We are counting down the days now. Only 2 more days until we get home. We have had a wonderful time together but everyone is ready to get home. We completed our last official paperwork yesterday at the US Consulate and as of today at 5:00 p.m. we received the final paperwork to bring Hope home.
As we have been preparing to come home we had our interpreter Shyian come to our room and let Hope know a little bit about what it will be like when we get to Nashville. The first thing we wanted her to know was that we have 2 dogs. There just aren't that many dogs running around over here because they usually end up on the dinner table! A local joke about the Cantonese is that they will eat anything that flies except an airplane and they will eat anything with four legs except a table! We did not want her to be scared of our two dogs. Back up just a little bit. Last night we got some pictures from Bruce's aunt and uncle who are so graciously taking care of our dogs (thank you Charlie and Debra). We showed Hope the pictures of the dogs but did not really know if she understood. So, when the interpreter asked her if she was scared of dogs or if she had ever seen any dogs. Hope replied that she was not scared and that she had 2of her own. Shyian asked us if she had been in foster care and we said no. Hope said she had a white dog and a brown dog. Shyian asked her again and Hope replied in America! It was wonderful and amazing that she has bonded so quickly and feels 100% apart of our family, already. PRAISE GOD!!!
We are leaving early in the morning (5:45am) to fly to Beijing, then spending the night and flying out of Beijing on Sunday morning. We will arrive in Nashville at 3:05 Sunday afternoon from Chicago and will be traveling on American Airlines. Hope and the rest of us are ready to come home!!
Yesterday we went to visit the Yuexiu Park. It was very similar Cheekwood in Nashville, just with a Chinese flare. Hope really enjoyed smelling all the flowers.
Last night we went to a local Cantonese restaurant. It was really good but we did not partake of the gigantic earth worms or snakes! Hope does not seem to care what food is served, she will basically eat anything, except snake.
Today we had a "free" day. So we slept in and then we took a cab to the Guangzhou Zoo. It was Abigail and Hope's 1st taxi ride, they really enjoyed it. The zoo was an aesthetically pleasing zoo and most of the animals were familiar, except they had caged Pandas and Chihuahuas. We had difficulty reading the Chinese map so we couldn't find the Pandas until the very end. They were so cute. The children really enjoyed seeing the animals.
Hope is feeling really comfortable with our family. She is joking around, laughing, playing chase, jumping on all the beds and kissing all of us. She has definitely adjusted well with the transition of leaving the orphanage and becoming apart of the family.
Hooray only 5 more days until we are HOME!!!!!!
It doesn't feel right because we are staying at the White Swan Hotel which seems like "Disney World" to me. It is a very nice 5 star hotel located on an island resort. We have a wonderful view out of our window of the Pearl River.
On Saturday, Hope and I went to have her final medical exam in China, that will allow her to enter the USA. It was a very small place with two doctors and about 50 families trying to get their final check-up as well. Hope did a wonderful job by listening well, following directions and was very patient throughout the entire process.
However, all day long we knew Hope was acting different and we were concerned with her melancholy attitude. Our interpreter asked Hope why she was so sad and it was as exactly as we had thought. Hope believed the plane ride from Beijing to Guangzhou was the flight "home" and she woke up in another hotel room in China. She was very disappointed that we were still in China and is ready to go home to the USA. The interpreter told her that we have one more week and we will travel on 3 more planes before we will be "Home". She smiled and has been her jolly, singing, dancing self ever sense.
That afternoon Abigail and I went window shopping. We met the store owner who said he would write our new daughter's name in Chinese Calligraphy for free. When we told him her name was Hope he asked if it was from the Bible. When we responded "Yes" he said he was a Christian!
This morning we traveled to a folk museum. It was very historic and we got another taste of Chinese culture. The facility originally was a school for higher education that trained ancient Chinese Scholars. When the Communist took over they changed it into a printing factory but today it has been restored and it is a school for aspiring artist.
This afternoon we went to a local playground along the waterfront. The children had a wonderful time playing and walking along the river front. We had dinner at a local diner called Lucy's which serves American food. We ate with two other adoptive families who have become our friends on this journey.
Every night when we pray, Hope will follow our lead and kneel beside the bed with her fingers crossed. She will say thank you Jesus for Mama, Baba, JeiJei and GuhGuh.
We can't thank God enough for this special little girl He has blessed us with.
Praise God Hope is feeling better. She is not itching as much but please continue to pray we are allowed to get on the plane on the 23rd Chicken Pox free.
Well as I sit here and type it is our last night in Beijing. It is bitter sweet as we are leaving Hope's hometown but moving closer to our home. Hope and I have had a pretty uneventful 2 days. We have stayed in quarantine but have had some very good mother-daughter bonding time. Abigail, Nathan, and Bruce went to the Temple of Heaven, Pearl flea market, and the Bejing National Museum.
Ever since the first day we met Hope she has never looked back. It is like she has been apart of our family forever. The most difficult hurdle is the communication. She talks non-stop and is very animated but we do not have a clue what she is saying most of the time. However, she always seems to get her point across and is rarely frustrated.
Also, Hope has been blessed with a large appetite and she loves to eat, eat anything and all the time. Not sure if this is because they did not have enough in the orphanage or that it is just who she is. The past 2 nights we have had very spicy dinners. One authentic Chinese and the other was Chinese KFC.
Abigail (JAYJAY) is definitely following in her parents footsteps as being "the teacher". She constantly instructs and educates Hope on her manners, words, songs, etc. Hope wrote her name in English today in the window all by herself. She also can write her numbers to 20, sort her colors, and knows some beginning sounds. She loves to learn. She loves to laugh. She loves to sing.
