Day 8 Photo Dump

I will update about Day 9 in a little while, but I wanted to try to load the photos from Day 8 first. 

My dear friend Tara, who has been my backup blogger, has had a family emergency.  Her dad has had a heart attack, so everyone join me in praying for Dub.  Obviously she needs to focus on him for awhile, so the pictures may be more sporadic. Thank you, Tara, for doing such a great job!

Day 8 Nanjing

Thankfully we didn't have anything planned at all for today – I say thankfully because I needed a full day of peace to recover from yesterday and to prepare for tonight, when more chaos ensued. But I will get to that later.

Right now, I will tell you about the relaxing part. I woke up about 6:30 because Jack was crying in his sleep. He calmed down before I got to him, so I decided to get online and see if anyone was on Skype. I saw that my friend, Kelehua, was on so I called her and we chatted for half an hour or so. I introduced her to Jack, since he was up by this point, and while we were sitting there he opened his mouth, leaned in, and gave me a big ole kiss right on the mouth. I was so surprised and excited that he did it four or five more times for good measure. Of course, as soon as Tim got the video camera out he stopped, but I have Tim and Kele as witnesses that it happened.

 After breakfast we put a movie in for the kids, packed up, had some lunch, and took a walk around the Confucius Temple shopping area behind our hotel. It was nice to have nothing on the agenda before the bus picked us up at 4 for our 7:15 flight.

Which was when the chaos ensued.

Our guide told us that the flight was delayed until 9:30, but we still had to go and check in so they didn't give our seats away. About 8:00 they posted that the flight had been cancelled. Thankfully there were a couple of other American families waiting for the same flight – one had their guide with them, and the other had a phone. We called our guide to let her know about the situation and then sent the dads to figure out what to do. They got us onto a 9:15 flight that was already delayed.

As I write this, it is 10:30. They told Tim that the flight from Guangzhou should arrive here about 12:30am, and that we might be able to board around 1am. Jack has slept a total of 20 minutes since 7am. He refuses to lie down or rest at all, so we are taking turns walking him up and down the hall. Tim just passed by singing, "And I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more…" with Jack strapped onto his body. When it was my turn I hummed "Yankee Doodle Dandy." It is good marching music.

 Right now the rest of us are sitting on the floor in a corner. Large groups of people keep coming over to see about us. They are incredibly nice and friendly (helping me load Jack into the carrier for instance, or telling what a beautiful family I have), but also very nosey. They keep asking how many children I have (How many Chinese babies?), but they don't believe me, and I have to point out all of them and tell them how old they are, using a combination of Chinese, English, and pantomime. They also want to know what video games the kids are playing and are leaning over to see what I am typing.

I am considering asking the children to do a song and dance number to entertain them.

I am thankful at this moment that I am a pastor's wife. We have very thick skin and are used to living in a fish bowl. We can laugh at things that would drive normal people insane. I would like to post this immediately so that all of you fine people could pray for us, but if you are reading this it means that I am not at the airport anymore, and I am probably checked into the China Hotel in Guangzhou. Let's hope that's where I am.

12am Update: Not at the hotel, but an extremely nice airport official asked us to sit in the First Class Lounge so we could be more comfortable. The Chinese are very warm people, and I should not be ugly. Jack is asleep in the chair next to me. The other three kids are still kicking.

Day 7 Suzhou

(Post written Thursday night - It didn't go through, so let's see if I can email the photos to Tara and get it to work that way. Sorry for the delay!)

I can't even begin to explain how tired I am right now. But you know me. I am always up for a challenge.

After breakfast we loaded up and headed to Tongli Town. Suzhou is known as the Venice of Asia because there are canals throughout the city. One of the areas where this is most prominent is Tongli. It is an old area that is very similar to Venice in that there are canals everywhere, narrow streets, and cars are not allowed. It was nice to walk through the town because the traffic in most parts of China resembles nothing so much as a giant game of chicken between cars, motorbikes, and pedestrians. (We are always in awe that we still haven't seen an accident.) But in Tongli you only have to watch out for the motorbikes and hawkers. We took a gondola ride around the area, browsed in shops, and ate a tea house that we remembered from last time. It was very nice.

After lunch we went to the Master of the Nets Garden. The guide said it was the oldest and most famous of the UNESCO gardens here in Suzhou. It was the former home of Someone Very Important.

