HOME!!!

We are home at last!  Lucille and Gary met us at the airport w/ the boys and it was a happy, tearful reunion. Being so far from them was the hardest part of the whole thing.  Gracie was such a trooper through all of the travel.  We got to Hong Kong about 8pm after taking the train.  The train ride was really smooth and just a neat experience.  There was another family taking the train, who adopted through a different agency but we had seen them occassionally at our hotel in Guangzhou. It was  little scary start though, because as we entered the train station a cop was running toward us (though Dan was just ahead so did not see the cop come around the corner) and when I looked behind us, I saw a guy drop a suitcase and keep on running.  Also an exciting part of the train station, was the infamous "squatty potty". This was my first experience with the hole that is the "potty".  There is no tp and talk about smelly.  Just a free tip for any of you lucky enough to try one of these out yourself, don't stand too high or it splatters on your leg!  (Sorry, that's disgusting.)  Anyway, the bed in Hong Kong was blissfully soft after the plywood w/ a sheet we had at the White Swan.  Gracie slept all night in Hong Kong.  We thought we were early for the airport the next day, since we were flying out at 11:45 we got to the airport before 10 am, though we had actually planned to get there even earlier to eat breakfast but the shuttle had already left. However, once we figured out where we were going- which took awhile, got through immigration, customs, rode the concourse, went up and down and up and down escalators, stopped at Starbucks (yes!!), we barely made it to the jet before boarding.  Then come to find out, in China you can't take any liquids on board so I had to gulp down my glorious mocha w/ whipped cream and dump our water bottles.  We refused to buy water at the HK hotel because they charged us the equivalent of $13 for a bowl of congee for Gracie the night before, which is just a watery rice soup w/ some chicken and seasonings.  We had just enough water and no breakfast (though G had her bottle/ w/ rice cereal).  This hotel cost us almost $200!!! The bed was soft but not THAT soft. We had to stay there due to proximity to airport and nobody gave us any other recommendation.

Anyway, we boarded the plane; rushed to get Gracie a bottle and she was out the first 2 hrs of the trip and we  both dozed some too.  Then we ate and she played pretty well.  Twice I took her to the bathroom to change her wet diaper and both times the seatbelt "bing" went off and I had to stumble back in the turbulence ot our seat.  She typically waved and blew a few kisses as we went.  Then, just when I figured the businessman in front of us had heard enough happy squeals and "Aiya's", we were able to get hot water for her bottle and she was out for about 3 more hours.  They turned the light on for breakfast about 1.5 hrs b4 we landed and she woke up.  We got through SanFrancisco immigration and customs (they were so nice!!) and onto the smaller jet to Boise.  She had to be strapped in for take off and landing, which I thought would be a disaster but she did great, working the zippers on a wallet I'd given her.  The wallet no longer had any money in it but let me tell you, it was VALUABLE!!
Thankfully, Josh drove us home as neither of us could keep our eyes open for very long, though we just kind of dozed. We had slept a little on the plane but had still been up basically all night, plus when we arrived it was in the middle of the night in China. 
She is pretty afraid of the animals and responds in the same way that she does if you kneel down and look under the bed.  She has some association w/ animals and it is not a good one.  It is getting better, though.  The boys have been serving her and playing with her nonstop.  She can't believe she has 3 more servants to add to her list, 5 total now.  The boys cleaned the house and it looked very nice.  I'm sure everyone who cared for them also helped w/ that.  Ben is still working on laundry today and I'm not going to stop him!  She slept ok last night and think that keeping her in our bed is going to be the plan for awhile.  She did nap in her crib for two blessed hours.  She is eating a little better tonight but was refusing most things today. 

