Finally - some "free" time. We don't have to be anywhere today until 3 PM. Going to apply for Mia's Travel Visa. Then we are supposed to go on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. Several people were saying they were going to take a cab to the shopping district today - I told them I thought our whole family needed a nap! And that is what we all just did! Today is kinda like a Sabbath for us. Do nothing but rest! Mia took a nap with me and just laying there looking at her...holding her little hand in mine....smelling her sweet skin....listening to her breathe....I was finally able to process some of my emotions. I'm not one to cry in the midst of an emotional moment - I have to process everything and integrate each aspect before it becomes "whole" for me. This was a special nap time for me!
She is starting to "talk" to us with her baby sounds. I don't think I am being proud mama or anything - but I do think she is absolutely beautiful! One of our families commented that they think she looks like Brad. So now I have two beautiful girls that look like their daddy!
Macy is incredible! She has been such a trooper on this long trip and now she is blossoming into such a sweet big sister. I have really worked hard to prepare her for "loving" her sister. I don't want her to be one of those kids that is nice to her sibling b/c she has to be - but b/c she loves her. I know there will be sisterly fights - but I have longed for there to be a special bond between them. And I have already seen God do this. Macy has been helping me change diapers and doing such a GREAT job! She also will lay by her on the bed and play with her. She then tries to pick her up and hold her....it looks more like a wrestling match! Mia is a bit squirmy to try to get sitting up good!
Brad has been calling Mia the spider monkey ....b/c her little legs and arms are so skinny - yet she can spin around on the bed in a split second to get to something that she wants! We have to really watch her or she's going to just leap off one of these times!
ONE really funny and sweet thing was when they were rushing us up after our Gotcha Moment and back to the bus - Macy saw all of the families moving - and she looked up at me with the saddest voice and concerned eyes and asked, "Are we going to get to keep her?" ;) So sweet. I reassured her that Mia was ours forever now and that God had picked us to be her family.
Today I was bragging on Macy to my mom about what a great big sister she has been. And I told Macy that out of all of the little girls in the world that God picked her to be Mia's big sister. And she said -"I know. All the kids were raising their hands saying....'Pick me, pick me'. And I asked her - "but who did God pick?"....to which she replied, "Me - Macy!" Ohhhhh...make my heart melt! We went on to talk about how blessed Mia is b/c Macy is her big sister and Macy can teach her all kinds of things. So Macy is loving this big sister thing.
We switched Mia's bottle over to an Advent last night. We figured something out about her. As long as there is ACTION going on around her - she won't eat. And the next thing you know she is starving to death! So last night Brad fed her in the dim room while I played with Macy in the floor. It took her a few minutes to "get it"....the sucking thing - but when she did she was all business. It was wonderful b/c up until now the milk has been POURING out into her mouth and running all over her clothes....b/c the hole in the orphanage nipple was so big. So we are making progress!
I am not sure when I'll get to post again b/c we are traveling 3 hours tomorrow to visit Mia's orphanage at Yang Xi.
Love you all!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Day 6,7,&8
The last 3 days have been a blur so I will try to catch you up. Last I wrote - I was comparing the differences between Beijing and Guangzhou (pronounced Guang joe). I am a very optimistic person and always see the positive in everything. I try hard not to complain. BUT...comparing our stay here in Guangzhou with the Beijing days....our time in Beijing was pretty miserable. Not awful, just miserable. The hotel air conditioning was terrible. I think what made this so bad for me was that the landing into Beijing had made me so sick - that I was queasy and my equilibrium was thrown off for several days. I think that if we could have had a cool room - that I could have gotten back on my "feet" quicker. Remember me saying that the first night they came to fix our air - they pointed a sensor gun at the air grate in the wall and left. I have no idea what they did. But they had switched the button to heat. I am OK with being somewhat hot - but sweltering is another story.
ANYWAY - as you can tell the air conditioning issue has traumatized me! :) Ok...on with the comparison. We have seen so much more GREEN here in Guangzhou. Grass, trees, shrubs. It is more like the South Florida weather. There is much more traffic here and it takes longer to get around. There are many more communities that are street front in the areas we are driving in. All along the street are different vendors and the 20 floors above that are apartments. These apartments look VERY run down though. Worst than what I've seen in Mexico. But the people seem content. This is their life. There are 11 million people in this city alone. Tons of people on every street all day every day. Kinda like Christmas time at the mall in NW Arkansas. Except all the time!
Our room here at the Asia International Hotel is AWESOME. The air is GREAT ....all day ....all the time. No crazy sensor guns and wacko heat button pushing boys! I have always heard and read people say that their hotels while in China on adoption trips are better than the US. That is definitely not TRUE about the Guangxi Hotel in Beijing. But this one - yes. It is like an upscale hotel with fancy shops and great housekeeping, nice sheets, big rooms, and in a great area! Pizza Hut and KFC are right next door and McDonald's is across the street! After all of the Chinese authentic meals we had in Beijing this is heaven! I always thought I loved Chinese food but the real Chinese food is not Hunan Manor! Hunan Manor in Fayetteville is my FAVORITE and now I have learned that even though it looks authentic - it has been Americanized. I'll take my Hunan any day over the bland stuff we've had here! I like spicy and sweet. Hunan's house spicy chicken and Lemon chicken, and fried rice, and egg rolls....mmmmmm that sounds really good right now! :)
DAY 7
This was May 9th and our GOTCHA DAY! "Gotcha Day" is a term used in the adoption community to celebrate the day you "got" your baby. We started the day after breakfast by doing our paperwork. I took a picture of ours and posted it for you that day! We were told to go and do some currency exchange b/c we would need roughly 5000 yuan to pay the notary and registration office for paperwork fees (equals a little over $600). BUT our hotel refused to exchange such a large amount of American cash into yuan. So we all had to go to a bank down the street to do it. About 4 families went with us and we waited for over an hour to get our money. We were supposed to have it to Rosa and Maggie's room by noon - but it was 1 PM before we even got out of the bank. And of course the bank was VERY HOT!! ;( 2 of the families were across the street at another bank and waited for 2 hours! You get a number out of the machine when you get there and wait for them to call your number. It felt like we waited for an eternity! But I had read many adoption blogs with this great advice - BE FLEXIBLE. Times, appts, etc will change. So I just took it all in stride!
We left for the Civil Affairs office at 3:30...supposed to get babies at 4 PM. Traffic was bad and we were 20 minutes late. We went up to a conference room and they called families and brought in babies in alphabetical order. Then they gave us about 15 minutes to "get to know our babies", take pics, video, etc and then whisked us back to our bus and back to the hotel. It was very fast. I think I already told you what a miracle it was that NONE of the babies cried more than a couple of tears. I have had so many of you praying for so long that all of the babies in our group would BOND incredibly with their new families....and God has heard our prayer. Awesome.
