The time finally came

Sunday, August 27, 2006

 

A couple of things today.  Mandy/Jie went to Church for the first time.  She has learned to pray through family prayer and so she was good and closed her eyes and said a loud amen.  She sit quietly and played and of course, because she was being good Nathan wasn’t.

 

What I was talking about in my title thought is about Nathan and who was his birthmother.  Well, kind of.  Last night Nathan and I were talking about birthdays.  When they were coming and why Jie’s birthday is in Sept. while his is in October and he is older.  We started discussing everyone’s birthday – Jie and Kathie’s birthdays are in the same month and Nathan and Shelly’s are in the same month, etc.  He then asked me when we went and “got” Shelly.  Then we talked about the fact that Shelly, Kathie, Bobby, Cyndi and Asia grew in my tummy and that Nathan and Jie were so special and we went to get them in China!  He was excited about that part but I know that more is coming.  He took it very well.  I have been curious how long it would take for him to realize he didn’t look like us.  He is the most  “color blind” person I have ever met.  He treats everyone the same, with love and respect.  I am very proud of our little son.

 

On the home front, we have been home a week and our electricity was out for ½ day and our water heater broke and we were without water for 24 hours.  I can’t wait until for the next thing.  They always seem to come in three’s.

getting back to life/Friday 8/25

I have been debating about continuing this site or not and decided to continue at least through our move and Jie’s doctor’s appts.  We are doing fairly well, I think.  Nathan has started preschool two times a week and I am looking for another gymnastics place for him since we are moving.  He is very good at gymnastics and enjoys it very much.

 

Jie loves music and someone has worked with her on dancing because if she listens to music, expecially classical music she will wave her hands and fingers and dance around,  It is very cute.  We were able to get her into a dentist on Wednesday.  The dentist said that yes, she had trauma of some kind i.e. car accident or just falling on her face and had indeed broken the teeth.  She still has a few broken bits of root in her gums but that everything is ok – no infection or swelling but that her teeth are almost opaque and fragile and she thinks whatever medical problem she has – the teeth are linked.  That is a little scary but we will see what we will see.

 

She has a doctor’s appt. with the head of the International Adoption Dept. of Texas Children’s Hospital on Sept. 11^th, her 3^rd birthday.

 

We have finally gotten over the worst part of jet lag.  Nathan is sleeping most of the night and our little Princess usually does too.  Last night they would not go down until after 11:00 and kept going in and giggling with each other.  It could have been worse and they could have been fighting.  Have a great day.

We are home!

Good morning, It is Saturday (I think) and we are home! All in all we spent 28 hours on a plane or in an airport on Friday/Friday. You gain a day coming back. We (actually Jason) is going to work very hard and get some pictures on our blog today.

Right now I have two tired kids playing in the living room and doing great. You would think Jie had been with us forever and it has only been 13 long, hard days! Actually it has been great and we had a good time, we are just very tired of traveling.

Now, we have to do the doctor thing and check Jie out to make sure she hasn’t any of those foot long worms or some problems we are not aware of. She seems very healthy, very-very bright, bossy, stubborn and very pretty. She has her big brother wrapped around her finger and I have a feeling that it will stay that way.

Glad to be back and hope everyone enjoyed traveling with us.

Love, Mama

Swearing in ceremony

Hello, Well today was our swearing in ceremony at the US Consulate. We spent a slow morning at the hotel, slept late, had breakfast (by the way, Jie out eats Nathan), went down stairs and played in the garden where the outside playground is and the koi pond and then went inside and played in "kiddie land" so named by the hotel. It is not a bad room where they can run and play. It has legos and a small basketball goal and balls, etc. Nathan built a tower taller than Daddy with Daddy help, of course. Jie played with the stacking rings - I don't think she had played with one before. It was interesting that once we showed Jie how to do it, she did it right each time but she also lined them up by size on the floor. We are working on colors and she has yellow down and blue and is working on the other basics. She has started playing more children's games, I guess you would say. When we got her in Urumqi she would play with a tissue for an hour - folding and unfolding it until nothing was left. She would also look at Chinese magazines for an hour at a time. Now that she has appropriate toys she is doing great. She loves books and will sit and look at them for the longest time. Anyway, we had an early lunch and tried to get them to lay down early. She naps between 1 - 1:30 and usually sleeps until 3 but today we had to be at the White Swan hotel at 2:00 for group pictures and the famous "red couch" photos.