I strapped Jack into the pack on my chest, but unfortunately, the visit coincided with his naptime. Every time I stopped walking, he started crying. I paced every corridor of that place while waiting for our guide to explain the reason this window or that painting displayed harmony or high social status or whatever it was supposed to mean. Honestly, I usually eat this kind of thing up, but when we have the kids, please just hit the highlights, lady. Bless her heart, she didn't know what hit her with our crazy family's shenanigans.

The looks on their faces really say it all.

Anywho, after that, we were shuffled to the train station about 3:30. Our train didn't leave until 7. So we spent the next 3 ½ hours in the train station. Entertaining three children and one baby. The big kids did fine. The baby was hungry. And bored. And tired. And could not understand why no one wanted to walk the length of the station with him. Or why the man in the next aisle should not give him his snack. Or why he couldn't eat crackers off the floor.

 

We finally made it to the hotel about an hour ago, and bed never looked so good. Well, there was one thing that sounded better. While I have been writing this, Tim went to get me ice cream for supper. It has been that kind of day.

Blessings to all, and to all a good night!

Day 6 Suzhou

After breakfast, we headed to the Suzhou Social Welfare Institute.  It is a home for both seniors and orphans, but they are currently building a new orphanage where the children will move to by the end of the year.  That is one of the reasons that we really wanted to come and visit Suzhou.  We wanted Kate to see the SWI with children in it and to be able to ask questions.  It is a very pretty campus, if a little institutional in places.  The seniors walk around enjoying the fountains and gardens.

We went up in the office building, where they served fruit and tea and let us ask a few questions.  I asked them if they had gotten any of my emails or letters, but the only one they had received was the one I sent with the package for Jack.  I also asked where Jack had learned to dance to Chinese opera music, and they said that they watched that on TV in the baby room. 

Last time we didn't see any children at all.  This time, we saw several rooms with children.  They were much less guarded this time, but I wonder how much was real and how much was for show.  We saw a room with several children with Downs Syndrome.  There was another room with cribs.  The room they let us enter had many small beds near the ground, and they pointed out the one that they said Jack slept in.  We still aren't sure if he was in foster care or at the orphanage.  They told us he was in foster care for a couple of weeks after his surgery and then came back to the orphanage, but we don't know.  He seemed to maybe know the Vice-Director, Ms. Chen, but other than that seemed oblivious to the whole thing.  Several of the workers in that room recognized both Kate and Jack. 

After this they took us to a very fancy lunch at a nearby restaurant.  Thankfully my children behaved very well, which helped as the SWI ladies sat there watching me.  I don't know about you, but I find it very difficult to engage in polite conversation while simultaneously using chopsticks to pick up foods that I don't recognize and feed myself and a child I have only known for 48 hours.  It's a good thing that I am thick skinned, but I don't think they were judging me too harshly.  They did a lot of smiling:)

I teared up when they said goodbye to NaNa.  The lady we remembered from last time was obviously moved by the visit, holding Kate's face in her hands before saying goodbye.  I'm not sure what Kate thought about that, but being the shy person she is I think she was just a little confused.

Later in the afternoon we started heading back to the hotel, when the guide, Sisey, said that we were near the fresh-water pearl market, and wouldn't we like to stop and see the pearls?  Oh. My. Goodness.  It wasn't an especially large place, but it was packed with tour guides showing large groups of Chinese people around the market.  The guides wore these microphones with speakers on their belts, and they were So Stinkin' Loud.  And it was all in Chinese.  Different sales people would pull you away and put pearls around your neck, hoping you would buy some.  Then we would say Bu Yao, and move to the next section.  By the time we left my head was completely spinning, and I was glad to return to the hotel a little early where it is very quiet.

Have I mentioned the hotel?  It is called the Garden Hotel, and it is just down the street from the Lingering Garden.  It consists of several different buildings that surround a traditional garden and pond.  Very relaxing in the midst of the chaos.  There are several large European tour groups here, and I am reminded that for people around the world Suzhou is a big tourist destination because of its many gardens and canals. 