It was a little overwhelming when they first brought us Mia b/c she had this huge gash/sore on the top of her forehead. After I got past that I was able to see how tiny she really is. I don't see how she weighed 13 lbs. in January. She is very light. And VERY skinny! She just looked at us inquisitively with those big brown eyes. AND then...MACY got the first laugh out of her within just a few short minutes! Of course we are being all gentle like she is a newborn and will break - and Macy is already rough housing. She puts Mia's toy sheep on her head and pulls it off - and Mia starts laughing! WOW! Within 5 minutes of holing her she is SMILING AND LAUGHING!
Brad and I had some one on one with Mia last night while Macy spent some time with Noni. At first she would avoid making eye contact with Brad. It was like she wasn't sure what she thought of him. She has probably not ever been around men very much. But then Brad started playing with her and she opened up. He had her laughing and smiling....it was so sweet.
She didn't take much of her bottle. I think it all the excitement of the day. Her schedule the nannies gave us was like this: Up at 6 am, bottle at 6:30, 11 AM, 4 pm, and 8:30. Each full size bottle takes 7 scoops of formula and 7 scoops of rice cereal. Wow. They gave us a bottle for her that she is used to. It has a hole in the nipple about the size of a small ladybug. So the milk just POURS out as soon as you tip it up. She spits out half of it just to swallow. I think this much be the way they do it at the orphanage b/c they have so many to feed, so little help, so little time. Probably makes feedings faster and babies fuller longer. I am trying to transition her to a Advent bottle that I enlarged the hole in the nipple. But I don't think that she knows how to suck. She's just used to it pouring in maybe? We will see how it goes.
Last night I put her in her crib about 10:30 - the cribs they gave us have huge fluffy zip up blanket sleeper/comforters. I was afraid I would have to strip the bed for her to sleep b/c all she is used to sleeping on is a board. But she rubbed her little hand on the soft pillow, laid her head down and was asleep in 30 seconds! I think she was thinking "Ahhhhh what is this comfort??? Calgon - take me away!" She slept until almost 6 this morning. She woke up happy and ready to go. I posted the pics I took of her in her first outfit and big hair bow already! This girl can army crawl like no body's business! She is going to be fast like her big sister Macy!
Today we went back to the Civil Affairs office to do paperwork. We were there for a couple of hours b/c there are 7 babies and 2 toddlers in our group. Larger than most groups. We had to have 2 short 5 minute interviews just stating that we promised to never abandon our baby and that we wanted to adopt her. At the end of the meeting with the notary and the meeting with the registration office - MIA was officially OURS! Wooo hooo! Done deal!
Guess what - the civil affairs office was hotter than the pit! I shouldn't be surprised! The Chinese people don't like cold air b/c they think it messes up the "balance" in their bodies. That is why for the most part they drink their drinks warm also. We did not have a cold drink until we got here in Guangzhou. Ice in our drinks from Pizza Hut. Ohhhh so good!
While we were there the time for Mia's bottle came and went and she was VERY hungry. So as I was trying to get her bottle mixed up one of the nannies came over to help b/c my water was too hot. Imagine that. They tell you to boil water and pack in a thermos b/c your baby is used to only having bottles that are scalding hot. But my water was still boiling in my thermos! So they had to cool it down! And while she was crying she scratched at the sore at the top of her head....and when I looked down blood was everywhere! Ahhhgg! But we cleaned it off and got it to stop bleeding. After her bottle she was happy again! This was the loudest we had heard her cry. Usually it is more like a whimper.
We went to the "carafour" store on our way back to the hotel that is comparable to a Wal-Mart I guess. A little of everything. We loaded up on 2 cases of water, snacks, more diapers, a prize for Macy and a nice little bag for me to use as a smaller diaper bag while we are here. The bag was only $4. Good buy. Me and Macy checked out the meat dept. while there b/c you know adventurous me - I wanted to see if there were any "interesting" things. I took a pic of Macy looking at a bin of turtles, frogs, and snakes. Live ones. For sale in the meat dept.! Fun!
We have been back at the hotel a little while now. All of us took a little nap. We ordered from Danny's Bagel and they delivered. It is an American based restaurant here. Chicken Parmesan, Greek salad, and a hamburger for mom. I haven't eaten yet b/c I'm trying to catch you up - but Brad says his is very good!
Tomorrow we go apply for Mia's visa and then SATURDAY we go the orphanage at Yang Xi where Mia has spent the entirety of her 8 months of life. I am really excited we received permission to go. I think the fee for the drive is like $35 per person....300 yuan??? Not bad. We will also try to find all of our 7 babies "finding spots" where they were abandoned. Just to see and touch the place that led to them being in our lives. Bittersweet. A lost child that has become found. Beautiful. We have traveled east to bring home this daughter. There is a contentment among us already. My mom worded it perfectly...."It is as if she has always been with us." Stop to savor that. That is also the story of my personal adoption with my parents. It is as if we have always been together. I am having warm fuzzy feelings right now! :)
ANYWAY - as you can tell the air conditioning issue has traumatized me! :) Ok...on with the comparison. We have seen so much more GREEN here in Guangzhou. Grass, trees, shrubs. It is more like the South Florida weather. There is much more traffic here and it takes longer to get around. There are many more communities that are street front in the areas we are driving in. All along the street are different vendors and the 20 floors above that are apartments. These apartments look VERY run down though. Worst than what I've seen in Mexico. But the people seem content. This is their life. There are 11 million people in this city alone. Tons of people on every street all day every day. Kinda like Christmas time at the mall in NW Arkansas. Except all the time!
Our room here at the Asia International Hotel is AWESOME. The air is GREAT ....all day ....all the time. No crazy sensor guns and wacko heat button pushing boys! I have always heard and read people say that their hotels while in China on adoption trips are better than the US. That is definitely not TRUE about the Guangxi Hotel in Beijing. But this one - yes. It is like an upscale hotel with fancy shops and great housekeeping, nice sheets, big rooms, and in a great area! Pizza Hut and KFC are right next door and McDonald's is across the street! After all of the Chinese authentic meals we had in Beijing this is heaven! I always thought I loved Chinese food but the real Chinese food is not Hunan Manor! Hunan Manor in Fayetteville is my FAVORITE and now I have learned that even though it looks authentic - it has been Americanized. I'll take my Hunan any day over the bland stuff we've had here! I like spicy and sweet. Hunan's house spicy chicken and Lemon chicken, and fried rice, and egg rolls....mmmmmm that sounds really good right now! :)
DAY 7
This was May 9th and our GOTCHA DAY! "Gotcha Day" is a term used in the adoption community to celebrate the day you "got" your baby. We started the day after breakfast by doing our paperwork. I took a picture of ours and posted it for you that day! We were told to go and do some currency exchange b/c we would need roughly 5000 yuan to pay the notary and registration office for paperwork fees (equals a little over $600). BUT our hotel refused to exchange such a large amount of American cash into yuan. So we all had to go to a bank down the street to do it. About 4 families went with us and we waited for over an hour to get our money. We were supposed to have it to Rosa and Maggie's room by noon - but it was 1 PM before we even got out of the bank. And of course the bank was VERY HOT!! ;( 2 of the families were across the street at another bank and waited for 2 hours! You get a number out of the machine when you get there and wait for them to call your number. It felt like we waited for an eternity! But I had read many adoption blogs with this great advice - BE FLEXIBLE. Times, appts, etc will change. So I just took it all in stride!
