Hearts to Listen

https://www.nohandsbutours.com/2017/10/31/parenting-non-verbal-child/  To my Evie girl...

On the day you were born ...

The day you were born, Heaven rejoiced and hearts were broken on earth with decisions that had to be made. Alone, on a busy government.building step, was a tiny little baby girl with the most beautiful smile. You were perfectly made, but that was tragedy to your parents. Today, we celebrate LIFE. Your parents made a heroic decision to help you have everything you would need in care. They brought you into this world and put you in the arms of another. Today, we honor your birth mother. Our family tree has quickly become an orchard. Your birth family is loved and thought of every day. I climbed into bed with you last night after the tucking in. It was a surprise to you and you giggled and loved every second. I wept and held your face and told you how much I adored you and that I would spend my whole life showing you how treasured you are. You're a bright star in a dark world, Evie. I know your birth mother would be incredibly proud of you. Your love for music.. did it come from her? Your huge, brown eyes that light up in wonder... does she have those same eyes? I lie in bed and dream of hugging her and telling her thank you for her gift that she should've never had to give. It was her gift.   You were never meant to be with us - ever. But just when God knew it was time, we saw your face after such tragedy. How could we see the crisis and not respond? You have brought us immense happiness and I'm so thankful you're our daughter. We celebrate your birth mother every single day; through your smiles, milestones, and firsts, we give her such praise in choosing a second chance for you. Thank you, God, for adoption. Thank you, God, for Evie.

                                                                   In privilege,
                                                                         Mama

They gave you life

Last year, China lifted its one child policy and made it a two child policy. The country was overrun with boys and it was getting hard for marriages to happen because there wasn't enough girls. I beamed when we were in China and I saw expecting women walking around - some rubbed their bellies in such adoration for their unborn. I had tears in my eyes thinking about how loved these children would be. To the mom at the tea set shop sitting in the floor with her one year old son as he sorted colored blocks... you are amazing. The love she had for her son was humbling. She laughed and looked him into his eyes and taught him - right in the midst of running the family business. I just stood and watched. China has such a bad rep for "parents throwing away their children." They don't have a choice in most cases. They don't have health insurance.. you pay cash. If you don't have the cash and your family member is on life support? They have to unplug you. People wear masks to not only protect themselves from the smog, but to help protect from illness. It is a big deal in China.

You were left in a spot where your parents knew you would be taken in and cared for. They didn't leave you to die - they placed you to live. They placed you right at that moment into our hearts. I wish that I could find your birth parents and squeeze them. They gave you life so that we can teach you how to live it. That's love my dear.

Forever,
Mama

Journey home

We got breakfast as usually and sat by the window with the waterfall outside via your sibling's request. They fed the koi the leftover breads (and BACON!) We headed up to the room to finish packing. What a feat! We left with luggage FULL (5 carrying and everyone a backpack) and we came home with the same - even with all the shopping! We still packed too much. I will learn eventually. It was harder this time than last. Last time was June.. I threw a few sundresses in and off we went. This time was different. We had to dress for negative temps and then 70 degrees, which felt like 80 to us most days , coming from Hohhot. Anyway, I really only needed 3-4 outfits. Wash and wear - that's what the Chinese do! So we got everything packed and zippers almost burst. We headed down to meet Elsie for the last time. It was so hard to leave her as well. She calls Anna and I the "Guangzhou survivors" lol! We presented her with her gift, wrapped in red-ish paper (almost pink, but I didn't know and that is a whole other story!). We had to get two vans to take us to HK because we all wouldn't fit in the toyotas (nice vans!!!) with our luggage. Justin was in a van with Ezra, Eli and Joy. I was in the other van with you and Anna. So off we went and we had such mixed emotions. How do you leave behind all those children that need homes? All the culture that is so fascinating? It's so hard to leave!

Our driver was a young man that looked about 20. He had two iPhones up to his head at once during the drive. Voice chatting the other driver in Justin's van and someone else in a call on the other. Crazy! We went through the border and handed over our passports, they searched the van quickly and then "shot" us in the head with the lazer gun to read our temperature. It doesn't matter how many times you do that, we wince every time. Lol
The driver did keep up well with the other driver and we both arrived at the airport together safely. We checked our bags and admitted that we shouldn't have had each of you carry a backpack. It was too much hassle. We know better now. You all handle the bags well, but it's so annoying carrying all of that around! We went through a breezy security and then.... they put you through the scanner... ALONE. What does that mean? It means you had no hand to hold and you were LOOSE! My heart was pounding. Helpless. Just watching you walk away... then... you turned to look and you stopped. Miracle! I've got to wechat Mrs Cindy about this one! She won't believe it! They hurried us through when they realized what they had done! Hahah. We were starving and found the Popeye's and got some mashed potatoes for you and you lapped them up!!!! We split a few chicken strip meals because we didn't want to exchange USD to Hong Kong Dollars, so we just decided to use one of the precious gift we got from our friends that we traveled with last time - all their leftover Hong Kong dollars! We hurried and got to our gate. You walked like a champ and love love love the escalators. You didn't know how to step off of them when we got you and after a couple, you caught on quickly! I was worried about boarding the plane so hungry. We've never flown American Airlines, but have flown Delta and United. We were not pleased with United at the least, but they got us home safely, so that is good enough. We have been delta fans all the way, and still are.. and now we adore American - Many different reasons! The food was plentiful and pretty good actually! You ate baby corn, bok choy, carrots, rice and fish. They had chocolate mousse that you didn't care for but Eli did! He got your extras and Ezra got Joy's! You and Joy both aren't chocolate fans! We found that you like Apple juice after you turned it down for the 26 time! I had to dip my finger in it and force it into your mouth. You then reached for it! I watered it down and you drank and drank during your meal!