We thought we might run into some of the other families we traveled with at the hotel in HK but never did.  We didn't say a proper goodbye so will have to email them. Hope their travel went well.  We feel sooo thankful to be home and in the good ol' USA!! I have a more educated appreciation of what we have here.  We are also humbled and so grateful to our family and friends who have prayed and served & sacrificed time and financially, so we could get her home.  It isn't a spiritual song but the one that comes to mind often is from "Grease", "we go together like ramalamalama, cadingadadingadong.  Hey baby forever (think original words are different but this is what's in my head), like shoobop, shoowadda, wadda, cadinga da ding da dong".  (How's that for spelling??)  Love to all!!! 

New Servant 1

New Servant 2

New Servant 3

Final Pictures

The deli/bakery that unfortunately has the yummiest ham/cheese pastry things.. bad habit.

Bags of garbage - wow

cool buildings near hotel - very historic area

This is amazing "Grace" who has been our rep here in China. She is a lifesaver and works very hard.

Mom is doing acrobatics to get me to smile. This camera thing is new to me.

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blowing kiss

Last Post from China

This will probably be the last opportunity to post until we get to the US.  They charge for the internet in HK and we will only be there one night.  We did some of the last of our shopping today.  Hoping we don't have to buy another suitcase to get it all home.  I'm getting a bit better at the bargaining. Gracie slept in her crib until about 3 am and woke up soaked.  I keep one eye open when she is restless as I'm afraid she'll fall out of the crib.  I changed her in the middle of night and kept her w/ us & partially slept.  Was pretty tired today.  I threw the wet diaper into the corner on the marble in the night so I wouldn't wake her anymore than necessary or Dan.  Well, of course, this morning at 6 am she wanted up right away and went straight to that diaper (being a new and interesting thing within reach) and then she wiped her face on it!! -before I could get to her.  Apparently thought it was a nice cool, wet wash rag.  Once again she has questioned whether these parents she's acquired are really certified for this job.  The other day she went and threw this paper bag and for some reason, it looked so funny that Dan and I were paralyzed w/ laughter for several minutes.  She has this long deadpan look when she's deciding whether something is acceptable to her or not.  It's hilarious.  When she is upset, there is a longgggg, silent pause w/ her eyes shut and a deep frown. 
We were hoping to take more pictures today but it was raining.  A lot of the scaffolding is made of bamboo at construction sites &  it will be built several stories high. Dan doesn't think it looks like an appealing way to do skyscraper construction. 
Forgot to mention that yesterday at the Consulate, they specially recognized a couple children due to their birthdays being close to their adoption time.  They called out Gracie's name since her birthday was Aug. 12th, the day we traveled.  Yesterday was my brother Brian' s birthday &; as many of you know, Gracie and my dad share the same birthdate.  Today was the 40th birthday of one of the dads here. Their  little Sophie is incredibly cute.  Gracie is currently trying to break a little bracelet I bought her by wrapping it around the cell phone that she already broke.  After about the zillionth request for us to fix the mangled flip top, I whisked it away into the garbage when she wasn't looking.  It is so satisfying to put one over on her occasionally because it is very difficult to avoid her overly observant eyes.  I suppose I shouldn't admit that on this blog.

We ate at Lucy's many nights. All kinds of Hollywood posters and license plates from all over including one that Christian Zimmerman gave them  An Idaho plate w/ a "Z" on it.

White Swan Hotel. Our home for 2 wks.

What can I add?

landscaping near hotel

We look so forward to leaving but can't help feeling a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see more of China.  We are taking home a priceless souvenir though, so it's ok.Well, it's late and we will be losing a lot of sleep in next few days. We fly out of HK at noon Saturday and arrive in Boise close to 3pm that same day.  We will however, have actually been traveling for about 17 hrs.  The flight from HK to San Francisco is about 13 hrs I think.  I'm sure it is going to be very challenging w/ the busy girl but we'll get through.  Guess that's all for now. Can't wait to see those three  boys of ours and friends!!!!!!!!!!!