Anyway, she finally went to sleep about 30 minutes before we had to leave and she did not want to get up. She is not a happy camper unless she wakes up on her own. Remind you of anyone we know? We went down stairs and took a taxi to the hotel. The White Swan is as beautiful as they say but I am sure they are loosing business since they have moved the US consulate so far away. We met in the lobby and took first, the kids on the "red couch" photo. I thought it was one big couch but there are red couches scattered all over this huge lobby and that is where everyone takes the pictures. Jie is the only one that smiled and waved at the camera's, the other either cried or sat there woodenly. Anyway, then we moved to a place with a huge waterfall as the backdrop and took a group photo. Everyone wanted one and so Connie, the guide had probably 6 camera's around her neck. Next she told everyone to meet at 2:45 for the ride over to the Consulate. We hung around the lobby and took pictures and then headed over to the spot she wanted us at. We were one of 56 families (57 babies) that went along on two big buses. It took us until 3:35 to get to the Consulate and even there we had to check the water bottles and also all camera's and cell phones. It is a brand new building, in fact over half of it is empty. We went up three up escalators and finally came to the security. Everything was checked and then we went into a large waiting room. Along one side was a large bank of windows and you had to walk up to the window and the clerk had to check that the paperwork that they had matched the pictures with the people in front of her. Then you wait. It didn't take as long as I expected and then a woman with a loud speaker came in and welcomed us to the Consulate. You welcome, happy to have you here, etc and then said that Guangzhou gives out more immigrant visas in that one room that anywhere else in the world. She said last year they gave out more than 7000. One of those was Nathan! Then we all stood up and raised our right hand and swore that what we had said on all of the those documents was true and that was it. Everyone kind of looked at each other and then hugged and congratulated each other. It is indeed final after all of the paperwork, waiting, anxiety, travel fatigue it is all now final. Great feeling! One thing that was unusual but nice is that at least one of the families was deaf and so one of their party got up and signed what she was saying. It was very neat.

Afterward we all trooped out to the bus again and headed back. For some reason it only took about 15 minutes to get back. Glenn and I had put off shopping except for a few small purchased until today. So, after all of that we went shopping on Shamian Island. We have looked for a little plastic horn with a rattle in it since theysicals. They had some of these horns that day and all of the kids liked them. Nathan particularly thought they were great. We have looked everywhere and couldn't find them. We had gone into one place called Jennifer's Place and found Jie a dress and finally a pair of dress shoes and as we were walking along Nathan saw one of the horns sitting on a childs outside seat. We asked the girl if she knew where to find one and of course, she had some in her shop! She went and we followed and she gave us two for free! A very good move on her part. Anyway, we bought several things there and then walked to "Lucy's Café" a regular for anyone that stays around the White Swan. We really haven't done the "tourist" thing so far but it sounded good and we went in. The menu had everything from hamburgers, to pizza to enchilada's. The food was pretty good and we left full. We are back in the hotel and bathed, and good night routine over. Nathan is sound asleep and Jie is still wide awake.

Tomorrow is our last day here and then we head for Hong Kong and then the next day home. What a sweet word! Take care everyone and we will see you soon. Love, Mama

Amusement parks and crazy cab rides

Today is the 14th, our consulate appointment and as I said you don't attend the all important consulate appt. your guide goes and clears everything and then calls you and gives you the all clear. Connie called around 10:45 and said everything was ok. We went down and spent some time in the pool again. Jie enjoyed it and is beginning to be a little braver and kicking around and having fun. Nathan was doing great and wanted to go (with his duck) by him self and so we let him and he had a little problem but he is doing so much better.

Glenn ran and got us some lunch, McDonald's is right next to the hotel. We ate and then tried to get the kids to nap as we were going to the amusement park at 3:00. Glenn went down and had a massage. The amusement park was fun and I think everyone really enjoyed it. There are 5 families here and 4 went. It was a small amusement park but really nice. The kids rode the Carousel, the bee (kind of like helicopters) that went up and down. We were afraid that Jie might be afraid but I don't think she is going to be afraid of anything. I think she will be really good for Nathan. Just a little while ago we went down to the concierge lounge for a small snack and there were two women sitting and relaxing and we asked them where they were from. They were both from Australia and they were complimenting the kids. The one lady said that Jie was beautiful but she bet she was "cheeky" and that is probably a great word for her.