You made it to LAX and went a little wild, reverting back to the pulling and collapsing. We kept the consistency and you settled... until a woman told her 2 year old to chase you, yelling "Get her, Jamison!!!!!" After I caught you, I made it perfectly clear that we didn't allow running in public places and you understood. She then started yelling it again. I was too tired to be nice, but I continued to be as much as I could. We ate a 60.00 meal which was basically nothing. Soooooo expensive. That would have fed us all in china 4 meals!!! You ate hamburger for your first time and liked it. You've fought eating meat for us, but now you're caving. You need this protein, so I keep pushing. You had a cat nap!

We finally were almost ready to board at MIDNIGHT and a construction crew at our gate decided to start up the jackhammer. Not ever kidding!!!!! I could've died. I was so angry. You went insane crying as we boarded. I was prepared for no connecting flights to have in seat TVs. This air bus had them and thank God! You watched movies the whole three hours. Survival... I keep reminding myself. I got a few nice naps since you had a window seat and I would know of you escaped. Goodbye, Los Angeles!

We got off at Dallas and when we deboarded, you went INSANE. Kind of like when we were packing up the hotel at Guangzhou and deflating the air mattress. You're scared. You have no idea where you're going. When you saw we landed in another airport, you just had had it! You're so tired of this and so is everyone else! We sat and hung out and then you and I stayed with all the backpacks while Justin took the others for McDonald's. They will bring us back a treat. :-). Teamwork at its finest! Ha!

We finally boarded to Nashville and wow... you have amazed me. Once on the plane, you insist on being buckled and love it. You look out the window, watch TV, you're just so easy on the planes! We took the short hour two hour flight to Nashville and when I saw the skyline, I melted. You fell asleep the last thirty minutes of the flight because it was our bedtime in China! We had to wake you and it wasn't pretty. We stepped off the plane to you walking like you were intoxicated and you started to wail. You were done! You had had enough!

We rounded the corner and.... FAMILY! Family and friends welcomed us and they seemed as happy to see us and we were them. Your siblings hugged and chatted with everyone as I took you crying to the side and sat with you. You held your new Minnie and Merida doll and couldn't believe it was yours! We visited a while and met Baba at the car since he got luggage and loaded it. Pop Daniel drove us home. Nana Jo got you a new 5 point car seat and I was so thankful. It was on my list while in china and it was a huge burden off of me. We came home to shining floors and a clean sheets, etc from Nana Jo. She worked so very hard. With me falling so ill up until 2 days before we left, we cleaned a LOT, but the final touches were so so nice!!!! Nana Mary and YeYe stocked our fridge and cabinets (even cooked a roast, etc!) and it was so so so nice!!!! We also have a new Minnie Mouse potty chair by the toilet :-). So many sweet touches by so many. You're pillowcase that was Lily's was fixed by Nana Mary and Anna Mitchell and your name on the artwork above your bed was peeled off by Aunt April and reapplied. Sarah Frye did your name and it is beautiful as always. I have probably missed more details, but it's 3am and I have jet lag. :-). We started unpacking and washing once home and we all fell in the bed at 3pm. You slept between Baba and I and didn't fight sleep at all. We all awoke at 2am. Goodness, so tough. We had energy for an hour.. washed some more and heated the roast and ate. :-). Energy fades mighty quickly!

The first time you saw your rolm was a blast. You looked around like "all this is mine?" The look of complete awe set in as you fingered every stuffed animal you had. You picked them all up and carried them around the house, but your favorite on day one is Olaf... probably because you watched Frozen in the plane and recognized him :-). As we sat on the couch at 3am, all we did was stare at you. We are the ones in awe. We cannot believe after the wild, arduous ride... you're home.

Thanking God we said yes!

Mama i

Thursday!

