Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Last post from China - Next stop, home!
Hopefully, this will be our last post from China! We are headed to the US Consulate in a little while to take our oath. Then we are heading back to the hotel, ordering a Papa John's pizza and packing our bags. Tomorrow morning, we will leave early for the aiport, fly to for a long layover, fly to Chicago for a short layover with just enough time to make our next flight! We are having a great time with our girls and we are ready to see friends, family and our house!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Almost Home!
We are on the home stretch!
Yesterday, our guides went to the Consulate for us to make sure that all of our paperwork was approved and it was! The US is in the process of issuing Caroline a visa to go home. That is one of our last steps. Today, we will go take our oath at the US Consulate and tomorrow morning get on a plane.
The bad weather that I mentioned is actually part of a nationwide snowstorm (we haven't had the snow though) that is hitting the country badly. In some areas, it is the worst storm in 50 years. Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded on interstates or in cities without electricity (knocked out by the snow). This is an especially bad time of year because so many people are traveling for Chinese New Year. Many adoptive families have been stranded in various provinces but everyone in our travel group is here. It looks like the snow should not affect our air travel tomorrow. Here is a link to a news story about the storm:
http://news.rednet.cn/c/2008/01/28/1429761.htm
Angie, Caroline and Sarah Grace all have bad coughs and the girls have runny noses. Other than that, we are healthy. The girls are getting lots of sleep, which is helping.
Yesterday, we saw Caroline laughing out loud many times throughout the day. She also wandered around our hotel room quite a bit away from Mama's arms. We are now seeing much of her true personality - friendly, happy, impulsive. She is a blessing.
I'm going to sign off so I can try to get a bit more sleep before the girls wake up!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sightseeing
The weather here is not nearly as warm as the forecast predicted when we left home. It has been in the 30s-40s. We packed for the 60s-70s! So we are wearing the same outfits a lot. We are thankful for laundry services in the hotel. Today is supposed to be in the 50s though so we are planning to go outside a lot (unless it rains all day).
Many of you have e-mailed asking to see more pictures. I have tried to get a lot yesterday and we are hoping to get more today and tomorrow. The main problem is that even though Caroline is making progress in her bonding, she typically screams if she is not in my arms. That limits the number of poses we can get! When she is successfully out of my arms, we just want to savor the moments. Yesterday, while Sarah Grace napped, Andy & I got some good playtime with Caroline. She's a funny girl and has a great memory. Her smile is infectious and when she laughs out loud, my heart melts.
We started the day at the breakfast buffet. Aunt Karen is a huge help as you can see. There is always an adult to man the table while we make several trips to the buffet to get food for everyone. I don't know if the picture is clear, but the girls wore matching outfits yesterday! Too cute.
Yesterday, we spent the day sightseeing. We went to the Chen Family Temple which has along history. I especially love the picture where I am holding Caroline next to the tree. I have the exact same photo from when I held Sarah Grace next to the tree in 2005.
Then we went to a tea house. At this tea house, they make the best tea pots in the world. Sarah Grace talked for 12 hours before about how excited she was to drink tea. She told everyone on the bus how much she loves tea (She's never even had it). Well, it was a good thing I got a picture of her first sip because she didn't take any more sips. After the first one, she declared, "I don't like tea!" Caroline slept in the carrier through the whole outing.
With a free evening last night, both girls (and their parents) got very early bedtimes. Caroline even fell asleep fairly easily (still with her Mama though).
So all in all, it was a great family day.
We are amazed at how well Sarah Grace has done on this trip. It's a difficult trip and she has been a trooper. We are very proud of her. She has made good friends and seen so many things. When I asked her what her favorite part of China has been, she said "getting my baby sister." Just yesterday, she said for the first time, "I'm ready to go home."
We have reached the point of being tired of living in a hotel room! We are eager to go home and we have just 48 hours left. We are eager to bring Caroline to her new home and for everyone to meet her.
It seems that blogger won't let me post many pictures in this entry so I will post some in a separate entry.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, January 25, 2008
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
"God puts the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6
Thursday, January 24, 2008
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
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
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