Anyway, we had a great time at the park and rode several rides and had great ice cream cones and then came back to the hotel. Yes, we got plenty of pictures and no Glenn's computer will not let Ofoto install. We are beginning to think that there is so much SAP hardware and firewalls on it that it just won't accept it. Sorry, we will upload as soon as we get home and I can get to my computer. When we got back to the hotel we were hungry but didn't want to go to the Chinese restaurant we have been eating at (very slow) and didn't want any of the fancy restaurants in the hotel so we asked one of the women in the Concierge Lounge where we should go to get a quick meal. Bearing in mind we are tired and so are the kids. She gave us the address of the closest(not) KFC. We have seen many KFC, Pizza Huts and McDonalds here and everywhere in China. She also said it was close to a wholesale market and we could shop there but to watch our wallets and that outside of where we were going were men on motorcycles and to ignore them if they wanted to take us somewhere. Not much in the way of a confidence builder. Anyway, we left and the driver drove and drove and I really thought he was taking us for a ride. We were involved in 6:00 traffic and it was literally bumper to bumper. When you say that in the US you mean that the traffic is stopped but here you can literally reach out and touch the next car and they will pull in front of buses that are packed and just ignore the horns blaring, etc. We finally arrived and noticed immediately what she was saying as there were at least 20 guys on motorcycles trying to act like taxi's and take people home. They were literally blocking the driveway. Anyway, we made it inside and it was better there. There were police everywhere which made us feel better. We went in and I took the kids and tried to find a seat. The Chinese have taken to fast food in a big way and all you see is a sea of black hair. Anyway, I finally found a place for us to sit and then Jie started flirting and talking to the people next to us. I am trying to get her to stop this but so far no luck. She will smile and try to touch people and just start talking. I hope this behavior stops once we get out of China. After dinner we went shopping. I wanted to get Jie some new shoes -not squeaky shoes- and a bracelet. It didn't have to be expensive but I thought she would like just a simple elastic style bracelet. We looked for awhile but the Chinese buy their children expensive jewelry such as jade bracelets and we couldn't find anything. So, we decided to look for shoes and found Nathan a shirt he liked. No shoes. Finally we were directed to go downstairs and there was a large Walmart (Chinese style) store and so we did do a little shopping. We found Jie a pair of shoes and did find the bracelet. Her new. shoes are cute pink sandals but I couldn't find Church shoes or even any tennis shoes for her. We found Glenn a couple of dress shirts and I guess that was it. As we checked out an old Chinese man was watching us. I noticed him several times standing maybe five feet away and when we checked out Glenn told the cashier he wanted a receipt. She told him she had given him one and he said no, she hadn't. She waved him away and then we had to leave the store. They have people checking receipts like at Sam's or Costco and we didn't have a receipt. Glenn said we didn't have one and the man kept insisting and finally this little old man came over and vouched for us and then they went over and talked to the woman at the cash register and finally we were released. Yeah!

We are back in the hotel and the kids have had their baths, scriptures and stories and are in bed. Nathan and Glenn are sound asleep but of course, our little Princess is still wide awake. She isn't doing anything bad just talking to herself in her bed. Oh, by the way, she has been very good about folding her arms for prayer since day #2 but tonight she said amen, which was really cute. She keeps coming up with new words, she really has hello down and usually she remembers what you tell her. I was reading her a book about farm animals and she saw a cow and let out a low moo!

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the police today. We were walking over to a store that Glenn wanted me to see and in front of us two policeman come running out of a group of stores and grab a boy and make him and another boy squat in front of them. They start manhandling them a little and I looked up and there are two or three other police offficers coming out of the shops. My guess is that they got caught shoplifting but I don't know. We didn't stick around very long to find out. The street peddlers that sell the tiger skins decided to move on also. This is an interesting place, the high end electronics and they use sythes(the long curved blades) to cut the grass in the medians.

This is getting too long so will close. I hope I'm not getting off subject too much when I talk about what is around us. It is an interesting world we find ourselves in.

Love, Mama

Sunday

Today was basically a free day. We had to give Connie our papers and the money for the consulate but other than that we didn't plan anything. There is a branch around Guangzhou somewhere but we didn't know where. We are just taking it easy and letting the kids play and get into a regular routine, as far as we can. They are doing very well together. Nathan has had only a couple of short instances of jealousy but that is to be expected.

Jie loves to play with play doh and will play by herself, Nathan has to have something a little more challenging. You can tell she hasn't run much or rough housed at all. Yesterday, Glenn was playing with Nathan down the hall and he played with her a little and now she walks kind of like Nathan playfully, going from side to side or whatever. The Baba transition is getting better, I am having him do things like putting on her shoes and reading books to her and so slowly the connection is being made.

The nurse said she was afraid of the bath but we haven't seen that. She and Nathan play and splash and pour water on each other. We had a scare night before last, I had washed both of their hair and had rinsed it with a glass which I put on top of the bathroom counter. After I left to get their pajamas, Nathan got out of the bathtub and decided to play with the glass. He dropped it in the bathtub and so, of course it broke. Nathan was getting out of the bathtub to tell me as I walked back in to the bathroom. Amazingly, Jie didn't get cut at all but Nathan had 4 small cuts. It could have been so much worse.

We are planning on taking the kids swimming this afternoon. There is a large pool here but it is pretty deep and so we will have to hold the kids but we think they will be fine. We brought Nathan's blow up duck for the pool and bought her a dolphin and so they will both have a blow up thing around their waists.

