Finally! An update!

Hi dear friends, please accept my apology for not posting an update until now.  It's been a crazy few weeks since our last post.  There is much to cover so I'll try to summarize things as much as I can.

Our last post was on the day of our consulate appointment and it was drama-filled as the system went down and we were nervous that we wouldn't get our visas on time.  Obviously our visas did come on time and we and another family on our trip loaded a private van for Hong Kong.  We were quite nervous for the 3 hour van ride as Charlie hasn't loved his other van rides but he really did great.  While many families take the train to Hong Kong from Guangzhou, we opted for the van because navigating a metro system with thousands of people and nothing in English sounds pretty intimidating.  Plus, we got to stay in our van to go through the China/Hong Kong border which was nice.

The 17 hour flight home was no fun, especially because we spent an additional hour sitting on the plane before it ever took off due to "electrical issues" but we made it and I couldn't have been more thrilled to get off that plane.  We went through the immigration line and then had to go into a room filled with people so they could file Charlie's paperwork, officially making him a U.S. citizen.  I must have looked pretty exhausted and pathetic because one of the guys took pity on us and sent our file through quickly so we could be on our way within 15 minutes!

When we got to baggage claim we had the warmest homecoming with many of our closest family and friends there to greet us.  I couldn't wait to hug them and especially see our Brooklyn who we had missed so very much.  We couldn't ask for better friends!

So, now real life begins.  I'd love to say things are just rolling right along but, to be honest, it's been pretty tough.  All change is hard, even good change.  It took about a week of sleepless nights before Charlie got over his jet lag and began sleeping longer stints at night.  Sometimes you forget how very important sleep is until you aren't getting it.  It was like having a newborn except they don't sleep during the day either. I'm happy to report that he has had several great nights since then and I'm so pleased with that progress.

We are also getting used to managing two toddlers.  Brooklyn is my sweet but quite "spirited" child and would prefer to keep all her toys as well as her mommy and daddy all to herself.  Sometimes Charlie can breathe wrong and she's in a huddled mess on the floor about it.  I know this type of adjustment is fairly normal for kids, we're just trying to manage it well.  It's a work in progress...

Throw in the stomach flu and a family funeral and you've got an action packed first two weeks home! Charlie did great on his first road trip to Odessa for Brian's dear grandmother's funeral and actually slept through the night the second night we were there.  I'm excited to see him with his cousins at Christmas.  I know they will have a blast together.

So what's Charlie like?  He's actually fairly easy going as long as he's kept fed and well rested.  This kid can EAT!  Considering that Brooklyn eats barely enough to keep a bird alive, this is quite a change for us.  He can polish off an entire kid's meal in no time at all.  He's a pretty tiny thing, but I have a feeling that will change quickly!  He's curious and loves noise.  He likes to bounce things off of the tile just to hear the sound it makes.  He's a little partial to his momma right now but will go to either of us.  He loves being tickled and playing in our play kitchen.  Did I mention he loves making noise?  He likes music and likes to dance.  He can say "mama" "ball" "Uh oh" "baba" (Daddy in Chinese) and "Jie Jie" (sister in Chinese).  He has already learned how to climb the stairs to the slide and go up the stairs of our home which is vast improvement from even a week ago!

I can't wait to see him continue to progress.  In the meantime, please forgive me if I'm a little slow to return your emails or messages.  In my few minutes of peace at the end of the day, I usually opt to do absolutely nothing but enjoy time with my hubby and sit.  I will get better at this, I promise, and will rejoin society again.

Much love

Consulate Appointment day

What a day!

We headed to the U.S. Consulate bright and early this morning, about 7:30 am.  We got there about 8 am and headed upstairs to the "adoptions room" which is pretty small and there were about 10 families with at least one child each.  We took a number and when ours was called, they reviewed all our paperwork.  Then we were called to a window where we took an oath that everything we put in our paperwork was true.  Then we went to another window to answer a few questions and take a fingerprint scan.  This is where it all went wrong....

There were about two families ahead of us in line and the first family went to the window for their fingerprint scan.  It seemed like they were up there forever and then the man behind the window told us the internet was down and we had to wait until it came back up.  We had been there about an hour at this point.  I heard someone explain it this way - Imagine you're at the DMV with your toddler and the room is full of about 10 to 15 other families all with toddlers as well.  Then they tell you you have to stay in that room and wait there for four hours.  Sound like torture?  Yes, it was.  Charlie was not happy about this waiting and screamed and cried for a good portion of this time.  We had no cell phones and only a few snacks with us. On top of that, we had the stress of thinking that if the system doesn't start working very soon, we'll likely miss our flight back home.  No bueno.