Consulate Oath Day

Today we completed the final step in the adoption process.  We went with several other families to the US Consulate and took the oath, which was basically confirming that everything we have stated in the adoption papers is true.  We took a bus to the consulate and waited to hear Gracie's Chinese name; they checked our passports and then we stood w/ about 40 some other families and took the oath.  I only half paid attention because keeping her semi-quiet was a full-time job.  Although, the little girl in front of us was pitching a fit that was quite impressive so I wasn't as concerned.  We raised our right hands and Gracie copied by raising her left.  We see families like ours constantly at the hotel and on the streets nearby.  A lump rises in my throat as I see the wave of loving parents with wiggling, crying, laughing,  babies, toddlers, & small children. One girl being adopted in the group was 1 month shy of her 14th birthday.  Apparently, if she reached 14 she would not have been able to be adopted.  Another mother was there adopting for the 4th time.  Her little boy was 4, almost blind, and just learning to get around because his foster mother here in China had basically carried him his whole life. 

Gracie is doing better every day.  She is exhibiting less and less of the tantrum-like behaviour.  These have been a minor part of what we've experienced with her; with her general demeanor being very playful, inquisitive, and giggly.  She has a gut laugh and squeal that is just intoxicating for lack of a better word.  Even though we have felt quite clueless about how to deal w/ the "no's", tantrums, and sleeping issues, by God's "grace" we seem to be doing something right.  We decided yesterday that we would try to have her sleep in her own bed but prepare for her to sleep w/ us.  Sleeping w/ us is probably best for her but means less sleep for me.  We put her down earlier, having also decided she isn't getting enough sleep & tried giving her the big bottle earlier in the evening so she didn't wake up soaked & then fed her a small amount right as she was going to sleep.  (Of course, the fact that the last bottle of the night was only a couple ounces ticked her off and she tossed it & kicked her feet- even though she'd had a substantial amount just an hour earlier.)  She stirred a couple times but didn't wake until 4 am and was coughing so I let her sleep on/beside me until she woke completely at about 7 am.  We also decided to try to "help" her stop or curb the fit action & that seems to be much more effective than just ignoring them. The last couple days have been much, much better w/ very little of this behavior.  Also figured out she is pretty darn good w/ a spoon so we give her a bowl and add to it rather than her eating w/ her hands & begging from us.  Most of these children eat and eat so you have to watch it.  If food is around, it's the focus of their being & is very much a control issue as they have in many cases, not had enough or it has been very regulated. We've also seen the other end of the spectrum in the foster children (as opposed to orphanage) who have been allowed to eat all they want and any way they want.  It is hard to feed Gracie enough w/o over-feeding which causes constipation and stomach trouble. Now that she eats one her own, the battle w/ each meal is all but gone & it has really been fairly pleasant to sit down and eat again. 
We are going to take a train to Hong Kong Friday afternoon instead of flying out of Guangzhou, which would have been at almost 11pm Friday night.  We leave Hong Kong for home at almost noon Saturday and taking the train from here to Hong Kong on Friday allows us to get to our hotel in HK early in the evening (instead of midnight) & also we will get about $300 back as a refund on our airline ticket and the train ticket is only around $100 so we net $200.  Changing money here at the hotel is easy but has sometimes been a  bit of a pain at the bank next door.  The clerks ignore you & even if you take one of the tickets, it has a different type of number and they never call it.  Dan went in the other day and was being ignored and this guy from Poland comes in and apparently spoke great Mandarin because he got right in there and told the clerk what to do and to get with it & then they changed our money like they're supposed to. 
We have bought quite a few things & the prices are cheap for the most part.  I hate shopping though because they follow you around and try to sell everything you look at to you.  Their favorite phrase is "this special price just for you" and "all this on sale, 20% off for you today".  I get so annoyed, I have to leave.  They didn't have my size in a traditional Chinese blouse that I liked today & the clerk kept trying to sell me a different one.  I told her I did not want it and if she left me alone, I might pick out something else. She said ok but then immediately tried to sell me that blouse again!! ARgg.  I want them to make a profit but you can't tell if you're being ripped off. 
Tomorrow is our last full day in Guangzhou since we leave for HK Friday.  Well, I gotta put Lil missy to bed. She is throwing everything she finds in the garbage & runs away and laughs.  Dan keeps quoting one of the Pink Panther movies, "Attila the Hun?  Boyscout!"  She really isn't even close to that bad - just two & extremely busy & smart.  She loves to be hugged and kissed & falls to pieces when one of us leaves for a short time.  The blessed time of sleep approaches!  Love to all!