We all slept in this morning until 9am. We still wake up utterly exhausted! Everyone went down to breakfast and I bathed you while I took a shower. The showers here are genius... especially for moms. You walk into the door and there is the bath tub and next to it is a shower... all in the same area! So you played while I showered. Awesome! Then , I drained most of the water and started packing while watching you through the glass that is beside the tub. Don't worry, it has a remote-controlled curtain for privacy. You played and played and played with empty bottles in the water and your rubber duck. We all got pretty much packed and headed out on another adventure. We needed to go to Walmart, which is a decent walk with a stroller.. because nothing is made for strollers here? you just have to pick it up and it gets tiring quickly. The Walmart aisles are insanely narrow, with boxes blocking and people crammed into every nook. People do not move here. If they see you in an aisle trying to get around them and let's say.. they're talking... you'll just have to wait until the conversation is over. Ugh. Then, people see a family of 7 coming and they just cut you off. It's each for their own here. We tried and tried to find a specific snack for Joy and you on the plane and couldn't find it in all of Walmart and it is probably the most popular item for small children (and babies). The Walmart is two stories and has some of the greatest finds! We got you two nice books for about one US dollar each and a red rooster stuffed animal that is hanging from a Chinese knot with a suction cup. So cute to remember our year of the rooster! Eli got an army set (army sets are his favorite) and we got some other familiar snacks (Chinese) for you for the long journey home. I also got a few more CNY decorations. I want to be able to decorate each year and then hand these things down to you girls when you're older. This has been a fantastic trip, but today, I'm ready to come home! I will miss China fiercely in a few months and would totally be ready to come back.

And I want you to see the squattie potties that your sister adores. She will literally look to make sure the stalls have them before she uses the bathroom. Lol!

After our Walmart excursion, Anna was ready to go shopping. I wasn't, but I knew Anna needed this time with me. So, I was on my last leg when we headed out. We have taxis lined up at the hotel and the concierge even walks us out the door to them and puts their hands on the door roof as for us not to hit our heads. Wow.. this is service I'm not quite used to. So we get in the taxi and show him the card that says "one link plaza - international toy market". He agrees and off we go. He then pushes play on his iPhone that was suctioned to the windshield as he weaves in and out of traffic wildly. He was watching some Kung Fu movie and when we sat in traffic he would watch and then when it was time to move up 20 feet he would GUN it and then slam on his breaks to get more uninterrupted time to watch the show. Wow.. this was scary. I was cracking up though. I caught myself watching him in the rear view mirror to see how often he looked at the road. Let's just say he has the streets of GZ memorized, which is almost two times larger than NYC! He caught me several times looking and looked agitated. It's my life and my kid's, man! So he dropped us off right on the corner outside of One Link right where I almost died 18 months ago via taxi. Ironic. We shopped and shopped and spent hardly anything at all and got everything we wanted. It seems like we are spending a ton, but tours are inexpensive, hotels that are five star are very cheap and things we are buying are such good deals! I won't buy anything full price ever! The kids worked so hard earning money for 14 months. They've been helping to pay for things for themselves. They've learned how to manage money very well and can also calculate how much things are in USD when they see how much in RMB. I am so proud of how well they've done! They're troopers and fantastic kids.

So, we shop and Anna tried to find a better deal the whole trip on a little bottle that is hand painted on the inside .. we watched an artisan do this in Beijing in the hutongs and bought two Christmas ornaments, but they were small and kind of expensive, but since it was so special for a gift, we bought them. Anna found some at a store at the One Link and wanted to find an even better deal (only 8.00.. and very expensive other places) lol. So we walked and walked and then tried to find the shop again to get the bottle. We walked our legs off. Some of these stores are probably only 5x8' of space! Some are larger, but this place has extremely narrow aisles that people are crammed into. It's hot, you can feel body heat and the aisles aren't just clear (like in the states). People don't move for you, as I've mentioned and you have to be aggressive. You get free body massages here at every corner (bumping against you). So we finally found the bottle (thank you, Jesus!) and we headed out quickly. I knew I had to get a taxi by 5:30. It was 5:20 when we reached the corner to hail one. None were vacant. We crossed the street and waited... none were vacant. We finally started walking down the narrow pedestrian aisle (about a foot) into incoming traffic so that when the red light hit, we could go ask them to take us. We found three and they all said "Meiyou" or "bu Yao" (basically, no!) when we showed them our card that gave the name of the hotel and the address. Maybe they were headed to pick someone up, but the last driver.. I begged.. and a tear fell from my cheek. So tired, so scared , and it was getting dark. So I go back to the corner (yes, I was begging on a corner) and I pulled out Plecco. It's an app I use that doesn't need internet that is a Chinese dictionary. I asked several people if they knew English. One woman came to me with a girl about my age who didn't, but the woman did. She said through very broken English., "Me help!" So I pulled out the word for taxi and asked "how"? She said "no taxi now.... hmmmm... (laugh) how do I say.... hmmmm." They both pulled out their devices and went to their translating apps. They showed me the word for "underground". Oh, heck no! Not this country girl! I rode subways in NYC in 2001 and then four years ago in DC. I couldn't remember even how they worked too much! It took us a while just to find the subway, but we finally made it! So I made it to the ticket kiosk and about had a meltdown. I was done. It was over. I had no clue what all the words written in mandarin were or how to process anything. We figured it out and headed toward the lines. I snapped some pics to show someone where we might be if we didn't come home, but how?

