We're home!!!

I sit here watching all three kids playing together with Legos (thank you Brenda and Jack). In fact, I forsee them spending most of the day here. I suppose that I need to have them change out of their pajamas eventually, but for now I will let them just enjoy their time together.

I sure wasn't prepared for this change in weather. Well, I knew it would be cooler now that we are nearing the end of September, but I don't know that I was mentally prepared for it. We went from tropical temperatures in China, where you are sweating in shorts and tank tops, to a 40-degree morning here in Olympia where I could actually see my breath when I went running this morning. I must admit though, that I did find it refreshing to feel the cool breeze and sunshine on my face when I got off the plane (I don't remember seeing any blue sky for the last 12 days... just fog/smog). I'm wondering what Xian Hua thinks about this Pacific NW climate since he grew up in the tropical climate of China. I'm certain it won't take him long to get acclimated.

Our trip home was, for the most part, uneventful. The Portland leg, or more specifically airport customs, proved to be the most frustrating portion of the trip. We found out when we arrived in Tokyo, that our flight to Portland was delayed by 2 hours. Bummer... that meant that we wouldn't make our connection to Seattle. The consulate office in Guangzhou China provided us with a packet of documents in a sealed envelope. We were told to take this sealed packet and give it to the customs office at the airport when we arrive in country. Little did we know, it wouldn't be quite that easy at the Portland airport. First of all, we had to wait in line with all the other non-US citizens (the consulate office told us we couldn't go through the US citizen line)... it must have taken at least 30 minutes to get through this line. An adoption express line sure would have been nice. Then, after making it through that line, we find out that we have to take this sealed package to another office for processing. So again... we waited. This time, we waited for over an hour as we watched the customs officer ask other visiting non-US citizens a long list of personal questions. Luckily, another adoptive family we met in Guangzhou was there, so we passed the time by visiting with them and watching our kids play. Finally, we get through customs and race to the other end of the airport to make a 1:30 connection to Seattle.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to Seattle", we hear the pilot announce. We made it!! Hal and I give each other a high-five and race, with Xian Hua in tow, to baggage claim where we see Kayley and Sam and the Arend clan waiting for us. It meant so much to have them there to greet us.

Kayley, Sam and Xian Hua have been having a great time playing together today. They've been helping him explore things both inside and outside the house. It's fun to think about what things must seem like from his point of view... to him, everything is new. He's done such a great job assimilating to our home and family over the past 24 hours. He doesn't seem to think we are too weird. We introduced him to our dog Lucy today as well. We were going to wait a day or two, but we all really missed her and Xian Hua seemed to be excited about meeting her too. He has been playing catch with her several times today.

It's so nice to be home with everyone, including Lucy, altogether again.

One more wake-up...

...and then we're off on our journey back home. We leave Guangzhou at 8am Wednesday and arrive in SeaTac airport ~ 12pm that same day. We are so looking forward to getting back home; to some semblance of normal. Time has gone by pretty fast for the most part because we've been kept pretty busy. Between official appointments, sightseeing, and getting to know our son better, the time has passed fairly fast. Tomorrow we have our final consulate appointment.

There are so many sights, sounds, and smells of China that will be forever embedded in my memory. Yesterday we walked to the jade and pearl market here in Guangzhou. To get there we had to pass through several open-air markets. The markets seemed to vary in theme. There was the herb/spice market. You could find just about any spice to fulfill your culinary need. The air smelled very heavily of curry here. Then there was the medicinal market. Here you could find anything to solve what ails you- scorpions, deer nerves, claws/horns, beetles, etc. It was pretty amazing. And the final market was the pet market. It was full of puppies, kittens, rabbits, birds, and fish. I felt sorry for all the animals with fur because it was such an exceptionally hot day. There are so many tiny shops throughout the city; it's amazing that anyone can make any kind of a living to support a family. Between the people, the heat, and the walk, we were all exhausted by the end of the day.

I went for a short run around the island today. It's nice in the morning- quiet, a little cooler, and very little, if any, traffic. It was amazing to see so many locals (young and old) out exercising. Some people were out jogging, some out walking, and some playing badminton. There were also those doing their morning stretching and Tai Chi. There is a little park here with a variety of play/climbing structures. I thought they were only for the kids to play on, but the park was full of adults of all ages doing exercises on the equipment.

Tonight, we went out for a sort of farewell dinner with the other three families adopting through WACAP. In some ways, it's hard to believe this time in China is almost over. I think we're all ready. I know Xian Hua is excited to get to the United States. Although, I'm not sure which he's more excited about- getting the the US or the flying part. Either way, I'm glad he's looking forward to it.

We're on the final leg of the trip

We flew to Guangzhou on Friday. Xian Hua was VERY excited to fly on a plane. As soon as he saw us pull out the suitcases he excitedly told me we were going to fly on an airplane and then proceeded to pack up his toys. And actually, when we landed in Guangzhou, I found out why he was so excited. Our guide told me that he had asked her why we weren't in the United States. I was happy to know though that he was so looking forward to going home.

The hotel we are staying in is located on an island; we haven't actually been to the main part of the city yet. The weather here is very tropical (that's a more fun way to say very hot and humid). And honestly, this doesn't feel like China at all to me. This area of Guangzhou has a very European look about it. It reminds me a lot of Savanna, Georgia. Many people here speak English and many of the businesses here cater to Western tourists and adoption. You can find a 7-11 convenient store and even a Starbucks (which we surprisingly haven't visited yet).

