chips with all of us. He was feeding me, dada and DS. He loves to share his food with us. Oh, and he also loves his pa-pa (daddy) very much. He woke up from nap and just stared giving him kisses. It made his day! When he doesn't get his way, he does get upset and distracting or removing him from the situation helps a lot. He just cries for a few minutes then he forgets about it. He is polite and always wipes his mouth or hands after eating. Although not always on a napkin but "boy" style, meaning on his sleeve. LOL! He has come a long way since the first night. He did get very upset when we removed his shoes and did not wanted the ones I bought him. However, they fit better and have arch support which helps him walk better, more steadily and more comfortable. He loves his socks on all the time and long sleeves too. Now it's almost bed time and they are enjoying a movie together. Life is good! Lilly

a few more...

Lilly

Some pictures

Lilly

Nathan Day

We meet Nathan at the official Civil Affairs office. Just a short 20 minutes drive from the hotel. The kids walked in and at first they just check things out. Nathan was very serious, dressed up on warm clothes from head to toe. He was holding a snack, a chicken drumstick. We approached him and he was just so serious. Emily was not interested at first, she seem out of place. Then I got the small Thomas the train engine and the candy and offered to him. His eyes light up in a smile. He grabbed the toy and proceeded to examine it thoroughly. Then he asked for help on opening his snack which he devoured in a few minutes. The boy is solid, well fed and strong. After paperwork was done we went shopping and he fall asleep in the van. Once at the hotel room we had a quick lunch of rammen and bananas. Then put Emily down for a nap. Nathan gr owed quiet when I turned all the lights out but he did not want to sleep and just kept playing with the new set of cars/trucks I got him. Later on, Ken went out and Nathan started to ask for him and pointing at his shoes. He had a fit because I won't open the door for him. He wanted to leave. He grow madder and madder and I took off the 4 layers of clothes he had on. The pants were a different story. I did end up opening the door and we walked down the hallway. He gather all his new toys and told me to get him out of there. He did not like it at all. Teresa heard us and open up her door on which Gabriella was sobbing non-stop, looking at the pictures of her foster parents. Nathan walked right in and got interested on the cartoons on TV. That calmed him down until daddy came back. He has this thing about his pants, always pulling them up, tucking his shirt and sweater in. Gabriella was doing the same thing. They both did not want to take their many layers off, although they were sweating profusely. After dinner at the hotel (the boy can eat a feast and more!) I had plans of giving him a bath but he refused and fought tooth and nail. Emily was in the tube already but he did not want to get undressed or was not interested at all. See pictures here.



Tough day, tougher little guy



After Emily's bath, he pick up all his new toys and and pointed at the door. He wanted to leave, go home. He started crying and did that for 2 hours. Kept repeating he wanted his grandpa and grandma. Ken hold him and rub his back until he felt asleep of exhaustion. It has been a tough day for him and his peers. He was so weak after screaming his head off, and crying and repeating he wanted his foster parents. Emily was a trooper all day. She kept guiding him thru the day and calling him baby. So sweet! It is now 5am ans he is still sleeping, very sound and peacefully. Tomorrow, we go back to the civil affairs office and finalized the adoption. We appreciate all the prayers for this little guy. He has a ready smile, a good heart but breaking ours at the same time. All we can do is assure him that things will get easier each day. That we love him and want the best for him. Still, in the mist of chaos and confusion, God has walked with us and will guide us through another fine day.

PS: For some reason, pictures are not downloading to Flickr so I will have to do it later.