Tomorrow we have to be in our room by 10 am and can't leave until Connie calls us with the ok. She will have to go to the consulate for 4 other families at the same time. At 3:00 we will meet her and the other families and go to the amusement park that I printed off. I think all of the kids will enjoy it, most of the families have had shopping on their minds so this will be something fun for the kids. We did buy Jie a pair of shoes in Urumqi but they are squeaky shoes and are driving us nuts so we are back to the red sandals she came with. We sent back the clothes she came with but she didn't want to part with the shoes. They will be in her box with her other treasures at home.

With the tightened security at the airports we may be in for a hassle getting on the plane in Hong Kong. For sure, we will not be able to bring any water on board. We carry water here everywhere. Last night we forgot and Glenn ordered four waters and the bottles cost almost more than the rest of the meal!

Shelly, we have located the four generation balls. They are very pretty and I hope we can find some that are reasonable. They aren't necklaces they are wooden balls, anywhere from golf ball size to tennis ball size. They have them here at the hotel but they are very expensive so we will continue to look and see if we can find one. This morning, we went walking (before it got too hot) and on the street there were at least three guys that were selling animal skins. Beautiful wolf, fox, tiger and I think the real thing but I convinced Glenn we were not getting one. What would we do with a wolf skin?

We seem to be doing well as I have looked at the other transitions. Most of the kids seem to be very passive at this stage or going nuts. One couple is from Pa. and they are here on their second Chinese adoption. They have three biological children - 9,7, and 5 and then their first Chinese daughter is 3. They are adopting a little boy this time. He is 21 months old and has had surgery for a cleft lip but still needs surgery for his palate. He is quite a handful. When we met them in Urumqi he was very quiet and passive (Civil Affairs) but she said he had just been brought from his foster home and the whole time they were there he was either crying or trying to get out of the room and if they left their room he would grab people, evidently to see if he could see his foster parents. We had told them about the play area here as they are staying in the same hotel and she said it was the first time he had played and relaxed. He is not very nice though and when Nathan would try to help him he would pinch him. So, Nathan learned quickly to stay away. Last night, we saw them come to the restaurant but they didn't stay long as he was hitting and scratching the other kids in their group.

I forgot to tell you, the nurse said that they had brought Jie back to the orphanage a month before we were to come and that she was very homesick for her "grandparents" and so the grandparents had come to the orphanage each weekend to see her. We were afraid we would run into them at the orphanage and so that was another reason not to go. She really is doing so well and we are so proud of Nathan - he seems to have grown up immediately. Hope everyone is ok. I haven't been able to get on the internet, I have been typing and Glenn has gone down to the business office so I don't know about comments. Love, Mamade

swimming

Just a little note - She loves swimming!  While Nathan was terrified of the water Jia loves it.  We put a floaty around her and while watching Nathan and Glenn she started kicking her legs!  So, we are going to have a little fish.  Love to all, Mama

We're in Guangzhou

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry we kind of dropped out of sight for a day or so. Yesterday was one long day. We checked out of the hotel around 10:40 am and didn't get to the hotel in Guangzhou until almost midnight. The big scare was that once we got to the hotel here in Guangzhou Glenn couldn’t find the passports! We had left them in the van that our guide had picked us up in and they had fallen out of his pocket. Glenn panicked and searched his bags and then ran after the van but they were already gone and Connie (guide) had not given us her telephone #. The problem with the van was that they use a group of vans and you may have a different driver and van each day. Needless to say it was a long day and we finally got into our room after midnight. Jie had gone to sleep in the van and continued to sleep but Nathan was wired and it took him a while to get to sleep.

We were able to go back to the park for a picnic before the flight and were able to get some pictures but the people that weren't doing Tai Chi and the other exercises were gone. Nathan and Jie were able to ride a few rides - The Carousel which both loved and they had a small train that we were able to ride. Nathan scored big time in the big brother area while there. They played a simple game, kind of like a carnival or fair game. They both played and the lady that ran the game gave each one a small plastic duck. They both were holding them and playing with them and all of the sudden Jie didn't have hers. She didn't cry but you could tell she was upset. A minute or so later, Nathan walked up to her and gave her his. It so surprised our guide, Dong that he was flabbergasted and then told Nathan that he was a wonderful big brother. We have email addresses from our guides and the orphanage and they all want to keep in touch. It is actually a small world but our guide in Beijing, Rose knew our guide, Cathy from Chuzhou (Nathan's province). They are good friends.