Infamous red couch picture w/ all the children terrorized to leave their new mom/dads for a few moments

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Already gets the cell phone thing but also tried to use it for tv remote

August 24

Turtle anyone?

I have a new appreciation for McDonalds - In 2 places outside mall & familiar!

Pearl shopping is not a real thrill yet

Fresh eel to go with that sub?

Gravel boats haul gravel on the river all day & it looks like all night.

Pictures from the day

Busy girl

A Gracie Sighting

Will add more later.  Time for bed.

Monday, 8/23 Comes to a Close

Overall good day.  After Grace took care of some potty business, she  was much happier.  We seem to be figuring each other out.  We went to the pearl market which is basically a giant, domed mall w/ 5  stories and just an overwhelming number of  shops. Many were selling jewelry "wholesale".  I got a jade necklace that is very light colored jade & the more green, the more expensive but I liked the cloudy white so didn't have to spend as much to get what I liked.  The pearls were very pretty & even though much cheaper than in US, were more than we felt we could spend.  Did get a little bracelet for Grace.  We bought her a traditional Chinese dress tonight & tomorrow all of the children get their picture taken on the
"red couch" in their Chinese outfits if you want to dress them that way.  We didn't have much of a nap so dreaded the evening but so far it is working out.  We ate at Cantonese Restaurant tonight & it was very good.  Our favorite was the goose, which surprised me because the geese we've tried to cook at home are barely edible.  There were turtles to buy outside the restaurant & a flat-nosed fish  that I will put pictures on here later.  Also, eels  little crab- For dessert we had DimSum which was a coconut pastry that is quite good but I'm sure quite fattening!  The sweet/sour pork had real ginger chunks and some kind of pepper that goes right to the throat & was too spicy for me.  Dan would have passed out if he tried it.  I have a few more pictures of Gracie to upload later.  Taking a picture of her reminds me of Sasquatch footage.  She is either not in the picture or just a blur because she is always moving.  She seems so much happier tonight so hopefully be a good night.  She waves and blows kisses like a princess whenever we leave somewhere - for all her "fans" we joke.  She is putting on Dan's hat now and being adorable - bath time soon and bed!! yay!

Life in Guangzhou- Sunday 8/22

We are almost done with Sunday here but it is just beginning back home.  There is some kind of church up the road but we did not muster the enthusiasim to go.  Tonight we will go to a group dinner at a Thai restaurant.  The food choices are very interesting.  I checked a menu outside a Chinese place the other night and one of the featured dishes was something like Chan insect delight.  Even potato chips are seaweed/shrimp flavor or something that is very unusual to us.  I think I could get used to some of the flavors here but it would take awhile.  You will all never guess where we ate last night- yep, Subway!!  It is about 1/4 the size of ours & only 4 bread choices  no flatbread.  Dan asked the person working if he could buy anything like a hat but she only smiled.  Her English was probably too limited to understand.  Dan kept saying how good the sub was so he must really be homesick.   We have to be very careful about any uncooked veggies so was nice to get some at Subway.  There was only 1 cheese choice & not as many options as we have but still good. We'll have to go back again before we leave.  There is that and a Starbucks within short walking distance.  The people here work all the time.  Every time we go into Lucy's restaurant, the same people are working. The man in one of the little shops near the hotel works from 9am  to 9pm, 7 days a week.  There are many historic buildings here so  brides come here to be photographed in their dresses.  We were told it is a custom after the wedding.  We've seen some grooms & brides too- also several that people being photographed that  look like they are modeling for magazines.   Tomorrow we go on a trip to a pearl market and I think Tuesday night is a dinner buffett on the Pearl River.                                   
                                                                     It's All about me