We are in Taiyuan

Our flight to Taiyuan was uneventful. Although the fly was just an hour flight, we were served a quick beef mcmuffin breakfast. Emily slept thru it. Just arriving at the Shanxi Grand hotel which is located downtown, we noticed chinese celebration it's still in all its glory.Today is the last day of the chinese new years celebration. Fireworks are everywhere and continue non-stop till after midnight. No kidding! It's just so noisy, polluted and the cars have a layer of dust. Breathing is not going to be easy around here. On top of that, SNOW! It snowed all afternoon and the streets are muddy, wet and there are no trucks to plow the streets. They do it manually and it's very very messy. Susan is our agency rep and she travel with her mom, Grace. Our other travel mates are Curtis and Teresa from IN. There are adopting little Gabriella who is 2 1/2 years old. We grab a delicious lunch and did some paperwork. Ended the day with dessert ice cream at the hotel and went night night with the sound of firecrackers. Tomorrow is our big day. We will go to the civil affair's office and meet Nathan. And or family of three will become a family of four. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Fighting jet lag and the Forbidden City

Jet lag has been kicking me low and hard. Dizziness, grogginess and nausea has been high all day. I have been sleeping for 24 hours already. We had to more our tour to the great way for tomorrow. DH and DD are OK but we slept together as a family :) all day long!



Yesterday, we visited the Forbidden City, symbol of China's mightily imperial past. It is the world's largest palace complex were the last emperor lived in 1911. It covers over 720,000 square feet meters (.03 square miles). To my eyes, its massive and breath taking. Although it is low season now, still very busy and many crowds. Mainly chinese people and the occasional foreigner like Ken that stands out. A chinese father stop my daughter and ask if she can have a picture of her with her 5 year old son. We didn't mind. The son was very shy and Emily was all smiles! See pictures here.

Happy GOTCHA DAY from Beijing , China!

Three years ago, we saw your picture for the first time, on your birthday!

Your first months of life were spent at an orphanage in China. Your room had rows upon rows of cribs were you slept most of the time.

Then one day, you were brought into a government office to meet your new parents. You were very frightened to see two complete strangers holding you so close. You cried no-stop for hours while your world turn up side down.

Then you were so tired of crying and just hung on my like a lifeless rag doll, with no expression at all. We knew you were grieving and just hold you tight so you can feel our love.

After all formalities were taken care of, we went back to our hotel and start to get to know each other. You were still very scare and will not make eye contact. Then mommy introduce you to cheerios which you loved instantly.

We nurtured and met your needs for the next few days, until you were more comfortable with us. They told us you knew how to hold a bottle, walk and make silly noises. But, you did not want to have anything to do with it at that moment. We understood and just offered our help to make your transition easier.

After a few days of intense love and caring, you began to trust us and you gave us a glimpse of hope.

A hope that to this day, we are in China once again to provide you with a brother.

Three years ago, we made a promised to return back to your birth country

Three years ago, we become parents for the first time

Three years ago, you fulfilled my dreams to be a mommy

Three years ago, we told God we will take care of you for the rest of your life

Today, I love you more than anything in this world!

Happy 3rd GOTCHA Day Emily, from your birth country of China!

Greeting from Beijing!

It was a long long flight but we are finally here! Emily slept about 4 hours total of the long flight but neither Ken or I could shut eyes. We got in 45 minutes before arrival time and sailed through customs smoothly despite my still cough and stuffy nose. Officials were wearing masks as they looked thru our passports and docs but thankfully no one took our temperatures, nor did I had any. After picking up our bags, we took a cab to the hotel and check in, then we decided to venture out. I wanted to be very tired so we can have a good night rest. We are in the popular Wangfujing district, right in the heart of Beijing between walking distance to the forbiden city and tianamen square, which we plan to visit once jet lag sets in.
We walked just around the corner from out hotel and found dinner waiting for us, right from the street. Worms, stuffed crabs, scorpions anyone? Uh? not for us, at least not our first night! (photos here) Although, I can't promise that I will be braver as the days goes on. Bon Appetite!
A few pictures for your viewing pleasure and I am off to keep company to DH and DD who are snoring away to dreamland!

PS: yes, China is blocking blogger and I cannot even send sendposts thru email. I am accessing the blog via remote access thru my works server. No pictures on the post but you can see when I link to my flick account.

Our Itinerary and we are out of here!

Feb 22 Flight to Beijing via San Francisco

Feb 23 Arrive in Beijing early evening

Feb 24 Visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace

Feb 25 Celebrating Emily's 3rd GOTCHA day at the Great Wall!!!

