A Full Day

Yesterday was a full day. We started out as a family at the breakfast buffet, which was nice. Many days we have had to eat in shifts because Sarah Grace wakes up earlier than Caroline. Yesterday we went together though. The breakfast buffet is amazing! I'll be disappointed to go back to our usual breakfasts at home. I've grown use to an elaborate breakfast.

Then, Andy, Angie and Caroline headed to Caroline's medical appointment. Here is the big news . . . The doctors couldn't find a heart murmur on Caroline. When we sat down, the doctor read Caroline's medical report and listened to her heart. The doctor looked confused so she took off Caroline's shirt so she could listen more clearly. At that point, she went to get another doctor to listen. I was getting very nervous and called our guide in to translate what was going on. Then the doctor looked at me and kept repeating, "No murmur, no murmur." We, of course, will take her to the cardiologist next week for another opinion but we are cautiously optimistic. At any rate, the hole seems to have gotten much smaller. We are praying that God has already healed our little girl.

After the medical trip, we went to a department store. The rest of our travel group has now joined us in Guangzhou (15 families) so some people needed supplies. We only needed a few things, but somehow while we were in the store, we added to our list: Chips Ahoy, a toy for each girl and some cookies that Caroline is wild about.

In the afternoon, Andy kept both girls for 2 hours while Angie went to a paperwork meeting. Andy did well with the girls. Caroline pretty much cries whenever she is not in Angie's arms so we were a bit worried. She settled in with her Dad quite nicely though and even let him hold her some throughout the evening. She knows how to walk but as she bonds to us, she has decided that she only wants to be held. The bonding continues to be a process.

We have discovered that Caroline is quite an active girl. She has a strong pitcher's arm and uses it to throw anything you put in her hands. She is certainly going to add some activity to our house!

Today, we are off for a day of sightseeing. We are all excited to get out as a family for the day.

We have reached the point in the trip where living in a hotel room has become a bit cramped! We are looking forward to settling in at home, where the girls have room to run and we have drawers where we can store everything!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Orphanage Visit

We went to the orphanage. The nannies took Caroline and played with her for a few minutes. I walked up to them and my baby reached out for her Mama! That's all that mattered to me about the visit. Praise God for his miracle-working power. We are blessed beyond belief that He chose us for Caroline.

"God puts the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6

Sleeping and other stuff

Sleeping was good last night!

Andy & I were wide awake at 4 am (we haven't slept a full night since maybe January 13 though:) The good news is that it is 5 am and both girls are still sleeping. Sarah Grace fell asleep before 8 pm and Caroline a little after 9. Caroline fell asleep on me but sometime in the night ended up next to me in the bed! That's great progress.

After my last post about few dinner options, several people e-mailed me to make sure that I know about Danny's Bagels. We do and we have used them twice already. It's good. I just don't want to use them so often that I'm on a first-name basis with the delivery guy. By the way, for those of you traveling soon, the chicken noodle soup from Danny's bagels is very good. Each of our daughters ate an entire bowl of it and it's full of vegetables. We do have a dinner buffet in our hotel. For me, Andy and Sarah Grace, the bill would be $100! I hear it's good food, but I think we'll pass.

Some of you have asked whether we are taking Caroline to the orphanage. We had decided not to since we have had some boding issues. After doing a lot of research yesterday, though, we found that an orphanage visit is supposed to help with bonding. If she can hear her nannies tell her that it's good for her to go with us, it will help. An overwhelming number of parents told us that their bonding sped up immediately after an orphanage visit. We are praying that this information is correct and we are trusting God to use this visit to Caroline's benefit. It's so hard to imagine how her little brain is processing this information but we have prayed for months that God would help her to understand. We pray that He will give her understanding beyond her age and will continue to bond with us.

Have we mentioned that the nannies always called her "Xin Xin," which in the Cantonese dialect sounds like "Sun Sun?" We have called her this exclusively and she responds well to it. We'll wait awhile to tell her that she also has another name.

Loving this adventure,
Andy, Angie, Sarah Grace & Caroline

Such Progress!

What a day of progress for our family. Some highlights:

- We all slept last night for full nights. We even had to wake Caroline up for breakfast. (She slept on me all night but at least she slept)

- Sarah Grace & Caroline laughed with each other and played together.

- We went to the zoo this morning. Caroline was more bright-eyed than we had seen her. She was pointing at animals and attempting to say words.

- She clearly called for her DaDa today and maybe said MaMa, too.

- Andy & I each got to spend one-on-one time with each girl. We enjoyed it and both girls did as well.

- Caroline had fewer spells of sadness today.

Things are definitely looking up around here. Bonding will be a process but seeing progress encourages us tremendously.

We spent the morning at the Guangzhou Zoo. It was a chilly 42 degrees. Not too cold, except that packed for 70 degree days!