Xian Hua had his medical exam yesterday and we completed the paperwork for his Visa so he can come home. Yeah! I was concerned with how he would do in the exam, but it didn't seem to bother him a bit. It's just a cursory exam; checking the basics and, I guess, confiming or checking on things noted in their original exam done at the orphanage.

The hotel has 2 nice outdoor pools. We spent some time in the pool yesterday to try and cool off and let Xian Hua burn off some energy. Like most kids, he really loves the water. But, he seemed to be pretty good about knowing his limit and gladly used a little inner tube the entire time this time. The first time we went swimming at the hotel in Nanchang, it wasn't like that. He just jumped right in, but he quickly realized that he didn't know how to swim. I think I see swim lessons in his future.

The breakfasts here are amazing. It's a huge breakfast buffet in the hotel with everything from eggs and bacon to a variety of cereals. I hope Xian Hua doesn't think this is what breakfast at our house looks like. Despite it being nice that I don't have to do dishes or laundry right now, I would gladly give all this up to fly home today. We are all looking forward to coming home on Wednesday!

Our visit to the Nanchang SWI...

Today was a busy day. We visited the orphanage as a group because 2 of the 3 families had children that came from this orphanage. Our day started with a visit to Walmart. Yes, they do have Walmart in China. Instead of the "hi, welcome to Walmart" your greeted with "nihao". Just as with most things around here, Walmart is always packed with people. We were told the locals really love Walmart because they can buy everything they need in one trip. After we purchased all of our baby things to donate to the orphanage, we were off. The Nanchang SWI (the orphange) is supposed to be one of the best in the province. I was concerned about taking Xian Hua back, wondering if it would be upsetting to him. But he actually seemed excited about being there; sort of proud about being able to show us around. I think the most difficult thing about touring the orphanage was seeing all the kids there; many of them who may never find a forever family. The orphanage director said the number of kids who will get placed is actually very small.

We were able to visit with Xian Hua's foster parents while we were there. His foster family is one of many that live in a small apartment on the orphanage grounds. They seemed very kind and happy to see us and Xian Hua. There were five other children in the home too. They must really love children to continue to take in and raise so many kids. Their hope is that each of their foster children will someday be placed.

The little boy in the pictures with us has really become Xian Hua's buddy since they met a few days ago. They weren't at the same orphanage, but have become fast friends over the last several days. It's so fun watching them play and hearing them giggle. I only wish I knew what they were chattering about.

It's been amazing to watch Xian Hua's transformation. He went from the first day where he wasn't very responsive to us to, the last couple of days, where he actually wants to hold our hands. And he still really loves to be teased and joke around. With all the people and cars running all over the place, the prospect of taking Xian Hua out of the hotel for a walk had always terrified me. We actually ventured out yesterday for a short walk down the street to buy some water. We felt he was responsive to us enough that it would be safe to try. He did so awesome! He stayed with us the whole time! And I was concerned that he might want us to buy him one of everything in the store, but he didn't. He even helped us carry our groceries!

We fly to Guangzhou today. Just one more step closer to the day we fly home!

We're back on line again...

I apologize for not being able to post anything before now, but for some reason our blog was coming up in Chinese. I got the problem fixed (thank you Kirsten and Angela) and so here's the latest news...

The travel was uneventful. We arrived at our first stop, Nanchang, tired but in one piece. We are staying at the Galactic Peace hotel in Nanchang. We got a good laugh when we arrived to our room... we found a crib, stroller, baby potty, and baby bath. I guess they were expecting us to get a little bit younger child.

We met Xian Hua on 10 September. Neither Hal or I slept much the night before in anticipation of the meeting. We really had no idea what to expect... what would his reaction be, would the foster parents or orphange director be there, etc. Our guide's advice was that we should try and get a good night's sleep. That's easier said than done... we both woke up around 2am staring at the ceiling wondering what the day might look like.

There are two other families here with us in Nanchang who received their sons as well (and I'm certain we will meet up with more families when we get to the White Swan in Guangzhou). Although Xian Hua had been anxiously waiting for a forever family, I don't think he really new what to expect. Luckily, play is the international language of children and one of the moms had the foresight to bring some toys to this meeting. We were able to sit with Xian Hua and play for a while; it seemed to put him at ease a little.

We've been together now for a couple of days, and I already see little bits of progress. Play seems to be important to the bonding process for him. Just sitting side-by-side putting lego structures together is doing wonders (and I'm finding it lots of fun too).

He seems to already know much more English than I expected. He can count, read some words, and seems to understand more than I had expected. That's a HUGE answer to prayers, but the language difference still does present many challenges that time and patience will overcome.

We fly tomorrow!!

This is probably our last transmission until we get to China. This has been a busy week- getting everyone packed (we're all going in separate directions; including our dog Lucy) as well as getting the house ready for our return in a couple weeks. I still find it hard to believe that we are FINALLY going! Thoughts of our pending trip and meeting Xian Hua continue to go through my mind, but I can't help wondering what he is thinking... Does he know we are coming next week? Do his foster parents know we are coming next week?
We can't wait to meet him!

8/21/07 We've got our plane tickets...

We will be leaving Seattle on September 7. It will be a long day of travel before we actually get to Nanchang (the province in which he lives), but who's going to be able to sleep anyway!