My phone battery was on 10% and fading quickly. So, I thought "maybe the subway has wifi." I prayed as I pulled it up and I was so thankful... yes... wifi!" I wechatted our guide, Elsie and all I got from her through a message with poor service was head to Ouzhang. Uhhh, where am I? Where is Ouzhang????? I had not a clue! I find the subway map on the wall and found O, but where was I???????? Panic set in big time. Holding back tears I found a metro attendant. I asked him to show me where on the map we were (he understood very little English and I had to play some charades, but we got it!) he said I was at line 6 at a certain stop. We figured out the map and where to go. (Ok, Anna did!!!!) seriously, this girl is GOOD under pressure!!!!! We got on the subway and I second guessed everything. What if it sent us to the slums and I didn't know what to do? I looked at Anna and said "Anna, I am super nervous.. what if we are wrong????" She smiled and said so calmly "Mama, just wait and see... 2 stops to get off at line 2.. reconnect to line 5?and then 5 stops and we get off at Taojin...number 5-08". Amazed at her poise and confidence is an understatement! We got off on stop 2 and went to go up the two flights of escalators... broken.. up we go manually. Racing. We got on easily after we pushed our way through. So after one stop, more people piled in and it was a can of sardines!!!! I had male bodies pressed on all sides of me. It was unreal and very .... uncomfortable. All the contours.. I could feel... not pleasant! I put my hands in my pockets to protect from pickpocketers, but still was grasping that card with our address as tightly as I could... and tried to balance as it rushed to stops and sped off. We got off after 5 stops right where we needed to be - Taojin! We raced up the stairs to the top and I felt the cool breeze! And I look directly to my right and ..... The Garden Hotel!!!!!! I never realized the subway was directly in front of the hotel since we usually venture out of other entries. I verbally thanked God and praised him with tears. I panted with a dry mouth and was almost dizzy as we reached the revolving doors. When I smelled the floral scents of the lobby, we .were.home. Thank you, Jesus! We got to the room and Justin was worried. You, Joy and the boys came running to me like you thought we were dead. Almost, but not yet! I colllapsed in a chair and felt shaken. Awful feeling. Not many things have ever humbled me as much. We stopped to help some Chinese tourists in Gatlinburg once that were broken down and yet were so thankful. He spoke English, but the wife did not! I remember thinking it wasn't a big deal to help, but he went on and on. I didn't realize that until now. It IS big. Please help people that need help, Evie. Always. It is someone's mother, brother, sister, friend.. and they are YOUR brother or sister as well. I will make it a point to help more! I wasn't seated for probably 15 minutes and we all realized we were starving! (I skipped breakfast and only ate a handful of chips for lunch). We headed out to Oggie's Pizzaria! Pepperonis are nonexistent here, I believe! I've not seen any in two trips! We ordered the spicy salami pizza and the margherita pizza. Joy got some noodles with tuna and things and her favorite coconut milk. That place is amazing! That pizza is handmade right there and it's probably the second best I've ever had! We enjoyed a peaceful dinner and headed back to work on packing some more. At one point you all were lined up on the air mattress in a line - one in front of the other (sitting between legs). You were all riding in an airplane and Eli was the pilot. He gets everyone boarded and says "ok, all aboard!" He puts his hands behind his head, kicks back and turns in auto-pilot." We all got a big laugh!!!! There were lots of laughing kids tonight! Another day in the books, Evie. Tomorrow is another day!!! As I go to bed, I look over at the tightly wrinkled address card that I clutched so tightly today - our lifeline. It was damp with sweat and probably filthy, but it was so precious. I'll keep it forever to remember to stay humble and ... HELP. Our awful journey via subway reminds me of life - a hard, arduous journey full of ups and downs.. you hold on to your free ticket with all your might and when you reach the top of the earth and feel the cool breeze... you're home. What a feeling it will be. I got a minuscule look at that "home" today through thankful eyes. My real home must be much much better! I pray you get your ticket and you keep it clasped tightly. I will work everyday to teach you everything I know about Jesus.

love you, Mama

Chimelong Safari Park!

Today was a day we've been waiting on forever (the kids anyway). This Safari park is like a zoo on steroids - like something produced by Disney.

We had a fantastic time, yet it was so so exhausting because we are all running on fumes. Evie, you sat well in the stroller again! They made us throw away our mandarin oranges and bananas we packed for lunch! That was awful to do.. the food there is very expensive and not good food at all!!!! You like stuffed animals more than life.. the only problem with this park is that after each exhibit, you have to strategically walk through a small gift shop filled to the brim with hats (your other favorite) and stuffed items! You had a meltdown that we wouldn't buy a panda, flat-billed baseball type cap.. (what a sight on you!). You cried alligator tears and threw down for a few moments.. we got you together and kept touring... then we noticed the backpack was gone of yours. I panicked. I went back alone and didn't realize it, but it was probably 1/2 mile back and then I had to catch up - Blisters from my stupid boots! Last time we were here, we all took our adopted kids through the Dino exhibition. It was a big fail.... 5 kids that we had adopted that we couldn't communicate with to tell them they were no real! These creatures are lifelike, noisy and move! At one point there is one that spits water.. the kids this time LOVED it.. even you! Last time was a disaster.. we all ran out with screaming kids. You have to go through a dark cave with a MASSIVE T-Rex that roars unbelievably and then at the end spits a stream of mist. You loved it. How? Anna and I were terrified! You just go with the flow! The mist shocked you and you jumped out of your skin, but you liked it and laughed and laughed afterwards. We got lots of stares today as usual.. but I'm sure we stare just as much lol. We rode the trolley through the safari part and it was so relaxing and fun. We met elephants that waved when you said "hello" and we fed them bananas. We fed giraffes and we watched koi eat from a bottle! This is such a cool place to go! We left utterly exhausted and you even fell asleep sitting up. Will you stay with me forever please, Evie Li? I can't bear the thought of you all growing up and moving away... some days I can, but not today. Each day is so special. I am exhausted and probably very snappy.. I apologize a lot.. and you all always give me grace.. thank you, sweethearts. You were very overwhelmed today. It broke my heart and my mind went wandering on what your life may look like. Then, when we get to the room you started fake sneezing to get me to laugh. It totally worked. I did NOT see that coming. So I fake sneezed and you stuck your pointer finger under my nose! You're so smart!