Today was physical day and passport day (pictures) and paperwork. There are five families that are from CHI and together, sort of, on this trip. We all arrived in Beijing seperately, went to our Province and arrived here seperately and then met at the White Swan today at 9:00 am. The doctor at the physical didn't say much but asked for the medical report (thankfully I took it this time, last time I didn't) and made a copy. She couldn't make sense of "bending femurs" either. At the ENT part, the doctor snapped her fingers in Jie's ears and that was the hearing test! Anyway, I guess we passed because everything is done. Yeah! All we have to do now is wait on Monday for a call from Connie (she is the one that actually goes to the Consulate appt.) and then we have to go to the swearing in ceremony, I think on Wednesday. It is very anticlimatic.

Jie is fitting in better and better all of the time. She does have a temper, yesterday on the plane she wanted to go to the bathroom and it was occupied and she kicked the door! Her number 3 and 4 words have been no, no (which she is hearing a lot) and bye bye. We were at the airport and they were watching planes take off and they were both waving and saying bye bye to each plane. We asked her "nurse" how to discipline her and she said if she was being particularly naughty we should ignore and look away. It works very well - Today when we were trying to fill out all of the forms (1 1/2 hours) they were playing in a chair and they had been very good but when Nathan was chasing her a little she hauled off and hit him with her doll. I told her no, removed Nathan and then purposely turned my head and ignored her. She stood still and then finally became a little teary eyed and so I picked her up and held her and she went to sleep. They were both very tired.

Oh, I keep forgetting to tell everyone the reason for the teeth. She was in a car accident (we don't know when) and they were knocked out. I am not sure what we will do - she does have problems eating anything that she has to bite like an apple or meat. She does eat a lot of noodles and rice, she chocked a little on a dumpling filling tonight. Oh, success on one front tonight. Since we picked her up she has been passive about putting on or taking off clothes. Tonight we were getting ready for the bath and she took off everything but her top which had to go over her head. Also, I picked up one of her sandals and mine and said "come on Jie let's put your shoes away" and she picked up the one sandal and went looking for the other one and put it away. She is very neat and will fold her clothes and put things away. She spent almost an hour on the plane yesterday looking at a Chinese magazine. It was surreal, Nathan was playing with something, she was looking at a magazine and I was reading a book! Her relationship with Glenn is getting better, she is still a Mama's girl, no doubt about it but Glenn was playing with Nathan as we walked down the hall to dinner and started growling and tickling her and she started running and laughing and playing too. She went to him to read a book with a little urging tonight and that was a good sign. I hear that we have a new member of our family and we are so excited. Thomas Glenn sounds like a hefty little boy and I hear that Mother and child are doing great. It is late and so I am going to bed, this won't get posted until tomorrow as we will send it from the business part of the Concierge lounge. Looking forward to coming home! Love everyone and miss you - Mama

Shelly and Kathie, do you remember the twin girls a couple of months ago that were on the list and they were so beautiful? They and their parents are here to complete the adoption. Their names are Sage and Sophie and are two pretty girls and they are tiny. Jie is really not small at all, atleast not compared to the other children. Connie, the guide took one look at her and said "She isn't Han" which would be the group that she came from. She has almost round eyes that are very pretty and

everyone is always saying she is so pretty. In fact, most people think Nathan and Jie are biological brother and sister as much as they look a lot except for the

Heavenly Lake

Well, we woke up with news of the terrorist plot that was stopped in the UK - which didn't make us feel very comfortable and will make returning to the US a little less convenient. We left the hotel at 9:30 and were told that it would take 1 1/2 hours to get to Heavenly Lake. Well, there is 1 1/2 and then there is 4 hours later by the time we actually got to Heavenly Lake. We drove through some of the Gobi Desert which was very interesting it is mountainous but totally barren. Dong said there is also a desert that is called the shifting sand that is of course uninhabitable and we actually saw wild camels off to the left of the free way. I have never seen wild camels before.

Heavenly Lake is beyond beautiful. We took our van as far as we could drive, bought tickets for a private bus for another trip and then rode what was like a large golf cart the rest of the way. It is very steep, but looks like what you see on postcards of beautiful cloud shrouded lakes. We bought tickets and rode on a glassed in boat around the lake. We stopped at a religious site that was 800 years old. People got off, other people got on and we continued on.

Jie is now very comfortable with our family and also enjoys our guide, Dong and the driver. The driver Mr. Shen is wonderful with children and had tried to calm her down when she was so upset. He plays with the kids, tickles and just laughs with them. Dong is very young but is very good - he had to train an added two years to be able to be a guide for adoptions because of all the extra paperwork and working with all of the officials.

Jie is quite a flirt with anyone, and entertains herself easily with anything. She was playing with two napkins for probably 15 minutes until they fell apart. She found a small deck of cards, Slap jack and she has sorted, piled, and put them together and apart all day. She is very attached to the baby doll that we sent her and until today has not seperated from it. Today for the first time she left the room without it and didn't even glance back. She is very attached to me and so I do all of the holding and she likes to play with Nathan although she can reduce him to tears fairly easily. She does push a little and she seems to spit at people she doesn't want near her. I have already put a foot down on that one. She seems to like a firm hand - I will tell her no and she will obey me. She is very smart and is going to be a challenge to keep things away from her. She opens anything, pushes buttons, and is quite in to everything. The one thing she does that worries me is she will wander off at times. Most times she will be right at my side but twice today she went right up to different tables and started talking to people. We are going to have to be very vigilant.