We left for the Civil Affairs office at 3:30...supposed to get babies at 4 PM. Traffic was bad and we were 20 minutes late. We went up to a conference room and they called families and brought in babies in alphabetical order. Then they gave us about 15 minutes to "get to know our babies", take pics, video, etc and then whisked us back to our bus and back to the hotel. It was very fast. I think I already told you what a miracle it was that NONE of the babies cried more than a couple of tears. I have had so many of you praying for so long that all of the babies in our group would BOND incredibly with their new families....and God has heard our prayer. Awesome.
It was a little overwhelming when they first brought us Mia b/c she had this huge gash/sore on the top of her forehead. After I got past that I was able to see how tiny she really is. I don't see how she weighed 13 lbs. in January. She is very light. And VERY skinny! She just looked at us inquisitively with those big brown eyes. AND then...MACY got the first laugh out of her within just a few short minutes! Of course we are being all gentle like she is a newborn and will break - and Macy is already rough housing. She puts Mia's toy sheep on her head and pulls it off - and Mia starts laughing! WOW! Within 5 minutes of holing her she is SMILING AND LAUGHING!
Brad and I had some one on one with Mia last night while Macy spent some time with Noni. At first she would avoid making eye contact with Brad. It was like she wasn't sure what she thought of him. She has probably not ever been around men very much. But then Brad started playing with her and she opened up. He had her laughing and smiling....it was so sweet.
She didn't take much of her bottle. I think it all the excitement of the day. Her schedule the nannies gave us was like this: Up at 6 am, bottle at 6:30, 11 AM, 4 pm, and 8:30. Each full size bottle takes 7 scoops of formula and 7 scoops of rice cereal. Wow. They gave us a bottle for her that she is used to. It has a hole in the nipple about the size of a small ladybug. So the milk just POURS out as soon as you tip it up. She spits out half of it just to swallow. I think this much be the way they do it at the orphanage b/c they have so many to feed, so little help, so little time. Probably makes feedings faster and babies fuller longer. I am trying to transition her to a Advent bottle that I enlarged the hole in the nipple. But I don't think that she knows how to suck. She's just used to it pouring in maybe? We will see how it goes.
Last night I put her in her crib about 10:30 - the cribs they gave us have huge fluffy zip up blanket sleeper/comforters. I was afraid I would have to strip the bed for her to sleep b/c all she is used to sleeping on is a board. But she rubbed her little hand on the soft pillow, laid her head down and was asleep in 30 seconds! I think she was thinking "Ahhhhh what is this comfort??? Calgon - take me away!" She slept until almost 6 this morning. She woke up happy and ready to go. I posted the pics I took of her in her first outfit and big hair bow already! This girl can army crawl like no body's business! She is going to be fast like her big sister Macy!
Today we went back to the Civil Affairs office to do paperwork. We were there for a couple of hours b/c there are 7 babies and 2 toddlers in our group. Larger than most groups. We had to have 2 short 5 minute interviews just stating that we promised to never abandon our baby and that we wanted to adopt her. At the end of the meeting with the notary and the meeting with the registration office - MIA was officially OURS! Wooo hooo! Done deal!
Guess what - the civil affairs office was hotter than the pit! I shouldn't be surprised! The Chinese people don't like cold air b/c they think it messes up the "balance" in their bodies. That is why for the most part they drink their drinks warm also. We did not have a cold drink until we got here in Guangzhou. Ice in our drinks from Pizza Hut. Ohhhh so good!
While we were there the time for Mia's bottle came and went and she was VERY hungry. So as I was trying to get her bottle mixed up one of the nannies came over to help b/c my water was too hot. Imagine that. They tell you to boil water and pack in a thermos b/c your baby is used to only having bottles that are scalding hot. But my water was still boiling in my thermos! So they had to cool it down! And while she was crying she scratched at the sore at the top of her head....and when I looked down blood was everywhere! Ahhhgg! But we cleaned it off and got it to stop bleeding. After her bottle she was happy again! This was the loudest we had heard her cry. Usually it is more like a whimper.
We went to the "carafour" store on our way back to the hotel that is comparable to a Wal-Mart I guess. A little of everything. We loaded up on 2 cases of water, snacks, more diapers, a prize for Macy and a nice little bag for me to use as a smaller diaper bag while we are here. The bag was only $4. Good buy. Me and Macy checked out the meat dept. while there b/c you know adventurous me - I wanted to see if there were any "interesting" things. I took a pic of Macy looking at a bin of turtles, frogs, and snakes. Live ones. For sale in the meat dept.! Fun!
We have been back at the hotel a little while now. All of us took a little nap. We ordered from Danny's Bagel and they delivered. It is an American based restaurant here. Chicken Parmesan, Greek salad, and a hamburger for mom. I haven't eaten yet b/c I'm trying to catch you up - but Brad says his is very good!
Tomorrow we go apply for Mia's visa and then SATURDAY we go the orphanage at Yang Xi where Mia has spent the entirety of her 8 months of life. I am really excited we received permission to go. I think the fee for the drive is like $35 per person....300 yuan??? Not bad. We will also try to find all of our 7 babies "finding spots" where they were abandoned. Just to see and touch the place that led to them being in our lives. Bittersweet. A lost child that has become found. Beautiful. We have traveled east to bring home this daughter. There is a contentment among us already. My mom worded it perfectly...."It is as if she has always been with us." Stop to savor that. That is also the story of my personal adoption with my parents. It is as if we have always been together. I am having warm fuzzy feelings right now! :)
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Good Morning Mia!
Hairbow time! Mia in her first outfit!
Macy with a hairbow too!
Sensory overload. Macy surrounded her with every toy we brought her. She wasn't too sure about that!
Sleeping princess!
Sensory overload. Macy surrounded her with every toy we brought her. She wasn't too sure about that!
Sleeping princess!
We have our girl!
We have had Mia for 2 hours now! And she is doing GREAT! The AWESOME thing is that out of the 9 families in our group - NONE of them cried! Except for maybe a tear or two...but no wailing! That is really unique. The drive for the girls us to us was a 3 hour bus ride. So it has been a traumatic day for them. It is incredible how great they are doing.
HERE is the AWESOME thing. The only time Mia has cried has been when I walked away from her. I put her in Brad's lap to look for something and she started crying...ALREADY wanting her Mommy! Wow! She definitely wants ME already. It is unbelievable.