We got back to the room and Baba took Anna and Ezra to eat Oggie's pizza and they brought you, me and eli back some. That was some DELICIOUS pizza! Wow!

We also got your visa today! Cutest little visa ever with your big, black eyes! You will be home very soon!!!!

The child outside of your natural environment isn't really "you". You are the one that snuggles deeply and rolls to your left side when you're ready to sleep. You're the child that lightly strokes my face as to say "I can't believe you finally came." You're the one that smiles from ear to ear when I tell you "wo ai ni". You're the one who gives me the look of "you have no idea what you're in for" when you are about to run away! You're the one who reaches to hold my hand.

You're not the one one who is in your own world in an overwhelming environment. You're not the one that shakes your head left to right as you try to walk straight. You're not the one who grunts and cries when you can't have your way. You're not the one who pulls us and collapses to the ground.

Two very different children are wrapped up inside of you right now. This will change. Your world in the country will settle. You will get to feel all the grass you want, get to pick up as many leaves as you can muster.. you'll get to smell as many flowers as your heart desires. You will not be locked behind four walls any longer. No more neglect. No more lonely. "God sets the lonely in families" is now the most powerful verse that makes me not cry, but sob.. because I've seen it. And I've seen other lonely that He will hopefully place with families. Children that are begging for a mom and dad to call their own. I've seen the big, sad eyes and the ravaging of my person because they've not had enough interactions. I've seen lonely and it isn't pretty, but His story always is beautiful. And I trust Him.. but I have to remember that I am His hands and feet. If not me then who?

Thank God for His story, Evie.

Mama

Tuesday!

** I will have to post photos tomorrow.***

Today, our alarm was supposed to go off at five. We all had to get ready, eat breakfast, come back up to get our folder of papers, and head to the lobby to meet Elsie by 7:40. Ezra awoke to the phone alarm and pushed it off without realizing. Today wasn't touring... it was our consulate appointment to get your visa (we should get it in a couple of days). This is a huge day that we couldn't miss. We woke up at 7:20. 😱😱😱. We threw on clothes and rushed out. I only had minimal make up and brushed my hair as I was putting on your diaper. Multi-tasking. We were walking out the door at 7:40 and Elsie called us worried because we are never late she said. That made me pretty proud to hear! We got on the bus with wacap, small world and lifeline families that were all headed from our hotel to the Consulate. Nice! We arrived and saw the long line, just like June 2015 and it humbled me. All these people were trying to come to our beautiful nation... and we got to just pass them all and walk in. It is hard to watch their faces. They want to come and have the freedoms we have, thank God. So you played well in the play area and climbed the stairs (2 flights) without any pulling or collapsing. We swore to the oath and gave them a lot of papers and told them your special need. It was very touching... another step to become a citizen as soon as we land. Since we missed breakfast, we rushed back to the hotel because they quit serving at 10:30... and it was 10:30. You were starved and we were all hungry. We got to get to go boxes and take tons of goodies to the room. Oh, the freshly grown mandarin oranges are so good. The kids love them because they're so small and cute! We put our snacks in the room for later so we wouldn't have to buy so many for the next couple of days. We headed to Subway and enjoyed club sandwiches. You downed a banana, a small bag of chips, a yogurt and a piece of bread. After lunch Justin took a long nap ( only 5 hours) and we had our friends over again.. Brandon and Dani kay along with their new sons Jett and Henry. They call us "Justin and Alice." lol I was always called Alice when I met new friend in elementary school, so I'm used to this. Dani Kay told them my real name and they didn't like it, so Alice am I! We went to the same restaurant as we did the other night near our hotel. We had a great time and it's been an honor meeting their family. Those boys have my heart.. they got the best two boys in china! We went to McDonald's for ice cream afterwards and headed to the gardens at our hotel. The kids ran and played and played hide and go seek, watched the fish, and learned a little about each other. It was hard to tell the goodbye! Yuck! We ended the night with some facetiming and laughing until we cried. All the fun is happening, but adoption is so hard. You would walk away with anyone at this point and you grab every Chinese person that you can. It is hard to watch. I trust that one day, you will truly know what a Mama and Baba is and that it is forever. You have no idea what a family is yet.. you just think that we have a lot of fun together and then fuss and get cranky together. Haha. It's about much more.. and you will learn, baby girl... you will learn with time and consistency! We love you so much! I can't believe that God chose us!