We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow at 4:40 but have to check out at 12:00 and so will go to the park that we went to the first day and take some pictures. It won't be so much fun because the morning people will be gone but maybe the pictures will make sense of what I have written even though we still can't seem to post pictures.

We are ready to get to Guangzhou just because it is a little more Western and it is easier to get your message through but we have enjoyed out trip here. There are many different people here. Urumqi is part of what use to be the Silk Road and so there are Kazahstans and Russians and many different Chinese groups and a large group of Chinese Muslims. They look different than the other Chinese. I asked Dong who they were and he said they were the Chinese Muslims called Uighur here. There eyes are different and Dong also said there foreheads and brow are different. Anyway, it has been interesting. People here have asked if we were Russian or British and they can't get over the kids. Several people in the lobby came up to Dong this morning and said they both looked like angels as they were both very beautiful. Nathan gets the most attention, I suppose because he is a boy but everyone stares at Jie also. Gotta close, Love, Mama

Oh Oh Ah Ah

I forgot, Jie first two English words were Oh Oh, Ah Ah the words that Nathan uses when he is being a monkey and OK.  I have been saying we are going to do something Ok? And so she has started saying OK.  She will say all of the animal sounds and is quite a mimic.

Wednesday and our continuing journey

Basically, we are waiting for the passport to be ready which won't be until Friday.  This morning we were supposed to go to the orphanage and visit and chose not to.  The emotions of Monday were just too hard on Xin Jie and we decided not to go.  We had talked to Dong and he decided to take us to a Park nearby instead.  It is called the People's Park and it was so pretty.  We, of course, forgot our camera.  It was such a unique view of China that we have never had before.  I had heard that people practice Tai Chi in the parks and this was no exception but they also do exercises to western music and practice dancing, practice musical instruments and work out basically.  They have unique machines in the park and use them - men, women and children.  There was several women's dance groups with oval shaped drums and sticks with flags attached and they have routines.  You didn't need a translater to understand straighten that line, no you do it this way.  Xin Jie enjoyed watching them and didn't want to leave.  I'm impressed by the beauty of their parks and zoo's.  I suppose because they are so old and the trees are massive.  Also, the Chinese evidently don't have any privacy at home and so they come to the parks to have some quiet and practice time. It was fascinating and we hope to go back and take a camera this time.

Xin Jie continues to open up a little.  Nathan has found his little sister and he is very excited.  They play even though they have a language barrier and squabble a little like small children do.  She is smiling more.  We took her to get new shoes today and she didn't have any idea of what we were doing.  We found her a pair of "squeaky shoes" that I have heard about.  She is now walking around trying to get them to squeak and just smiles. 

We are waiting now for Dong to call - the "nurse" is coming back to give us a receipt for the orphanage donation and Glenn will meet with her and Dong downstairs and give her the gifts for the orphanage, nurses, and the director.  It is 4:00 and we haven't heard anything yet. 

Xin Jie has taken to me and Nathan and she does recognize Glenn as Baba but he can't pick her up yet or hold her hand.  She will wave at him if he leaves and she calls him Baba so it will come but it upsets me a little.  Glenn is ok with it.  She loves music and is constantly singing little songs to herself or clicking her tongue.  I think we have major problems with her teeth - Shelly could you try and set up a dentist appointment with your girls dentist.  Nathan has gone to her so they will have a file for him.  She has problems with eating meat because she can't take a bite but has to use her side teeth.  It is not stopping her from eating and she is a good eater.  Right now she is quite easy to dress although she really doesn't help.  She does feed herself which I was a little worried about seeing pictures of her being fed.  She is quite meticulous about eating and not getting dirty and she doesn't like her hands dirty.  She has a great smile and giggle.  She is the slowest walker in the world and so I have been carrying her some but she hasn’t been carried much and so she doesn't hold on at all.  She weighs 30 lbs. and doesn't seem petite to me.

Dong just called and they are downstairs exchanging gifts.  The orphanage gives each child that is adopted a piece of white jade in the shape of their animal.  The animals of the calendar, she is a goat.  I asked Dong what Nathan is and he was going to find out which all three of us are. (I know that was not a good sentence).  Nathan is ready to go home and I don't blame him - I am ready also.  Dong had told Nathan that there was a place to play at the park and he was excited but it was closed.  There was a bounce place but it was a climbing wall and Nathan didn't want to do that.  We did go to a market to find Xin Jie's shoes and bought mango's, wonderful peaches, small apples and some nectarines.  They are all very good.