Feb 26 Sightseeing Temple of Heaven, ride a richshaw bike!

Feb 27 Visit a Hutong tour, Peking duck for dinner

Feb 28 Flight to Taiyuan early AM, Nathan's city of birth

March 1 Nathan's GOTCHA DAY!

March 2 Adoption registration and apply for Chinese passport

March 3 Sightseeing in Taiyuan.

March 4 Visit place of abandonment, Yingze Park in Taiyuan

March 5 Flight to Guangzhou late evening

March 6 Visa photo and physical examination

March 7 Sightseeing and shopping tours

March 8 More shopping!

March 9 Visa petition documents and group photo

March 10 Consulate appointment

March 11 Visa's ready to pick up!

March 12 Leave Guangzhou via train to Hong Kong

March 13 Visit Tian Tin Buddha

March 14 Dim Sum at Victoria Peak via cable car

March 15 Stanley market and more shopping

March 16 Beaches and more beaches

March 17 Riding the Start Ferry

March 18 Fly home, sweet home USA

This itineray might change without prior notice

We thank you in advance for your faithful prayers and support!

Now, I just need to go to bed and get up at 3am ( that's in a few hours, yikes!) for our early 6am flight, if I can sleep!

See you next time from China!

The road least traveled, and so I thought

Adoption.

A word that has become part of our lives in the last 5 years.

I pray that each orphan around the globe will be able to find his/her forever family, regardless of how they make the decision to adopt .

You see, when infertility was explained to me, actually let me rephrase that.... when infertility was not explained to me, because there was no explanation to our medical history as to the reason we couldn't have children, or why these or that treatment did not work, adoption was not part of our plans. I am not ashamed to say that adoption was not even in our vocabulary before all the unexplained infertility came crashing on us like a bucket of cold water in our face. For us, it was Plan B for a family. For us, adoption become the only plan available to have a family. This plan B became our salvation and an infinity love started to grow on us for that little girl we met almost 3 years ago, and now, that little boy that one day next year we are about to meet.

In the mist of our 2nd adoption and very close to traveling once again to China, my thoughts are a bit confused. Not for a moment I doubt that I cannot provide to Emily and Nathan a stable family foundation, a place for them to grow and fulfill their most inner dreams, a house that becomes a home. My doubts are of fear as to not be able to read their feelings, their thoughts about one day, be able to answers all those difficult questions surrounded their birth. How they came into this word and the reason of their birth parents not able to keep them. I'm sure there are many reading materials out there that will be able to help them understand the reasons one day. I want to be able to explain those circumstances to them in the most reasonable and loving way. You see, I am a person that believe in facts, a visual expression of objects I can see. The unknowns are very difficult for me to understand. However, I am also a person who believes and have faith on things I don't see. I have faith because I want to believe. I have faith because God believes in me and I do not want to let him down.

Dada, mommy, Emily and Nathan don't have a drop of blood in commom . However, we have something called forever love for each other. God had a plan in mind and it's been executed beautifully, on his timimg. The road least traveled has become our road for a loving family of four.

I PRAYED TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED ME. HE FREED ME FROM ALL MY FEARS. THOSE WHO LOOK TO HIM FOR HELP WILL BE RADIANT WITH JOY; NO SHADOW OF SHAME WILL DARKEN THEIR FACES. IN MY DESPERATION I PRAYED, AND THE LORD LISTENED; HE SAVED ME FROM ALL MY TROUBLES.

PSALM 34:4-6

November is National Adoption Month

Let's celebrate together, National Adoption Month.


http://national-adoption-month.adoption.com/

Pictures that take me back in time...

Two years ago.....GOTCHA DAY!

It was two years ago when we finally met our daughter, half way around the world! Today, she is a vivacious 3 years old girl, smile camera ready (most of the time unless she gives me that cheesy smile of hers), fan of Dora the explorer, fastest ice cream eater, slowing diner eater, and so so much more.

We love you Emily and can't wait to celebrate year after year after year!