Love you forever, Mama

Last of pics

More Monday pics

Pics of Monday (more again)!

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Pics Monday

Monday

Last night you lost your first tooth!!!! We were so excited for you! You kiss on command now.. now that you know what kisses are!

We are enjoying the gardens here! Today after breakfast, I took Anna, Ezra and Eli to feed the koi and we named some of our favorites. Some names the kids chose were Bob, Jeffrey, and Joe. The gardens are huge and have different paths with huge waterfalls and trickling ones.. beautiful flowers, and places to sit and just breathe. I watched the kids play hide and go seek and I laughed and laughed at that. There are so many paths that they couldn't ever tag one another! I plan to take some photos of the kids tomorrow in the gardens while you girls wear their new silk dresses. We came to the room to wash clothes for a while (we don't have to meet our guide until 2pm). In Hohhot, the clothes dried easily because it was in the desert and dry! Here, the clothes are having a harder time, so we've made our dryer out of the closet and a blow dryer now. We washed everything today and hopefully will make it on the clothes we have until we leave. We hung and and played checkers and just had good conversations. We met Elsie at 2 and headed to tour. We went to a Buddhist temple at first. We found out that this guide of ours is Christian. Her mother is Buddhist - that must be hard. Seeing the people worshipping... wanting to know God .. it's just hard to watch. Seeing people being all they have to sacrifice things on the altar. Hard. The kids were amazed and I'm glad they got to see that not everyone is Christian. They needed to see it.

We left there and went to the Chen Clan Academy, also known as the ancestral hall. It was built in 1880 and took 6 years to complete. It started as an arts school for the Chen family. It also was a place to worship the people's ancestors.

It includes, but not limited to, ceramics, painting, carving of wood and jade, calligraphy, and embroidery of silk. When life was more simple and slow-paced, people could spend more time on their gift. The carving of all the wood was exquisite. Everything means something here.. there is a wall carved inside the entry to keep ghosts out. Tall things to step over in doorsteps to keep spirits out that cannot jump, but can walk.

This is is a beautiful place and very nice to see the artwork - which is dear to my heart.

We will never have a family photo where everyone looks again, but I'm glad we have photos of everyone presently in our family. :-)

We bought our teapot here - finally! We've looked all over China for the perfect one and now we found one here that is special because it came from a beautiful place that we've visited on both adoptions.

Here is the man painting with ink with only his hands. Anna and Joy both bought a painting and he gave them a free bookmark that is beautiful as well.
As we were shopping for a tea set and watching kids backpacks from hitting thousands of dollars worth of goods and stopping your grabbing hands, a 16 year old girl stopped me to ask where we were from. We ended up talking about adoption and our family. Beautiful to see seeds planted. She said "I've never thought of the children in the orphanage. What makes you adopt?" I said "JESUS, this was His plan for our family.. there is more than one way to grow a family. Adoption is a picture of us... adopted into God's family.. all because of Jesus . " she walked away with a lot of thinking to do.. I could tell wheels were spinning.

We left there and went on the Pearl River cruise. We ordered pizza (our guide did) ahead of time to be delivered to the boat before we boarded. We ate our pizza and complimentary watermelon and tomatoes. We were with the CCAI crew as well and we got to chat with our old guides from 18 months ago. Jason and Kathy were stellar! I miss them so much , but we keep up on wechat! Thank goodness for that app to keep up with all my China family! We met our friends, Jon and Andrew White that live in Nashville. We have been wanting to meet for a while.. and we finally did.

We made it back to the hotel and while I was getting other kids ready for bed, Evie crawled up into my bed herself. Goodnight, Evie Li! Mama loves you!!!!

Mama

Sunday!

We are learning how to be a family of seven and today has been a much easier transition with everyone. It's hard to work work out logistics of every move and we are finally settling. So glad we can start now so there isn't work to do with this once home. We have had issues with you wanting to only eat crackers and chips and such. Maybe it's the grief process. Tonight you ate lots of rice (when you wouldn't try it before) and a bite of a sausage. Progress. We walked through the Garden and fed fish some of our leftover bread. The Gardens are so nice. We came to the room and rested a while and then met the other wacap family and Elsie to tour the city. We stopped at a memorial hall where they were setting up for a show. It has some history lessons and people hanging out.

Beautiful tropics here.. no one is wearing coats and it is so nice!

They had gorgeous flowers and a Great Wall made of hedges. It was much longer in length than in the photo. We then traveled to one link plaza to shop. I have been looking forward i shopping at a particular store since November 2016 when we started the process... not kidding. We arrived at One Link Plaza and I knew exactly where "my" store was located. I couldn't wait to shop there!!!! It was GONE. Devastation occurred. I noticed I became ill... lol. This store.. can't even tell you what good deals and it had everything we wanted. So we paid a little more for the traditional silk dresses and got some other goodies. I've wanted a Chinese knot to hang for a long time to bring out at Chinese New Year along with some other decor... so happy with what we found. Joy got a thermos to carry around her hot water... hahahahhaha. We also saw the little coin purses with bad translations that we laughed at last time. These always crack us up. We left and came back to the hotel. Elsie walked us to dinner tonight to show us more of a fast food place (Chinese) and it wasn't bad. We walked the streets a bit and bought some more shampoo and snacks for the too (hungriest kids in china). Joy and you got baths first. You've been enjoying the bath color tabs I brought to spice up bath time. Tonight's choice was blue for the girls. You really like baths.
I'm imagining me sitting on the closed toilet watching giggling girls each night for a while!