The only thing is that when they gave her to us - she had this big sore at the top of her forehead that looks pretty bad. But I have good med for it so we are prepared!
I will post more later. My baby girl is crying for me again! Can you see me grinning and clapping right now? :)
HERE is the AWESOME thing. The only time Mia has cried has been when I walked away from her. I put her in Brad's lap to look for something and she started crying...ALREADY wanting her Mommy! Wow! She definitely wants ME already. It is unbelievable.
The only thing is that when they gave her to us - she had this big sore at the top of her forehead that looks pretty bad. But I have good med for it so we are prepared!
I will post more later. My baby girl is crying for me again! Can you see me grinning and clapping right now? :)
Here we come MIA!
This is a copy of the paperwork we received this morning with an updated pic and footprint! Ahhhh !!!!! Her hair has grown back in !! So sweet - next time I post I will have real pics of her ....with her mommy and daddy...and big sister...and Noni!
Off to get her! Bye now!
Day 6 Leaving Beijing
Today we took the bus to the Airport around noon. We were able to purchase authentic Beijing Olympic stuff there. Of course everyone in our group bought the pack of little "mascots" they are using called "friendlies". They look like little stuffed animals in the 5 colors of the Olympic circles.
The plane looked much nicer than any we've taken, even those in the US. There was a TV screen built in to the back of the seat in front of you...for each seat. The seats were about 1/3 larger than our other planes. But looks can be DECEIVING! The plane was SOOOO HOT. After we took off it seemed as if they just turned off the air completely. I think I was having hot flashes....really. Either I'm entering menopause a tad early - or that plane had massive heat waves! It made me queasy being so hot. And it was a 3 hour flight! And to top it off - the seat bottoms were angled up to where it cut off your circulation. My legs were KILLING me on the flight. Going numb, cramping up....they kept the seat belt light on b/c we were experiencing turbulence and asked people to stay in their seats, but I pretended I needed to go to the restroom - just so I could stand up and walk. It was that bad!
The landing was GREAT. Nothing like the Beijing landing that made the whole plane hurl. So this was definitely a positive! We took a 30 minute bus ride to our hotel - and I am still having a hard time assessing the EXTREME differences between Beijing and Guangzhou. The difference is unbelievable! Everywhere we drove in Beijing there were 30 story apartment buildings with a window and air unit for each apartment. Beijing was dirty, under construction, ...Guangzhou looks like a business and commerce area, lots of bright lights, nice buildings, ...but the apartments we passed looked more run down. Each apartment had a walk out balcony and it didn't appear they had air conditioning. It looked like people washed out their clothes and hung them on their balcony to dry. You could see through the doors and windows and see the people inside. There were many highways intersecting with lots of traffic....kinda like in Dallas where a lot of highways have ramps above other highways for several miles. That is how we could see in every one's apartment - b/c our highway was up high on their level. Kind of like being in Chicago riding the L and looking in people's apartments. My mom said some buildings she saw looked like they had one floor that was a factory where people were working and the rest of the building looked like apartments. The apartment areas are the only areas we have seen in Guangzhou that look run down compared to Beijing.
OUR HOTEL here is MORE than awesome. This is probably the BIGGEST contrast. We now have AIR CONDITIONING! WHOOOOO HHOOOOO!
Gotta go, will finish this later. We are leaving now to go and get our babies! Here we come baby Mia! :) So you may not get a post from me again until "tomorrow" our time. We are focusing on bonding tonight! Just know when you here nothing on the blog - that it is b/c we are with our precious baby girl! ;)
The plane looked much nicer than any we've taken, even those in the US. There was a TV screen built in to the back of the seat in front of you...for each seat. The seats were about 1/3 larger than our other planes. But looks can be DECEIVING! The plane was SOOOO HOT. After we took off it seemed as if they just turned off the air completely. I think I was having hot flashes....really. Either I'm entering menopause a tad early - or that plane had massive heat waves! It made me queasy being so hot. And it was a 3 hour flight! And to top it off - the seat bottoms were angled up to where it cut off your circulation. My legs were KILLING me on the flight. Going numb, cramping up....they kept the seat belt light on b/c we were experiencing turbulence and asked people to stay in their seats, but I pretended I needed to go to the restroom - just so I could stand up and walk. It was that bad!
The landing was GREAT. Nothing like the Beijing landing that made the whole plane hurl. So this was definitely a positive! We took a 30 minute bus ride to our hotel - and I am still having a hard time assessing the EXTREME differences between Beijing and Guangzhou. The difference is unbelievable! Everywhere we drove in Beijing there were 30 story apartment buildings with a window and air unit for each apartment. Beijing was dirty, under construction, ...Guangzhou looks like a business and commerce area, lots of bright lights, nice buildings, ...but the apartments we passed looked more run down. Each apartment had a walk out balcony and it didn't appear they had air conditioning. It looked like people washed out their clothes and hung them on their balcony to dry. You could see through the doors and windows and see the people inside. There were many highways intersecting with lots of traffic....kinda like in Dallas where a lot of highways have ramps above other highways for several miles. That is how we could see in every one's apartment - b/c our highway was up high on their level. Kind of like being in Chicago riding the L and looking in people's apartments. My mom said some buildings she saw looked like they had one floor that was a factory where people were working and the rest of the building looked like apartments. The apartment areas are the only areas we have seen in Guangzhou that look run down compared to Beijing.
OUR HOTEL here is MORE than awesome. This is probably the BIGGEST contrast. We now have AIR CONDITIONING! WHOOOOO HHOOOOO!
Gotta go, will finish this later. We are leaving now to go and get our babies! Here we come baby Mia! :) So you may not get a post from me again until "tomorrow" our time. We are focusing on bonding tonight! Just know when you here nothing on the blog - that it is b/c we are with our precious baby girl! ;)
Monday, May 7, 2007
More Great Wall Pics
Brad, Glenda, & Macy McMath on the Great Wall of China. Razorbacks were well represented today!
Macy, me, & Mom calling the Hogs on the Great Wall!! Wooooo Pig!!
This is our travel group. 9 families. 7 receiving daughters from Yang Xi in Guangdong Province. 1 family receiving daughter and 1 family receiving son from other orphanages in Guangdong Province. We represent: Arkansas, Virginia (2), New York, Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, Missouri, and California.
These 2 pics are sites being constructed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The bubble looking one is called the "Water Cube." There is construction going on ALL OVER Beijing right now to prepare for the Olympics.
Most of our meals here in Beijing have been served "family style". They just bring all of the dishes to your table and you serve yourself your choice. There is a cool lazy susan thing in the center of each table to make this easier. I am thinking we need one of these for Thanksgiving Dinner! Also it would help waitresses in America to not have to walk around the table to fill everyone's glasses!
