Day 4 Jack Day

We took the short ride over to the Civil Affairs office, arriving about 9:55.  I was surprised to find the office locked up tight.  Our guide went up and got the key, and we watched out the window.  I was surprised because last time we were there, the room was packed.  This time, it was just us and one other family.

 It wasn’t long before we saw two women walking through the parking lot with a baby.  I couldn’t see the baby well, but I recognized one of the women from the day we met Kate.  When they came in, I walked over and picked him up.  He fussed just a little, but let me take him and sit down. Tim and the kids sat around us, and we started talking to the orphanage ladies and our guide.  I offered him a piece of watermelon, which he eagerly took, but didn’t eat.  So then I offered him some puffs, which he loved.  Then we signed the temporary custody forms, asked a bunch of questions (he has a cold, drinks warm milk from a bottle, and fell and bumped his noggin three days ago), and had our official family photo made.

Then we headed back to the hotel to fill out some more forms and let the guide translate some paperwork.  He was fairly content, as long as I was holding him.  Remember how much Kate disliked me when I first met her?   Well, Jack isn’t quite that bad towards his Baba, but at first he did not want Tim to hold him, touch him, or look at him.  Don’t worry – that got much better as the day went on.

About 1:00, Jack and I lay down, and he fell to sleep really quickly.  When he woke an hour later, he was clearly confused and upset.  He cried for quite awhile before he calmed down.  The kids have been great, and this is one of those times they came in and acted goofy to cheer him up.  They put bowls on their heads and walked into walls.  Jack wasn’t quite sure what to make of them, but he stopped crying.

I put him down for bed in his crib, thinking he would cry and cry.  Instead, he laid there and grinned at me.  He even grinned once in his sleep.

Now for the important parts – what is he like?

Well, he is pretty good humored.  He likes to be walked around the room and look out of the window.  When he smiles, his forehead crinkles up, and he almost looks mad.  When he laughs, he kind of grunts – no belly laughs yet.  He thinks it's really funny to whack his siblings in the head.  When he eats he crams as much food into his mouth as possible, and then he asks for more.  He likes eggs, not bananas.  He is very opinionated, and shakes his head “no” often. He is just the size I pictured him – maybe a hair bigger than my little Emery (a child I babysit, fyi).

He is sweeter and funnier and more lovable than I imagined he would be.

And now, I must sleep.  Tomorrow we complete the adoption, then take a train to Suzhou.  It will be another busy day.

Day 2 Beijing (Previously unable to upload...Better Late Than Never!))

 (This is the post is from Saturday night, April 7, that I couldn't get loaded before.  Sorry!)

How much fun can you cram into one day in Beijing? Apparently quite a lot.

We started out the morning at Tianenmen Square (forgive my spelling...I am too tired to look things up tonight), and then walked over to the Forbidden City. For those of you who have made the trek, you know one of the most prominent sights is the large portrait of Mao hanging on the wall. And of course this sparked questions in my very verbal boys, who wanted to know who Mao was, and if he was kind of like the Abraham Lincoln of China. I will let your imagination fill in the rest of the blanks of that conversation.

I love the Forbidden City. I have been fascinated with it ever since I was a child. I can't explain it. It just is. And thankfully what it also is, is less crowded than it was in October 2008. From there we hopped on our bus and went to a Cloisonne factory, where we had lunch a lesson on Cloisonne. (If you don't know what it is, you are just going to have to look it up. It is beautiful, but I am too tired to explain things.)

After lunch we headed to the Great Wall. My kids have talked about the Great Wall for years. They love it. Last time they were so proud of how far they climbed (see October 2008), but this time they went even further. Ben, Will, Kate, Tim, and Jacob went to the tallest tower (maybe 5 towers up, at our location), while I went up past the first tower and thought to myself, "Hey, I have already done this. Why am I killing myself when I can barely breathe I am so out of shape?!" I am super-motivated like that.

I have a video of Kate at the top, quoting her brother Will from his first Great Wall climb, which may or may not make it on here. My tech skills are no match for governmental site blocks.

[This is where the video of Kate should be, but I can't get it to work.]

Last, but not least, we drove past the Olympic Village for a quick look at the Cube and Bird's Nest - way better than walking the area.