On the wrong side of he counter??               Wish they had a 5 Yuan footlong

Clinic Day

Another pretty good night. She got up a couple times until about 11:30pm.  When she cries in her bed, it's a full out kicking, crying affair.  I wait to see if she will go back to sleep but she just gets more wound up.  As soon as I hold her, she quits crying and goes right back out.  Almost all of the babies/children experience this during this transition and though it's hard, I try to throw whatever parenting knowledge I think I have out the window & help her through the emotions of her whole world changing.  Many of the parents here are adopting for a 2nd or even 3rd+ time and these behaviours lessen over time but it sure is hard not to view it as I would in the past as a battle of the wills.  The morning was hard as it was the clinic day.  There are many more families here now, who have adopted through our same agency & so the clinic was loud, busy, & chaotic.  I hate to keep mentioning the heat but it's just like being in a car on a hot day with the windows rolled up and a sauna pumping steam in!!!  Some folks from Tennesee say that this weather isn't too different from where they come from but it's killing them.  Anyway, the clinic involved just weighing and measuring and checking for most part but she still hated it & of course the TB skin test needle was not fun at all. 

Making a Splash!

 

Pictures w/ mom

                                        

Gracie!

Hi! Gotcha Day went AWESOME so far. No tears at all yet. She is so busy
and smart. She's intertested in everything around here and points and tries
things. She went right to Dan! There is a family here that figured out a
way to do the blogspot and they are going to help us set it up but probably
tomorrow. Her lip is repaired but not her pallate as far as we can tell. We
are hoping she's winding down because we sure are!

Off to Guangzhou

Well, gotta get off the internet now.  We fly to Guangzhou at about 6pm tonight, which is 4 am home time.  We sleep and then get Gracie Monday!!  Pictures soon will mostly be of her!!  Love to all and thank you for the posts Heidi and mom. It's great to hear boys are doing well and loved Zach's post! 

Last Day Hong Kong

Not a lot new to report.  We slept very well but should have stayed up later.  I could not keep my eyes open by 8pm - jet lag and a bit motion sick from the tour bus ride- so I was awake at 4:30am.  The smells here are very unusual. The humidity and heat, pollution, etc all mix together and not in a good way.  We do have one good tip and that is to avoid Italian food, when you should be eating Asian.  They tried very hard but the chicken raviolli w/ mushroom sauce did not look, taste, or feel like any Italian food I've ever eaten!  Did not make us sick though so being thankful for the really important things.  Several of us met together this morning for prayer, which was really neat.  Dan and I got up before 6am and went for a walk/jog along the brick path next to the river. It was great to get some exercise though we were drenched from the humidity & sweat.  All along the walking/biking path there were local people exercising.  They walk or jog or stand and do different hand movements like armlifts etc  - just along any spot on the path.  It looks kind of like low impact aerobics.  Many were elderly men and women.  Many stared at us as we went by and they often frown so you wonder what they're thinking.  I'm walking w/ Mr. Elk (on his t-shirt, the only one he has as we forgot the others) so I think he looks tough.  Some walk along singing to themselves,which is an unusual sight for us.  Breakfast was another buffet of some regular bkfst foods but also rice, noodles, fried fish, "flour" things, steamed rolls& on and on.  I'll add a few more of our pictures. The only slight annoyance is I have an itchy rash on my arms and a few other places.  Two of the kids on the trip seem to have it too.  I think it's the heat & humid, polluted air- It burns the throat a little and we've noticed some people covering their nose/mouth or wearing masks -presumably because of this.

Pictures

Bet you could get a boat here real cheap dad

Pictures

Here are some pictures so far. Good thing this laptop has a little card reader because we forgot the cord to attach the camera to computer, along with forgetting socks, two t-shirts, and shaving cream for Dan! 

At the top of mountain overlooking HongKong & S China Sea

Taking ride in Sampan

Harbor from Sampan