Nathan is growing closer and closer to his new sister. He came back upstairs today to get his coat (only Hope and I were in the room) and as he was leaving he told her bye bye and gave her a hug and a kiss. He really is taking seriously his new role as a big brother (GUGAH).
Tomorrow we fly to Ghauhouz to the US Embassy. I am definitely ready for the warmer weather.
When we first met Hope she kept scratching and scratching. We didn't think much about it until she just couldn't seem to stop. We have a doctor on the trip with us who we asked to come and check her out. He said he thought it might be scabies. Since it was so late in the day we decided to wait until the next day to get some medicine. Joy our interpreter thought it might be something else so we went to the local hospital. Whole different experience there.
Anyway, Hope has Chicken Pox. We got some medicine and she is much better. but we are quarantine for at least 3 days. Please pray that she will be better in time for us to get on the plane to come home on the 23rd.
Hope cried for the first time today because "Jay Jay" (big sister, Abigail) went on the tour to the Temple of Heaven without her. Mom and Hope had some bonding time while they were quarantined. As soon as Abigail got back Hope told Mama to go in the other room with PaPa (Daddy) and laughed. She is a little jokester.
We can not thank God enough for this precious gift He has entrusted to us as a family to raise while here on the earth.
We have spent the last few days touring Beijing. Yesterday, we went to the Great Wall. It was amazing to walk on one of the wonders of the world and freezing at the same time. The wind chill at the top of the Great Wall was -10, brrrrrrr.
Bruce and Nathan had a nightmare experience at the "Wal-Mart" of China. They went to get a stroller for Hope and it took them over two hours to locate the stroller, check out, and catch a cab back to the Hotel. Bruce said it made the day after Thanksgiving shopping at Wal-Mart in TN look like a cub scout meeting! The girls stayed back in the warm hotel and played bubbles, read, jumped on the beds and sang songs.
Today we were up and at it around 6:30. We went to visit and ancient Hunan Village. This is the traditional manner in which the Chinese lived for centuries. The most exciting part about the Hunan Village was that we all got to ride in a traditional Rickshaw through the streets of Beijing.
Next we were off to the Forbidden City and Teineman Square. We learned about the history of the ancient emperors and their dynasties. Also, we walked past the tomb of Mao and all of the government offices. Hope loves to look out the bus windows and sing as we travel along and she really loves it when we pass McDonald's.
Later in the day we attended the National Flying Acrobatic performance. It was mesmerizing what the performers could do and how incredibly talented they were. The children loved the music and show. Nathan has been doing flips from bed to bed in the hotel room and doing cart wheels down the hall since we returned to the hotel. Who knows, maybe he will be on the Chinese National Acrobatics team one day?
We have been praising God everyday for our sweet little Hope. She just loves life. We are bonding and she is becoming more comfortable being in the family everyday.
The Internet has been intermittent, so we have not been able to communicate like we would like but here is the latest:
Hope is the most loving, energetic, and easy going little girl. She loves to play with bubbles, jump on the beds, giggle, sing, dance, draw and work puzzles. She is definitely going to keep us in line when we get home as indicated by each morning when she jumps right up, gets dressed, makes her bed and everyone elses. She keeps up with ALL her stuff, everything must be organized, in place, and neat. She reminds us a lot of Aunt KK.
Yesterday, we went to the bank and exchanged money for the adoption fees and then on to the supermarket. When we walked into the market Hope look directly at Bruce and said something in Chinese and our interpreter started laughing. She told us that Hope said "Daddy what are you going to buy me?" Later, Bruce and Nathan walked through the streets of Beijing to McDonald's since Hope had been asking for McDonald's since we met her. At the end of the day Abigail said. "It is like she has been in our family forever."
Today was an all day affair of paperwork. We left the hotel at 8:30 and did not return until after 4. Hope does great while waiting. She loves to giggle, sing songs, and wants everyone in the family to hold her and dance.
Nathan is being a great big brother watching out for Hope as she crosses the street and as we go in and out of government offices. We can already tell he is going to be very protective of her.
Abigail is in heaven talking care of her little sister. They are two peas in a pod as they dance, sing, fix each others hair, and play silly games.
It sure does our heart well to hear all of the laughing and seeing all of the smiles. We are completely blessed beyond what we could have ever "Hoped" for, humbly.
We arrived in Beijing at 11:00pm local time, after we flew over the North Pole and straight through the beautiful Northern Lights. What a spectacle and fantastic gift!
We made it to our hotel, Grand Beijing, at 1:00 am and had to be up at 5:30am in order to met our precious daughter Hope!
We have spent the majority of the day getting passport photos, meeting with government officials in charge of adoptions, giving finger prints, etc. but most of all loving on our new daughter.
She is energetic, quick witted, intelligent, and fits perfectly into our family. Nathan said, "she is the prettiest of all the children who we met today and that he is happy to have a little sister." Abigail has been an instant big sister and second mother to Hope. We have all been sharing hugs and kisses (sugar) since we met.
We all spent the end of the day swimming in the hotel pool, constructing puzzles, and painting with water colors. It has been a glorious day and Hope is beyond our expectations for our family (JIATING).
We are heading to the airport right now and should be in Beijing tomorrow. We are scheduled to meet our new daughter Hope on Wednesday, 1/5/11. PRAISE GOD!
Thank you for all of your support and prayers as we travel. We look forward to introducing Hope to each of you when we return on 1/23/11, Lord willing!