The weather is nothing short of gorgeous.

30 More Minutes

We leave in 30 minutes to go to the Civil Affairs office.  We have had breakfast and showers.  My backpack is packed with diapers and snacks.  Tim's has the cameras.
 
I go back and forth between complete calm - so calm that the rational side of my mind questions whether all of this is even real - and butterflies and sweaty palms.  Life is about to change, and I am having trouble picturing that change. 
 
Please pray for us.  All of us.  Jack, the other three kids, me and Tim.  We are excited and anxious and worried and happy, all at the same time. 
 
(I know my video and some of my posts and photos aren't showing up.  You haven't missed much - mostly a recounting of Beijing, which was pretty much like our 2008 trip.)

Day 3 Nanjing

There aren't any photos tonight - partly because I didn't take many,  and partly because I am posting from my kindle, which is only slightly better than a phone for typing.

We flew in to Nanjing early this morning, then walked around the mall and shopping area with our guide, Jane /Jin. We got lunch at Mcdonald's to head off a tantrum, and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the room vegging. We also took the kids for a quick swim in the pool.

Dinner was a dumpling place called Da Niang Dumplings (YUM!), followed by Cold Stone Creamery (more YUM!).

We are still getting over jet lag, so an easy day was just what the doctor ordered, especially in light of tomorrow. Thank you for all of the prayers!

He is risen!

Great Wall Video

I thought I would try to post the video separately.  I can barely do this when I have access to YouTube, much less when I don't.  This is the video of Kate quoting Will when he was 4.  It is one my family's favorite quotes.

Day 1 Beijing

(Post written Friday night, Beijing time.)

We are here.

After that statement, everything else just seems extraneous, but for those of you who are wondering, in the last 48 hours I have had about 5 hours of sleep. The flights were fine, although the flight to Beijing was delayed by about two hours because of mechanical issues, and the landing was so rough that half of us felt sick (thankfully none of us actually needed the handy bag in the seat pocket, though). On the plus side, we ended up on a plane with individual tv screens. Unlimited movies and tv access make my children very happy. Kate was concerned she had gone over her daily screen time, but I assured her those rules don't apply on airplanes.

Also happily, we found a Jamba Juice at the airport in Chicago. Yay, Razmatazz!

The kids have done wonderfully (if you don't count one or two minor temper flares because of pure exhaustion, which I don't – those are completely justified). They even got compliments from strangers on the airplane. Will and Kate slept a few hours, but Ben slept maybe an hour and a half. He is bunking with Jacob tonight, and I hope he is already asleep.

We are checked in at the hotel. (As I write, there is no internet connection, but I have high hopes that when I can put together a coherent thought I can figure out the problem. If you are reading this, either Tim or I was successful!)

Tomorrow is a full day of touring in Beijing, so I must get some rest in order to be functional.

Miss you all already. Much love.

PS - I cannot actually get on Blogger (I am posting by email), but all of your comments come to me via email.I also don't have fb. So if you need to contact me, email me or leave a comment here.

PPS - Remember, please don't use our last name in the comments. Thanks!

Piles of Paperwork

At this moment I am sitting in the middle of the floor with piles of paperwork around me.  I have one pile for all the kids' birth certificates, copies of all of our passports and visas, and proof that Kate is mine (just in case). There is a pile of flight and hotel reservations, along with itineraries.  Another has all of our US immigration approvals.  Then there are the copies of Jack's medical paperwork, his vaccination affidavit, a copy of our LOA, and our Travel Approval.

This post probably sounds like I have it all together, and paperwork-wise, I am good to go.  But today has been a bit of a roller coaster for me.  I am simultaneously excited and scared out of my mind.  I am teary and emotional.  I cried this morning during the children's Palm Sunday parade.  It's probably my favorite Sunday of the whole year, and I boo-hood like a big baby.

Thankfully the paperwork has helped me to focus on doing something rather than thinking.  Also, thankfully, I will see my sweet kiddos in the morning when their Daddy John brings them up the road.  The rest of the day will be filled with laundry and packing.  It is time to get serious and finish off that job.

And of course, there will be the small distraction of a basketball game tomorrow night.  Hopefully it will be a happy distraction and won't end in a lot of unhappy people at my house.