Because of how we spent the first part of the day, we were all emotionally drained.  We kept saying it was a day for comfort food, but there are no familiar foods nearby, other than fried rice (which is delicious, but we have eaten some (with other things) for the last eight meals in a row). I was ready to break into my emergency stash of Jif, but my brother and dear husband decided that we should take a taxi downtown.  All of my life, Jacob and Tim have been the two people pushing me to be more adventurous and do things outside of my comfort zone, and tonight was no exception.  Cabs in foreign countries are definitely out of my comfort zone.

We knew from our stay here in 2008 that there was a thriving nightlife and Western food somewhere nearby, but we just couldn't quite figure out where.  So we jumped into a cab.  Turns out, it was about a mile away from our hotel - too far for the kids to walk, but only a 5 minute cab ride.  And there it was - a McDonald's right where we remembered it.  French fries and cheeseburgers never tasted so good.  (Don't judge - we ate Chinese food nine times in a row before that!)

Jack is still sweet and funny.  He cries when we won't take him for a walk, or when we won't let him stuff his cheeks like a squirrel, but otherwise he is a pretty happy guy.  We keep waiting for the grieving to really start, but other than the crying right after his nap that first day, there hasn't been very much.  I remember one of the best pieces of advice I got when we met Kate was from Tara.  She said, "If she cries, that's a good thing.  And if she doesn't cry, that's a good thing too."  I am trying to keep that in mind as we walk this road with Jack.

It was a really emotional day, for a lot of reasons - namely that we visited places that my son and daughter spent their earliest days.  It was hard to see little faces that needed a mom and a dad.  It was heart-breaking to realize all that my kids have lost in losing their first parents and their first languages, cities, and cultures.

Tomorrow is Tongli Town, where the canals are.  We are hoping it is a much more relaxing day, perhaps with a gondola ride and some more delicious Chinese food:)  (No sarcasm intended.  I got my American fix.)

Day 5 Nanjing/Suzhou

Today was the day that we officially became Jack Yintao's parents.  They asked us if we still wanted to adopt him (Um, YES!), we signed the forms, put our fingerprints on our signatures, and we are now the parents of FOUR children.

(Yikes.)

Anyway, after wrapping up that business in lightning-fast speed (while the Civil Affairs office was packed this time), we headed off for the train station.  The express train to Suzhou only took an hour and twenty minutes, and was very nice and comfortable.  I sat next to a young woman who works as a cosmetologist in Nanjing.  She was surprised to hear that an American family would come all the way to China to adopt a baby:) She was very nice and shared her berries with Jack.

We got off the train, found our guide, and made our way to the area where our hotel is - just across from the Lingering Garden.  Back in 2008, this was one of our favorite spots in Suzhou.  After a quick and really delicious lunch (fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, shrimp, bok choy, and what tasted just like lake potatoes) at a tiny place right across from the garden, we headed over.  It was just as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered it... that is until my children arrived.  We then proceeded to say, "Stop climbing that rock! No don't jump!  Please stop running.  Do not shout. And Walkwalkwalkwalkwalkwalk," about a million times.

Tim carried Jack in a pack on his back, and despite the heat, he nodded off.  Eventually he woke up, and we sat down to listen to a Chinese opera performance.  That's when Jack proceeded to show us his dance moves.  Over and over again he would raise his arms above his head and move his hands around, like he had practiced that move a million times.  We figure he maybe listened to this traditional music at the SWI, and they taught the tiny ones these moves.  I really don't know, but it was about the cutest thing I had ever seen.  Tim tried to get it on video, so maybe once we are home we can post it. 

After dinner we came back to the room, and after a bath Jack crashed in the bed.  He will sleep with us tonight, so pray that he doesn't kick me all night.  Last night he slept until about 4am, and then we put him in bed with us.  After that he tried to lay across me or roll me out of bed the rest of the night.  Needless to say I have been awake since 4. 

He is very much still a baby, much more so at 19 months than Kate was when we met her at 23 months.  He can walk, but is not sure-footed.  He can pick things up with his fingers, but not without some effort. 

We are seeing more and more of his personality coming out.  His smile looks very much like his mad face, but he makes different noises.  He is very strong-willed (which is only to be expected in our family of strong-willed people), is funny, and still wants to be held by someone who is standing up.  I wonder what we will see out of him tomorrow.

In other news, Kate is loving being here.  Tomorrow is the day we return to the orphanage, and I wonder how she (and Jack) will process that visit. 

(And one last photo for Blair.  The prettiest recycling bin I have ever seen:)

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.