The boys are enjoying the tabs as well. Eli is liking the rain shower head and has taken at least two showers a day! The travel games I bought from Dollar Tree are the best thing! We have chutes and ladders, checkers, tic tac toe, and connect four - so much fun!

You are getting so much calmer that it is a miracle. You still have things to learn for sure... but I am so glad the kids got to see the miracle unfold. They've been so proud of you . They have really been hands on and love helping their sister. It is now bedtime. I will see you tomorrow, sister! Mama

I don't know what day it is.

I can barely remember how we started today. We have had such a fun, long day. We went to breakfast here and enjoyed our breakfast (but missing the Shangri-La breakfast in Hohhot. :-(. We saw many adoptive families at our hotel since all americans that adopt have to come to guangzhou to get their child's visa. Your visa photo is the best! I wish I had a copy for my wall it is so good! We got on the bus and met the other wacap family here that has been in guangzhou to whole adoption because there child was from here. The child was around your age and you met and the little girl held out her hand to you. You both held hands and the little girl gently rubbed your cheek- So sweet! We had your medical appointment.

I got a little misty-eyed thinking about being in that room 18 months ago with some of our best friends. Memories! You had to go through many stations.. one which included a blood draw. Parents can't go in the room, but mama was waiting at the door to take you as soon as it opened. A little stressed, but no tears. You came to me with open arms. We finished up and came back to the hotel. Mama went up to the playroom with Joy and the other family and our guide, Elsie to do some paperwork. Baba took you, Eli, eZra and Anna back to the room. Joy played with the other little girl while I did paperwork. We chilled in the room and then Baba took anna on a special outing. They walked the area exploring and went to a Starbucks. Baba brought me back a vanilla latte - how nice :-). Mama played with you and washed clothes. Eli helped me hang them to dry. We ate lunch at Subway because EZra was dying for a sandwich!!!

It was good and tasted just like home. The chips were the Chinese flavors, which we like and think are fun. You downed a bag of cucumber lays :-) You like books so much! This one book hasn't gotten old since we got you. I cannot wait to read to you and let you see all of our books.

At 5:30 I went down to the lobby to finally meet my friend, Dani Kay. She has been a sweet friend for years and is adopting two older boys.. aged 10 and 13. So crazy to meet them. We ate at Minfu duck restaurant and we ordered a spread of food! We met a mom and baby with the English name Raymond. He was precious.

The food was so good! Their boys were starving and ate a LOT! I fell in love with their children! I could take them home with me in a second. When their 13 year old boy was alone with me for a second, I was sure to tell him that he had an amazing Mama and Baba... he agreed and it almost made me cry. I love adoption!!! We took them to the gardens here and to the huge waterfall in the backyard of our hotel. The kids romped and played and raced around the pathway. You say in your stroller and ate cheese wafers and Lay's chips. You only eat junk. I will straighten you out once home! You won't touch hardly anything unless it's yogurt or junk. This trip is about keeping your world as close to normal for you as possible. We are feeding you the chips and such and will work on things when home. Your favorite sign is "sleep" and it is the sweetest thing ever. I melt when you do it. :-) You laid down tonight and was out in 2 minutes. You are reaching for every person you see.. you are going to have to only hug and touch Mama and Baba for a long while. You just don't understand that Mama and Baba are forever yet.. but you will. It just takes time. Baba has a cold and mama is coughing a lot due to allergies. You just threw up right before bedtime, but I honestly think it is from exhaustion. Tomorrow we get to sleep in until 8:30!!!!!!!! This is huge! We are going to sleep now and I get to snuggle with you all night! It is so exciting. You're real, Evie. I can't believe you're ours. We are so so blessed!!!! I love you all the way to china and back!

Wǒ ài nǐ wǒ bǎobèi, Mama

Friday pics more

My fav pic is without the scribbles. :-)

Friday pics

Oh gah.. the suction cups.. I am dying.

Glad I saved tons of stickers and they're in our homeschool closet armed and ready for school.

Kristina Trusty!!!!! ^^^^

Friday pics

Oh gah.. the suction cups.. I am dying.

Glad I saved tons of stickers and they're in our homeschool closet armed and ready for school.

Kristina Trusty!!!!! ^^^^

Friday pics again

Hotel ^^

Pizza Hut menu

Friday pics again

Hotel ^^

Pizza Hut menu

Friday pics

Words all written in Mongolia and Chinese in IM

Friday! Guangzhou!

This morning we went down to breakfast as usual, but very solemn. We love Hohhot! This is where you are from and it hurts to leave.