We climbed the Great Wall of China!
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Macy and my mom walking down the great wall. Very steep!
Macy McMath at the bottom of the Great Wall! Pretty cool huh? Will post more pics when I return from dinner tonight!
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Permission to visit Orphanage!
Wooo hooo !!!!! This morning when I was manning the mic I asked how many families would be interested in visiting Yang Xi - the orphanage where 7 of our 9 babies are. It was just about everyone. I was wanting our guides to see it was more than just us. You have to get permission from the Civil Affairs office and the Orphanage Director before you can go. Not all orphanages are open for visits from foreigners. The guides said we will wait until we have had our daughters for a few days, see how they are adapting and bonding, and then make the decision on how many people still want to go. But we are pumped that permission has been granted! I have read that if you do get to visit the town where your orphanage is that your driver may take you to your child's "finding spot" - where they were abandoned and found. At first that may seem depressing - but I think it also offers roots. Go and read my post from April called "Mia's story - the condensed version". It tells a little about where she was found and the first day of her life.
How can we love someone so much that we have never met? If you are a parent of a biological child - how could you love them so much before they were even born? That is what we are feeling. She is about to be delivered into our lives and our family. We can't wait.
How can we love someone so much that we have never met? If you are a parent of a biological child - how could you love them so much before they were even born? That is what we are feeling. She is about to be delivered into our lives and our family. We can't wait.
Day 5 in Beijing
Macy slept from 5 PM last night until 5 AM this morning. She was worn out. Brad went to bed at 7:30 - w/o dinner....so that is a miracle. We opted to not go to dinner tonight even though it was the famous Beijing Duck dinner. We just couldn't. I felt I needed to do what was best for Macy so we just stayed in. Brad was so wore out too. I slept from 8 until 5 am - so I am getting there on the time adjustment!
TODAY we went to the Great Wall of China. It was AMAZING to actually be there climbing it. With the mountainous elevation there was a wonderful cool breeze that made it a very enjoyable time. We climbed to the 2nd or 3rd observation deck - I am not sure and just sat down panting. Macy told me her legs hurt about halfway to that point and wanted me to carry her. Too bad for her. That didn't happen! I was doing good to make it myself. The first halfway up is like a steep slanted ramp with very few steps so it is harder than steps. And it is hard to breathe. The air seemed thinner or something. We took a break at the "top" (as far as we went) and had a snack....we needed some nutrition to get the energy to walk back down! Some in our group went all the way to the top of the area where we were.
You MOPS girls and my SS class will love this...I am facilitating getting our entire travel group together for some discussion time. I used the mic on the bus to talk to our group to see if everyone would like this. It is so hard to actually stop and hear each other's stories while we are here b/c we are running all the time! This is the part you will like: I TOLD THEM WE WOULD START WITH A FUN QUESTION LIKE: THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE PARENTS - WHAT IS YOUR GROSSEST MOMENT SINCE HAVING CHILDREN? I also said we would probably ask Maggie and Rosa if they have any gross moments of adopted babies pooping or puking on them or something. You know.....questions ONLY I would ask! :) Also we will be sharing how all of us came to decide to adopt and why China; And Maggie and Rosa say they like to study all religions even though they don't believe - so I thought it would be neat to have several people share WHY they believe the way the do...Good idea huh! We learn so much from each other and about each other when we have group time discussion. I think one of my passions in life is facilitating relationships between people. I LOVE IT!
We visited a Jade factory today and learned a little about it's making. The real deal is very expensive. I could really care less. I don't want to spend a lot of money on some thing I might lose. ;) I think I'll wait for the cheap fake jade we can find lots of in Guangzhou. I'm sure Lesia would have loved the real thing though! :)
We are "sleeping in " in the morning and then flying out to Guangzhou. 3 hour flight. Then on Wednesday we get Mia!!!!! That is what I am READY for!
By the way - I may have already said this - but all of the tabs for blogger are in Chinese so I can't figure out which one is "edit" for when I look back at my typos and misspelled words. So bear with me! I know my mistakes have been GREAT b/c of my level of exhaustion and jet lag. It was either post it imperfectly or post it not at all! So I can not be a perfectionist while here in China!
TODAY we went to the Great Wall of China. It was AMAZING to actually be there climbing it. With the mountainous elevation there was a wonderful cool breeze that made it a very enjoyable time. We climbed to the 2nd or 3rd observation deck - I am not sure and just sat down panting. Macy told me her legs hurt about halfway to that point and wanted me to carry her. Too bad for her. That didn't happen! I was doing good to make it myself. The first halfway up is like a steep slanted ramp with very few steps so it is harder than steps. And it is hard to breathe. The air seemed thinner or something. We took a break at the "top" (as far as we went) and had a snack....we needed some nutrition to get the energy to walk back down! Some in our group went all the way to the top of the area where we were.
You MOPS girls and my SS class will love this...I am facilitating getting our entire travel group together for some discussion time. I used the mic on the bus to talk to our group to see if everyone would like this. It is so hard to actually stop and hear each other's stories while we are here b/c we are running all the time! This is the part you will like: I TOLD THEM WE WOULD START WITH A FUN QUESTION LIKE: THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE PARENTS - WHAT IS YOUR GROSSEST MOMENT SINCE HAVING CHILDREN? I also said we would probably ask Maggie and Rosa if they have any gross moments of adopted babies pooping or puking on them or something. You know.....questions ONLY I would ask! :) Also we will be sharing how all of us came to decide to adopt and why China; And Maggie and Rosa say they like to study all religions even though they don't believe - so I thought it would be neat to have several people share WHY they believe the way the do...Good idea huh! We learn so much from each other and about each other when we have group time discussion. I think one of my passions in life is facilitating relationships between people. I LOVE IT!
We visited a Jade factory today and learned a little about it's making. The real deal is very expensive. I could really care less. I don't want to spend a lot of money on some thing I might lose. ;) I think I'll wait for the cheap fake jade we can find lots of in Guangzhou. I'm sure Lesia would have loved the real thing though! :)
We are "sleeping in " in the morning and then flying out to Guangzhou. 3 hour flight. Then on Wednesday we get Mia!!!!! That is what I am READY for!
By the way - I may have already said this - but all of the tabs for blogger are in Chinese so I can't figure out which one is "edit" for when I look back at my typos and misspelled words. So bear with me! I know my mistakes have been GREAT b/c of my level of exhaustion and jet lag. It was either post it imperfectly or post it not at all! So I can not be a perfectionist while here in China!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Day 4 in pics
These pics are from the Summer Palace, the popular tourist site - where the royalty of dynasties gone past would spend summers. It is beautiful in architecture and on a nice little lake...even though the water looked very dirty.
Another of Macy's adoring fans at the pearl factory. The group of girl clerks told me I did not look American. They said they thought I looked part Asian! Never heard that one before!