After that, Sarah Grace & Angie went to the Pearl Market. It's a huge 6-story building full of pearls. Jewelry dealers from around the world buy pearls there. It was overwhelming. I bought pearl earrings for both girls. Then, at a children's store next to the market, I got winter coats for both girls ($4 each). Sarah Grace & I took our first Chinese cab ride and it wasn't nearly as scary as it looks! We might try it again.

This evening we ate dinner at McDonalds. Dinner options are rather limited. Then we all walked around some stores. A clerk asked us where we are from. Sarah Grace responded by telling the clerk the name of our street! Cute answer but not too helpful for the clerk :)

Andy & Sarah Grace are asleep as I write. Hopefully Caroline will be soon. Tomorrow, we go to the orphanage.

Thank you for your prayers. God is using them powerfully in our lives.

Sweet Caroline

I type this one hand while Caroline sleeps in my arms so pleas ignore typos and lack of capitalization. Caroline is a sweet, inquisitive girl. She is having a bit of a difficult transition to our family. She was clearly well-loved by and well-attached to the nannies at her orphanage. She is missing them pretty badly and hasn't quite decided what she thinks of us! She likes to play with us but doesn't like to receive all of her care from us so she is having difficulty sleeping and she has episodes of sadness during the day. When she is sad, she mostly wants Mama and she doesn't like to sit down (in fact, she hates it.) Andy & I have spent many hours walking the hotel with her.

We are beginning to see glimpses of her personality though as she gets more comfortable. When we went shopping yesterday, she went crazy over a pair of red squeaky shoes. Her Daddy bought them for her as fast as he could. She is very proud of them!

Sarah Grace has also had a bit of a adjustment. on tuesday, she ignored caroline all day. yesterday she made some great strides though, trying to comfort caroline during her sad spells. We know they will be good friends.

Today we are going to the zoo.

Chinese New Year

All of China is elaborately decorated for the upcoming New Year celebration. This is their most important holiday. It seems like people walk around looking at the decorations, just like we do at Christmas. They are getting ready for the Year of the Rat.

What a face!

A Family of 4

I will try to describe in words a truly indescribable day. God, the giver of all good gifts, has given us a treasure.

The long story of the day involves some lost luggage (later recovered), only 3 hours of sleep last night for any of us, not enough food, no nap for Sarah Grace, scary traffic and a trip to the Civil Affairs office only to find out that the babies were actually coming to the hotel.

The short story is that none of that mattered after we met Caroline. A staff member from the orphanage, along with our guide, brought her to our hotel room door about a half hour before we expected her. After waiting for months, it seems funny that we were unprepared when the moment finally came. She walked in carrying the doll that we sent her in her last care package.

For months, we have prayed that Caroline would have joy. This prayer has been answered. This baby is joyful! She is charismatic and loves to laugh. Sarah Grace welcomed her into our family immediately and they took to each other quickly. Caroline is absolutely precious. She has been content all evening, except that the bottle I made her did not meet her standards. Hopefully I can figure out that problem soon. Andy & I are blown away by what a great kid she is. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams with 2 amazing girls.

So far, she isn't talking much. She seemed to have a word for bottle though. She laughs and laughs. She will go to both Andy & I. Since we have just had a few hectic hours with her, we don't know many of her likes and dislikes yet. We had the chance to ask her nanny lots of questions. When I asked what Caroline likes, she said, "Everything." She explained that she is a happy baby and only gets upset if someone takes her toys. Her nanny said that she is extroverted.

She did get fearful at bedtime when she couldn't see us so Andy rearranged the hotel room and created a bed for her that allows her to see us. She wanted us right next to her as she fell asleep.

Tomorrow, we have some official appointments and the chance to go to Wal-Mart. We have lots to buy. The diapers I brought are too big. The weather is too cool for the clothes I brought. Our 12-months clothes looks like they will fit her well. I didn't bring enough toys either.

I want to write more but I am beyond exhausted and I'm not even sure the sentences I'm writing make sense. It's been a big day.

God is good all the time.

Great Wall of China

What a wonderful day! We started out at Beijing International Christian Fellowship for church. We had to show our passport to get in since only foreigners are allowed. From there, we went to the jade factory, a delicious lunch and a bit of shopping. The highlight of the day came next when we went to the Great Wall. Sarah Grace loved it! She would have climbed to the top if we would have let her. As it was, she climbed pretty high. She made snowballs and ran around laughing out loud. She’s making friends with all kinds of people on the bus. Not very shy at all on this trip. I’d write more but we are exhausted from the long day and we have to leave for the airport tomorrow at 5:30 am. We will fly 3 hours to Guangzhou and then meet Caroline in the afternoon.

Our next blog entry should include pictures of Caroline!

Thank you for all your prayers. We are marveling everyday at how much we can feel the prayer support behind us. The trip is so smooth and we feel God’s presence. Please keep up you prayers!