Here is your last look at your province from the bus. We arrived at the airport and got our bags checked and Mrs Cindy went to security with us. She would leave us when it was our turn. She has been the best guide! She is now considered family. We are hoping she and her family will come stay with us when they visit America. :-) I hated to say goodbye more than anything. She has helped us with a you so much. She helps to straighten you out in Chinese, take you walking around stores while we shop... amazing.

So we were in line in security and this man comes up and talks to Cindy with a huge camera. He asked if we were coming to china for spring festival (Chinese New Year). She says what he says and we said "no, we are here to adopt our daughter." He clicks on his recording device and asks us if he can report our story. Uhhhhhh... little ole us? So he asks questions like if we like China.. why.. favorite part ... etc. We get so many questions to our guide on why we want to adopt. Hopefully by our answers, we planted seeds about adoption - our family's mission. I hope that people will see Jesus through us, somehow, because it is His story.. not ours. So, he leaves and thanks us over and over. We say goodbye to Cindy and he comes back. .. speaking 784839 words a minute in Chinese. He asks our names.. I decided to just spell it because he would never know how to spell them. I said "J-U-S-T-I-N..." and that's as far as I got.. so the report will just say Justin. Lolololol. He just ran off and thanked us. Hahahahah Before he left, he handed us his business card. One side was Chinese and one side was English. I will pull out my Sherlock skillz when I get home and try to dig up this story and see how badly it was butchered. Lololololol!!!!!!!

So we got through security without a hitch and boarded our plane. We were headed to a tropical climate after being in negative temps. You and Joy sat with me on the plane. You squirmed the whole time and Joy talked the whole time, but it was still amazing. Your legs were so short that the knees didn't hit the edge, so you wanted to put your feet on the seat in front of you. We sat behind the rudest man on the plane. He turned around and was blessing me out in chinese and he threw a fit when Joy got in her seat from the bathroom and accidentally touched his hair. Then, you thought it was hilarious that he was mad and decided to throw your board book at his head. My ninja skillz came out and I caught it with one hand, centimeters from his head. My heart was pounding. Your baba gave him an awful look when he started the yelling and he stopped and sat back down. Then, You tried to push your booger napkin in between the seat to rub it on him. I stopped you before you could, but GIRL... you're killing me Smalls! You were still good because you sat and ate snacks the whole three hours. Lol three hours was all you were handling.. and we have about 30 hours from hotel here to home of traveling next week. I don't know how we will make it home.. I really don't. Movies will be the lifesaver hopefully. I will charge my phone and the iPad and pray they don't run down as well. Survival. So we deboarded into 70 degree, misting rain weather. Funny because I was so used to trying not to slip on ice in IM that I started my slow, Granny little marching steps and then remembered.. wait... we are in the tropics hahahahah. We met our new guide, Elsie, and the van drove us to our hotel - The Garden. The orchids are blooming, petunias, palm trees and green grass everywhere. The Garden is gorgeous! The best part about the hotel, is that we have a stroller sitting in our room!!!!! All the kids were gifted backpacks filled with bibs (really nice ones!), marshmallow sucker, raincoats, rubber ducks and the cutest panda ever wearing a silk that says "the Garden hotel" on the back - What a momento!

This area is NICE with many cool stores and shopping around. The restaurants right in our area include Japanese, German, Irish pub, Pizza Hut, Oggi's pizzeria, Italian nice restaurant, little bubble tea stands, McDonald's, KFC, Thai, etc etc etc. super nice! Our room here is a suite that has two double beds, one bath, living room.... and we got a blow up mattress. They have an area out back with a big waterfalL, bridge with koi pond and a play area on the 13th floorS

We decided that since Justin is getting a cold, to stop at the first place we see for dinner.. Pizza Hut was the choice .. oh gah.. I hate pizza huts here. Give us all the Chinese - please. I'll attach pics in a new post since my pics aren't coming through here. I can only load three at a time. Joy ordered.... gulp... the seafood pasta. I thought it was just shrimp... and out came this.. I almost died. Give me donkey any day of the week, but please, no octopus. I seriously gagged writing this. There were big pieces (some "skin" left on it, too". (Just gagged again for real) then, there were little curly pieces that would get stuck in Joy's fork (just gagged Again..) ok, done.. cannot blog about dinner... let's move on. Please. We left and stopped at Watson's (make up store and drug store) and got some cold medicine for Justin. It was all in Chinese and the woman told him to take it. It zapped all symptoms in 10 minutes. He seriously is buying a lot to bring back. So funny. So then we stop at 7-11 and oh my goodness... I found them after visiting two cities... BEEF CHEETOS! Yuuummmmm. We all devoured them. Joy got an Unidentified meat sausage (gagging again) that was flesh colored... let's just say it wasn't appetizing. At all. We got back to the hotel and you and Joy shared a bath. I bought bath colored tabs to make bath time more fun. Tonight's color was yellow. Looked like I bathed you in pee, but you liked it. :-) You wanted in bed tonight with Joy and Baba.. your first time to sleep with him. I can't wait until you wake tomorrow!!!! I love seeing your face and seeing you improve so much. You aren't saying "Mama" more and more. Tomorrow is your medical appointment for your visa. Love you! Mama

Thursday

Thursday

Donuts