Day 4 in Beijing
OK - I'll be honest....this has been a wonderful experience....but I am tired, tired of being hot, and ready to see my Mia. I am ready to get on with it. I'm here for her - not for the grand tour! ;) I realize we come early to acclimate ourselves to the time change and weather change so that we are better ready to receive our children with full energy and health...but all of the touring is exhausting and it is starting to get agonizing. I am ready for my sweet girl. I am ready to see her. 3 days now until we get Mia.
Last night I slept from 8 PM until 5 AM this morning. That is when Macy woke up ready to roll! I probably could have slept longer. Mom gave me something for queasiness last night to help me sleep and I finally got a full night of sleep. I was really needing it.
Today we attended the Beijing International Church service. Only foreigners can attend. You have to have your passport to get in. I didn't really get to take much in b/c I had a splitting headache and Macy was very squirmy until Daddy finally took her and worked her into sleep with his magic. Thankfully by the end of the service my headache was gone...but I don't know anything that was said. In all truth I almost fell asleep - not b/c it was boring - but just the exhaustion. They sang contemporary songs and had guitar and drums. It was really nice - I just didn't get to enjoy it.
Our guide, Maggie, was telling us about the top 5 religions in China on the bus. She told us a little about what most Chinese people believe. Basically they believe the sun is their God and if the sun shines and it rains so their crops produce - then they are blessed. Kind of the "nature" thing. Brad had made the comment to me that he thought it was illegal to attend church in China - and most of the people in our service looked Chinese. So I asked Maggie a question on the bus, "I have heard that it is illegal to be a Christian in China." To which she replied that "that may have been true 20 years ago - but not now. You can talk about what you believe with anyone." I am not sure about this. I hear too many stories of persecution. I think this must be a very complex issue here. She did state that her and Rosa study all of the religions....and also something along the lines that even though they don't profess believing any religion - they study them. She said that when you have been taught your entire life that there is no God - but nature...it is very hard to believe in religion. So please pray for these precious girls. My heart wants them to know the same peace and joy that I know in accepting Jesus. Pray for them to have understanding. Pray for their hearts to be opened. Pray for opportunities for us to show them God's love.
We went back to the hotel and our group went on to a Beijing Duck dinner. It may be famous - but Macy needs a break and so do Brad and I. So we are all vegging out in our room....wondering what in the world we will eat for dinner - but not having enough energy to care. Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall of China. Then Tuesday we depart for Guangzhou. That is far into south China. At least a 3 hour flight. Then WEDNESDAY MIA JOINS OUR FAMILY! That is what we are ready for!!! :)
Then we visited a restaurant where they served what they call "Western Chinese" food. Thank you God! They had a dish that closely resembled lo mein and one that was like sweet and sour chicken and I got a HUGE plate full and enough for 3 hungry teenage boys! And they had FORKS! Wooo hoo!
Then we visited a pearl factory next door. Once again - I didn't really take in what they were saying about how pearls are made. It was our decision to bring Macy - and I am really glad that we did - but it requires 100% of my energy to keep her occupied and to keep her contained....especially in a fancy place like this. It kinda looked like a jewelry store. Lots of pearls in glass cases. And once again....my little Macy was the "movie star". All of the clerks swarmed her talking to her, commenting about how beautiful she was, took her to the drink cases and gave her a sprite, gave her a little bag for her pearl....definitely special treatment. There are 2 other American children in our group: Ben age 10 and his sister Callie age 7. And of course there is Maggie the Chinese girl that is 5. I am thinking they find Macy's curly, fine, long hair and her big round eyes unique. It would probably be the same for us if we had hardly ever seen a little Chinese girl...we would be fascinated. Callie has also gotten lots of attention b/c of her blond hair and blue eyes. Ben reminds me of my sister Mackenzie so much it is amazing. His mannerisms, sweet spirit, eyes, the way he interacts with Macy. He looks more like Mackenzie than Jordan or Mackenzie or me! It is really weird.
Next we walk to the next block and visit the summer palace. It is a historical site where the emperor would stay in the summer. We walked over a big bridge to an island, then took a boat with a dragon on the front across a lake to the other side. It was interesting - but hot and tiring. I had heard that Beijing weather is comparable to Chicago. Not true. It is not as hot as DC, but not as cool as Chicago this time of year.
Last night I slept from 8 PM until 5 AM this morning. That is when Macy woke up ready to roll! I probably could have slept longer. Mom gave me something for queasiness last night to help me sleep and I finally got a full night of sleep. I was really needing it.
Today we attended the Beijing International Church service. Only foreigners can attend. You have to have your passport to get in. I didn't really get to take much in b/c I had a splitting headache and Macy was very squirmy until Daddy finally took her and worked her into sleep with his magic. Thankfully by the end of the service my headache was gone...but I don't know anything that was said. In all truth I almost fell asleep - not b/c it was boring - but just the exhaustion. They sang contemporary songs and had guitar and drums. It was really nice - I just didn't get to enjoy it.
Our guide, Maggie, was telling us about the top 5 religions in China on the bus. She told us a little about what most Chinese people believe. Basically they believe the sun is their God and if the sun shines and it rains so their crops produce - then they are blessed. Kind of the "nature" thing. Brad had made the comment to me that he thought it was illegal to attend church in China - and most of the people in our service looked Chinese. So I asked Maggie a question on the bus, "I have heard that it is illegal to be a Christian in China." To which she replied that "that may have been true 20 years ago - but not now. You can talk about what you believe with anyone." I am not sure about this. I hear too many stories of persecution. I think this must be a very complex issue here. She did state that her and Rosa study all of the religions....and also something along the lines that even though they don't profess believing any religion - they study them. She said that when you have been taught your entire life that there is no God - but nature...it is very hard to believe in religion. So please pray for these precious girls. My heart wants them to know the same peace and joy that I know in accepting Jesus. Pray for them to have understanding. Pray for their hearts to be opened. Pray for opportunities for us to show them God's love.
We went back to the hotel and our group went on to a Beijing Duck dinner. It may be famous - but Macy needs a break and so do Brad and I. So we are all vegging out in our room....wondering what in the world we will eat for dinner - but not having enough energy to care. Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall of China. Then Tuesday we depart for Guangzhou. That is far into south China. At least a 3 hour flight. Then WEDNESDAY MIA JOINS OUR FAMILY! That is what we are ready for!!! :)
Then we visited a restaurant where they served what they call "Western Chinese" food. Thank you God! They had a dish that closely resembled lo mein and one that was like sweet and sour chicken and I got a HUGE plate full and enough for 3 hungry teenage boys! And they had FORKS! Wooo hoo!