Glenn had an experience today that cemented Nathan's adoption for him (although Glenn loves him with all of his heart). The restaurant open later here - 1:00 for lunch and 7:00 for dinner.  Anyway,  we got back from the park at 12 and everyone was hungry so we came up and then decided to find something to eat but the hotel restuarants weren't open and so Glenn went to the local food place and brought some chicken and french fries back.  There was beggar on the sidewalk and his hands were like Nathan and he was begging.  It affected Glenn a lot.  People around here can't get over the beauty of our children.  We are very lucky not because they are beautiful but because they are ours. 

We are having a horrible time with the internet here.  It took a whole day to send yesterdays email and we are hoping that Guangzhou will be better. Sorry, we can't send pictures.  Oh, has anyone heard from Bob?  Getting a little worried about Laura and the baby.  Love, Mama

Tuesday morning

Good morning, We had a good night last night. Xin Jie is stubborn, like they said. She is obedient though and when we put her to bed she just laid down and after a while she went to sleep. She now smiles a lot and I think she is smart, unfortunately she also is a button pusher. Big sigh, two of them.

Nathan -" I am doing good. I love you. I feel like a big brother and am trying to teach Mandy about our family and bubbles". At first, she was scared of the bubbles but now that she has calmed down she has laughed and tried to step on them. We did have a slight problem right before breakfast because he had a small notebook and she picked it up and wouldn't give it back and he cried a little. He is now sitting beside her making noises and they are kind of parallel playing. He is really being incredible. The only problem is that today is a stay at the hotel day and he is bored. We are going to tour the hotel and look at the swimming pool but the nurse said she is a little scared of water but she didn't have any problem with the bath yesterday. She came to us incredibly clean with her hair clean and clean clothes. She likes books and speaks whatever dialect very well. On the radio today she heard "happy birthday" and she was singing along. The nurse said she was the monitor of the class and was good example for the class.She doesn't have four top teeth and her two bottom teeth and her thighs are large for the rest of her body. Other than that she seems quite normal and everybody keeps telling us how pretty she is. "They are lucky them get pretty girl and he is handsome." We had to take a course called the Conspicuous Family and you need it here. The Chinese have no problem with literally surrounding you and talking rapidly to you in Chinese, they particularly try to get Nathan to talk to them and he will just try to hide.

We are doing fine and I can't believe the difference between yesterday and today. Thank goodness. Dong, the guide said it would probably take three days, I am so glad it didn't. Love and miss ya'll. Mama

Gotcha day

Well, we have survived gotcha day! This was much rougher than with Nathan. All the time we were in the Civil Affairs room she was glued to the "nurse" and when we left to get pictures and notary the nurse went with us so she was ok. This day was very different than Anhui - here you drive to the Civil Affairs office and do a lot of paperwork and then run down the street and have a family picture and Xin Jie (Xing JiAH) picture for her passport taken and then back to Civil Affairs for more paperwork and then to the Notary office and there after many questions,

we asked questions of the nurse. Found out a lot about Xin Jie and her personality and how they reward and punish her. Then that was finished and we left. The nurse came to the car (by this time the crying had already started) and waved goodbye. Xin Jie waved goodbye and sat on my lap for a few minutes and then cried the cry of the heart broken all the while saying "my Mama has left me" over and over again. We brought her to the hotel and she screamed through the lobby and into the room and then sobbed and cried. She finally fell asleep sitting in a chair in mid cry. She slept for several hours and so did we. We had to be downstairs at 5:00 and so we had to wake her up and she cried again the entire time we were gone. Everyone tried to calm her down - the Chinese people all told her to stop, the driver tried to calm her down but to no avail. We brought her back to the hotel in full scream and of course, were stared at all through the lobby as she is still screaming "my Mama has left me!". We brought her back to the hotel and gave Nathan and her a bath all the while screaming. Glenn and Nathan went down to get something to and I showed Xin Jie the things in her suitcase and tried on a pair of shoes and then started rearranging the room so that everything was a little more organized meanwhile patting each suitcase with Nathan, Xin Jie, Baba, and when I patted me she said Mama. All of the sudden it was over and she is now talking, smiling, laughing and having a great time.

We still can't figure out how to upload pictures to Glenn's lap top. Big Sigh! I don't know why but if not we will send them when we get home. Good night, tomorrow is free basically except we have to be available for the guide between 12 & 1.