Then we visited a pearl factory next door. Once again - I didn't really take in what they were saying about how pearls are made. It was our decision to bring Macy - and I am really glad that we did - but it requires 100% of my energy to keep her occupied and to keep her contained....especially in a fancy place like this. It kinda looked like a jewelry store. Lots of pearls in glass cases. And once again....my little Macy was the "movie star". All of the clerks swarmed her talking to her, commenting about how beautiful she was, took her to the drink cases and gave her a sprite, gave her a little bag for her pearl....definitely special treatment. There are 2 other American children in our group: Ben age 10 and his sister Callie age 7. And of course there is Maggie the Chinese girl that is 5. I am thinking they find Macy's curly, fine, long hair and her big round eyes unique. It would probably be the same for us if we had hardly ever seen a little Chinese girl...we would be fascinated. Callie has also gotten lots of attention b/c of her blond hair and blue eyes. Ben reminds me of my sister Mackenzie so much it is amazing. His mannerisms, sweet spirit, eyes, the way he interacts with Macy. He looks more like Mackenzie than Jordan or Mackenzie or me! It is really weird.
Next we walk to the next block and visit the summer palace. It is a historical site where the emperor would stay in the summer. We walked over a big bridge to an island, then took a boat with a dragon on the front across a lake to the other side. It was interesting - but hot and tiring. I had heard that Beijing weather is comparable to Chicago. Not true. It is not as hot as DC, but not as cool as Chicago this time of year.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Day 3 in pics
This little deaf girl at the preschool came out and sang a song for us. It was precious.That is "Bat" our guide for this tour in the background.
This man came up to our group with his little can, begging for money.
This is where we were standing when the man started drawing Brad.
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Day 3 in Beijing
If you don't want the details - sorry! I am trying to paint a pic for the rest of you who want to really know about this experience!
Wow. I would have to write a book to give you all the details of this day. Unbelievable. It was an experience. We started out the day at our hotel breakfast buffet that is HUGE. It has some really INTERESTING things for breakfast. Looks like part lunch. Then we loaded on our medium size shuttle/tour bus and headed to Tienanmen Square. Rosa and Maggie, our guides are AWESOME. They have such great personalities and are so wonderful to us. They are both probably in their later 20's. They did tell us that everything we see in Beijing will be VERY crowded b/c their Labor Day holiday is May 1-7 and everything is closed and massive amounts of people are here from all over China visiting the tourists sites.
Macy received loads of attention today. As we walk past crowds of people would turn to look at her and point and watch....then if I stopped with our group for any reason at all....people would began motioning asking if they could take pictures with her. We are talking non-stop. I can't remember if I have told this already - but Brad came up with a way to help her understand what is going on -on her level. He told her that people think she is a movie star so they want to take her picture and talk to her. So she did extremely well with all of the crowds. Those of you who know Macy - know she is a "I want my space" kid - and does not like lots of people touching her. So it was nothing short of a MIRACLE that she allowed people to touch her all day!
Every 200 yards or so our guides would stop and tell us a little history about what we were seeing and EVERY TIME we stopped - hoards of people would surround Macy's stroller wanting to take pics with her. It was crazy. Little kids would come up to and say, "hello" - getting a chance to practice their English on us Westerners. One man even came up to me and wanted to have his picture taken with me and his child. I was thinking - "I don't have blond hair! Why do you want your pic taken with me?" Macy did so well for a long time - that I was afraid it was going to start getting to her. So I got to where I would wheel her into the middle of our group each time we stopped so people couldn't see her.
One of the saddest things was upon walking down the street to get to Tienanmen square and while there we saw some troubling sites. On the street there were beggars with cans asking for money. The guides had told us not to stop for anything. Just keep walking. There was one man that looked very scroungy bowing over a sick looking child moaning with a can beside the child for money. It just looked fake. If your child was really sick you wouldn't be out moaning over him among thousands of people - you would be trying to get him help! Our guides told us it is common to borrow children and drug them for these begging sessions. Then we saw a little boy - probably around 10 - sitting on and wheeling around on a skateboard looking thing. He had club feet and they looked like they were rotting. He had a can to beg also. It was very sad. Upon asking our guide about it - she said that there is no reason for children to be like this. The parents have made the choice to not fix this medical issue - b/c help is available for it. I can't imagine choosing for your child to suffer just so you can beg.
Then we headed to the Forbidden City. It is a massive palace. Huge buildings all linked by courtyards that we WALKED through for what seemed like hours. It is actually the site that you see in Mulan - at the end where she is swinging around the columns to get the bad guys. Macy pointed up to them and said, "That is where Mulan went whoooo, whooh, around those poles! Where are the bad guys?" :)
Then, b/c we are having to stay this extra day in Beijing b/c of the holiday - we got a SPECIAL treat. Most groups don't get to do any of this. We were taken to the Hutong District to eat lunch with a family in their home. Most of the people in Beijing live in the huge, tall apartment buildings. But there is a group called the Hutongs that get to live in one/two story dwellings. They said the houses in the area are mostly over 200 years old. They look like concrete huts put together like a maze with connecting little alley/streets. Our entire group took rickshaws into this area to get to the house. We had a mighty convoy of about 20 rickshaws - each being driven by a man on a bicycle. It was a very neat experience. The house we visited was very nice on the inside - but they said this is not common. This lady's family line and government job enabled her to have a nicer home than most. They made us a wonderful lunch and it was very neat to experience this.
Our guide told us if there are 2 cylinder looking things above the door of a home - it is a poor family. 4 cylinders - rich family. Someone from 2 can not marry someone with a 4 above their home. We then took the rickshaws to the Hutong shopping district and just walked through it. We were standing in our little tourist crowd listening to the guide when Brad whispered to me - that guys is drawing me! Some man was intently staring at Brad and drawing on a plate. It ended up being amazing! We bought it from him for $3. Brad thinks he looks like Hank Hill (from that Texas cartoon) in the picture! I then asked if he would draw Macy - and while he was drawing her we were surrounded by a huge throng people. They blocked the street and cars were honking b/c they couldn't even drive through b/c the crowd.
Back to the rickshaws and they took us to a preschool for deaf children. Then back to the hotel and shower time! When I got on the bus to leave I told everyone - OK, lets sing. "If you stink and you know it clap your hands, If you sweated today and you know it clap your hands,..." To which a lot of people joined in singing and clapping! I can't imagine how much hotter Guangzhou will be than Beijing. After an hour of rest we loaded the bus again and went to a restaurant for dinner. There was dancing entertainment and the food was good. I have not eaten much since being here - just a general queasiness from lack of sleep and trying to eat with chopsticks. I usually just give up - b/c it is too much effort. They had forks tonight and I feel like I actually got 1/2 a meal in. I was the only one in our group that used a fork! I am a loser!
One thing I have been having fun with if every one's reaction when I introduce my mom. They don't say anything - but they all have that look of "How old did she have to be when she had her - she looks so young...." So tonight one of the guys said - I have to ask you - how old is your mom? I told him I would tel him later! So on the way back to the hotel I asked if could address the entire group and tell a little about my story (the guides generally talk on a mic to everyone while we are riding). So I tell the story of my adoption - tears are flowing for some people - and I let everyone know how old mom is! It was fun.