On our journey so far

Today is Sunday, August 6th - Word to the wise - even if your child is potty trained - take extra clothes and a sippy cup! On the first 3 hour trip Nathan split a whole glass of ice water on his seat. I didn't pack underwear but did pack a set of pj's and a clean shirt. On the next flight he split orange juice, water and seven up. I have already packed a sippy cup in his pack back. We leave in a couple of hours for Wulumuqi. Nathan has been wonderful. He has slept when we told him and hasn’t had a melt down yet.I do find myself being the mean old Mama bear again in a strange way. The Chinese people and really any adult actually are very drawn to him and watch him constantly. He, on the other hand, knows he is being watched and starts showing off. Then he gets wilder and wilder and the Chinese in particular think it's cute and so then I really have to reign him in.

The zoo we visited was very old and the surroundings are beautiful. It is the zoo + a panda exhibit + an aquarium + a river through w/boats on it and I saw a water park in the same area. What makes it lovely is the huge green areas with massive willow trees, crepe myrtles, and masses of flowers. They also use a lot of rock to decorate. I think one reason the zoo is so popular is because this is of course a huge metroplex with not a lot of green areas.

Next we had lunch in a nice restaurant - Rose (guide), Mr. Tong (driver), Glenn, Nathan and I. The food was very good and we had a nice conversation with Rose and Mr. Tong. Rose is unmarried and has been working as a guide for 8 years, the only job she has had since she graduated from college. She is from Inner Mongolia and her sister and her came to Beijing for school and stayed. Mr. Tong has two children. She said he had to pay a large fine for the second child but his Mother wanted him to have another child, to see if they could have a boy, unfortunately both are girls. This is what she said. We did see many children in the zoo surrounded by adults. In other words, probably several generations bringing the "child" to the zoo. Even the girls with parents -I didn't know how to say that- have very short hair. It was puzzling as the older girls/women have long hair. The boys have very short hair with little tuffs of hair in front. It looks very strange to me.

The foot message was interesting. We arrived at a typical building and walked up 5 flights of stairs and walked into a business. It back it was divided into rooms with around 4 chairs and a ottoman in front of each. We sat down and they brought in cups of tea and then Rose had them bring us water. They prepared by bringing in big wooden tubs for each of us plus two small foot shaped bowls for each. First they mixed up a portion of what looked a lot like runny clay and brushed it on our feet with a brush. It heated up and then when it was getting a little hot for comfort they used the brushes and applied something and water. After they finished this they put our feet in the tubs of a jelly like substance. We rested our feet in here and then they had us sit on the ottoman and they did a shoulder, arm, back and head message. It was great to work out the kinks of the plane ride. After our back message then they went back to our feet and dried them and then applied cream and messaged for about 40 minutes. At one point they brought in watermelon and Nathan ate Glenn's and his like he hadn't eaten in days. After the message we went back to the hotel and took a nap for a couple of hours. We forced ourselves to get up and went for a walk. I would imagine it is a typical area with apartments and businesses and hotels. We walked for a couple of blocks and came across a McDonalds. We stopped in and bought a snack - hot wings and chicken nuggets. We are doing pretty well with jet lag, we didn’t go to bed last night until after 9 and slept until around 5. Glenn is having the hardest time with it.

One thing about Beijing, it is always overcast. The sun shows through weakly. As Nathan said, "it looks more like the moon". Everyone speaks of Wulumqi with a bit of awe in their voices. I am not sure why. We will see soon. Will type more later and tomorrow we get Mandy! Haven't found out when or where yet.

Day One

We are fighting getting the camera to upload pictures and JET LAG.

Nathan was great on the flight and tried to stay in bed until four this morning.
We are fighting jet lag and trying to stay up. We went to the zoo today and saw the Panda bears. We also had a foot massage - which was great.

All is well.

Schedule for the Trip

I thought everyone might want to know Mama and Daddy’s plans for the next few days:

Aug 4th – Arrive in Beijing at 13:45

Aug 5th – Beijing Zoo and Foot Massages

Aug 6th – Fly to Wulumuqi

Aug 7th – GOTCHA day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meet Mandy

Aug 8th – Go to CCAA to register the adoption and apply for Mandy’s passport

Aug 9th – Visit orphanage

Aug 10th – Visit Heavenly Lake

Aug 11th – Pick up passport and fly to Guangzhou

Aug 12th – Mandy’s medical exam

Aug 13th – Absolutely nothing is planned

Aug 14th – Visa appointment

Aug 15th – Pick up visa

Aug 16th – Another free day

Aug 17th – Fly to Hong Kong

Aug 18th – Fly home! Arrive at 7:30 PM in Houston

Nathan is so excited to go!

Getting ready to go

Hello everyone!  We are  having to leave our house in the morning at 3:50 am, that is right am.  I am not looking forward to traveling for 33 hours nonstop with a hyper 4 year old and then returning with two!  Wish us luck.  We will miss everyone and hope that we can keep in touch by way of this blog.  Love Ya’ll  Mama, Daddy and Nathan.