I went to bed at 8 PM last night and got up at 5:30 this morning b/c Macy was wide awake. Finally a night of sleep. I only slept 3 hours last night. Just couldn't sleep. Today we are off to the Beijing International Church (which we know is supposed to actually be and Assemblies of God church - so we are excited!), then off to a Duck Dinner, and to the Summer Palace and if we are not passing out from exhaustion we will see the Acrobats tonight. They keep these touring in Beijing days really full, b/c once we receive our babies - we will just focus on them and paperwork. I am trying to give you condensed version and I know this is scattered - but my time to blog is rushed and at weird hours. We love you all.
Wow. I would have to write a book to give you all the details of this day. Unbelievable. It was an experience. We started out the day at our hotel breakfast buffet that is HUGE. It has some really INTERESTING things for breakfast. Looks like part lunch. Then we loaded on our medium size shuttle/tour bus and headed to Tienanmen Square. Rosa and Maggie, our guides are AWESOME. They have such great personalities and are so wonderful to us. They are both probably in their later 20's. They did tell us that everything we see in Beijing will be VERY crowded b/c their Labor Day holiday is May 1-7 and everything is closed and massive amounts of people are here from all over China visiting the tourists sites.
Macy received loads of attention today. As we walk past crowds of people would turn to look at her and point and watch....then if I stopped with our group for any reason at all....people would began motioning asking if they could take pictures with her. We are talking non-stop. I can't remember if I have told this already - but Brad came up with a way to help her understand what is going on -on her level. He told her that people think she is a movie star so they want to take her picture and talk to her. So she did extremely well with all of the crowds. Those of you who know Macy - know she is a "I want my space" kid - and does not like lots of people touching her. So it was nothing short of a MIRACLE that she allowed people to touch her all day!
Every 200 yards or so our guides would stop and tell us a little history about what we were seeing and EVERY TIME we stopped - hoards of people would surround Macy's stroller wanting to take pics with her. It was crazy. Little kids would come up to and say, "hello" - getting a chance to practice their English on us Westerners. One man even came up to me and wanted to have his picture taken with me and his child. I was thinking - "I don't have blond hair! Why do you want your pic taken with me?" Macy did so well for a long time - that I was afraid it was going to start getting to her. So I got to where I would wheel her into the middle of our group each time we stopped so people couldn't see her.
One of the saddest things was upon walking down the street to get to Tienanmen square and while there we saw some troubling sites. On the street there were beggars with cans asking for money. The guides had told us not to stop for anything. Just keep walking. There was one man that looked very scroungy bowing over a sick looking child moaning with a can beside the child for money. It just looked fake. If your child was really sick you wouldn't be out moaning over him among thousands of people - you would be trying to get him help! Our guides told us it is common to borrow children and drug them for these begging sessions. Then we saw a little boy - probably around 10 - sitting on and wheeling around on a skateboard looking thing. He had club feet and they looked like they were rotting. He had a can to beg also. It was very sad. Upon asking our guide about it - she said that there is no reason for children to be like this. The parents have made the choice to not fix this medical issue - b/c help is available for it. I can't imagine choosing for your child to suffer just so you can beg.
Then we headed to the Forbidden City. It is a massive palace. Huge buildings all linked by courtyards that we WALKED through for what seemed like hours. It is actually the site that you see in Mulan - at the end where she is swinging around the columns to get the bad guys. Macy pointed up to them and said, "That is where Mulan went whoooo, whooh, around those poles! Where are the bad guys?" :)
Then, b/c we are having to stay this extra day in Beijing b/c of the holiday - we got a SPECIAL treat. Most groups don't get to do any of this. We were taken to the Hutong District to eat lunch with a family in their home. Most of the people in Beijing live in the huge, tall apartment buildings. But there is a group called the Hutongs that get to live in one/two story dwellings. They said the houses in the area are mostly over 200 years old. They look like concrete huts put together like a maze with connecting little alley/streets. Our entire group took rickshaws into this area to get to the house. We had a mighty convoy of about 20 rickshaws - each being driven by a man on a bicycle. It was a very neat experience. The house we visited was very nice on the inside - but they said this is not common. This lady's family line and government job enabled her to have a nicer home than most. They made us a wonderful lunch and it was very neat to experience this.
Our guide told us if there are 2 cylinder looking things above the door of a home - it is a poor family. 4 cylinders - rich family. Someone from 2 can not marry someone with a 4 above their home. We then took the rickshaws to the Hutong shopping district and just walked through it. We were standing in our little tourist crowd listening to the guide when Brad whispered to me - that guys is drawing me! Some man was intently staring at Brad and drawing on a plate. It ended up being amazing! We bought it from him for $3. Brad thinks he looks like Hank Hill (from that Texas cartoon) in the picture! I then asked if he would draw Macy - and while he was drawing her we were surrounded by a huge throng people. They blocked the street and cars were honking b/c they couldn't even drive through b/c the crowd.
Back to the rickshaws and they took us to a preschool for deaf children. Then back to the hotel and shower time! When I got on the bus to leave I told everyone - OK, lets sing. "If you stink and you know it clap your hands, If you sweated today and you know it clap your hands,..." To which a lot of people joined in singing and clapping! I can't imagine how much hotter Guangzhou will be than Beijing. After an hour of rest we loaded the bus again and went to a restaurant for dinner. There was dancing entertainment and the food was good. I have not eaten much since being here - just a general queasiness from lack of sleep and trying to eat with chopsticks. I usually just give up - b/c it is too much effort. They had forks tonight and I feel like I actually got 1/2 a meal in. I was the only one in our group that used a fork! I am a loser!
One thing I have been having fun with if every one's reaction when I introduce my mom. They don't say anything - but they all have that look of "How old did she have to be when she had her - she looks so young...." So tonight one of the guys said - I have to ask you - how old is your mom? I told him I would tel him later! So on the way back to the hotel I asked if could address the entire group and tell a little about my story (the guides generally talk on a mic to everyone while we are riding). So I tell the story of my adoption - tears are flowing for some people - and I let everyone know how old mom is! It was fun.
I went to bed at 8 PM last night and got up at 5:30 this morning b/c Macy was wide awake. Finally a night of sleep. I only slept 3 hours last night. Just couldn't sleep. Today we are off to the Beijing International Church (which we know is supposed to actually be and Assemblies of God church - so we are excited!), then off to a Duck Dinner, and to the Summer Palace and if we are not passing out from exhaustion we will see the Acrobats tonight. They keep these touring in Beijing days really full, b/c once we receive our babies - we will just focus on them and paperwork. I am trying to give you condensed version and I know this is scattered - but my time to blog is rushed and at weird hours. We love you all.
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