Finally the system began working again in and out and we were able to get our fingerprints scanned before the system shut down again.  All the other families in our group had to go back this afternoon to try it again and, thankfully, it was working.  The man at the consulate said this should not delay us getting our Visas tomorrow so we are praying hard that is the case.  Assuming all goes well, we should get Charlie's visa at 4:30pm tomorrow and then we catch our van to Hong Kong at 5pm.  We'll stay the night in Hong Kong and then our flight leaves on 10/30 about 1:30pm Hong Kong time straight to Dallas!  I get excited just typing it!!  Can't wait to show off our little man and give my girl and big kiss!

Specific prayer request:  Please pray all our Visas home come right on time with no delays and that our van ride (about 4 hours) goes smoothly and safely to Hong Kong!

We couldn't take any pictures at the consulate, but here's our cutie all decked out in his red Americana attire!

Fun at the Safari Park

We spent the day at the safari park.  I was a little apprehensive about it since it would be a long day but Charlie was such a little trooper!  We began on a train that drove to see animals roaming around and then we walked through the rest of the park ourselves.  The animals were really neat.  Unlike the regular zoo where most of the animals are typically asleep or hiding, these animals were much more active.  Probably because they were throwing meat at them....

There are only 500 white tigers in the world, and this zoo has 250 of them.  They also have the world's only twin koalas and very rare triplet baby pandas.  The baby pandas are a really big deal there.  We couldn't see the pandas live because they are still being cared for in private but we could see video of them.  They will be out for public viewing in November.

We had dinner at a cute little cafe across the street.  It was quiet and the food was wonderful!  

Tomorrow we go to the U.S. Consulate for Charlie's visa appointment.  Shouldn't be super fun considering we have to meet at 7:30 am and wait around most of the morning for our appointment time.  We can't bring anything in - no cell phones, no watches, nothing.  We can bring our passports and a clear bag with some snacks for Charlie.  We will be happy to see the American flag flying though!

Only 3 more sleeps until home!

Specific prayer request:  Please pray that our Consulate appointment goes really well tomorrow and that there is no delay getting Charlie's visa on Wednesday.  

Sic 'em Bears!

Panda Triplets

Camels

Lots of elephants

Brown bears

White tigers

Rhino

Zebras roaming freely

Animals everywhere!  It was so cool!

Beautiful giraffes

We got to feed a giraffe. Their tongues are so long!

Cuties!

Our little bear in training

Guangzhou free day

Today was a free day in the schedule so we took the morning to visit Shamian island.  It's not really an island but it is located on the water.  There is some shopping and some residences but it's also just much slower paced and has pretty garden areas.  It's also apparently a good place for brides to come for photo shoots.

It was really a pretty place, many said it reminded them of New Orleans or Charlotte, NC.  There is also a restaurant there that serves American classics like cheeseburgers and onion rings.  Yum!  Main downside was the humidity.  I've never felt anything like it.  I really felt like we were in a sauna.  It was a nice morning anyway.

After lunch we went to a jade and pearl market.  It was quite overwhelming.  There are so many vendors and it's hard to know whether you are getting real stuff or fakes, so we avoided most of it, but still neat to see.

Tonight we are laying low in the room as we've been out most of the day and have a full day tomorrow.  We are going to the safari zoo tomorrow and it's supposed to be really amazing.  White tigers and pandas and other wild animals up close and personal.  Should be fun if little man doesn't tire out from the long day.  We are trying to rent a stroller from the hotel which should help.

Four more sleeps until we come home!  Miss you all and especially miss our sweet Brooklyn.  Can't wait to see her and give her a big hug.  Mommies need to be with their babies.

Specific prayer request:  Please pray Charlie sleeps well and we have a really fun day at the zoo!

Shamian Island

There was a man doing Tai Chi in the park

One of many brides

We sure do love this cute little dude!

Church on the island

Brian was happy to get his Corona with lunch!

My guys

Guangzhou travel day and Medical check

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, I was not in the right state of mind.  You know how they say, If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all? :)

Well the day was going well until we got to the airport to fly to Guangzhou.  When we got to the airport, it was nap time for Charlie and he was letting the whole airport know he wasn't happy about it.  It took forever to check in because we had "prohibited items" in our checked luggage.  They made us go through our bag but we couldn't figure out what they were saying was prohibited.  After 15 minutes of taking our bag apart, we figured out it was our bug spray and they made us throw it away. Sheesh....

Brian finally got Charlie to sleep while we waited to board and he woke when we got to our seat.  I was pretty anxious about the flight with him, but he actually did amazing!  We bought some baby headphones and turned on Baby Einstein (thanks for the videos Lindsey) and he wore them almost the whole trip!  We also kept the snacks coming which helped.  As long as this kid is eating, he's a happy camper!  I really feel like that flight was God's great provision for us.  I felt peace and so did Charlie because he barely made a peep!  That is until we landed and were waiting for our gate.  Charlie's little buddy from the orphanage was a few seats in front of us and he looked over the seats at Charlie and they started having a baby conversation across the airplane.  They were just going back and forth talking away, pointing at things, etc.  It was so cute, the whole plane was cracking up!

When we finally got to the hotel, it was about 8:30pm....way past Charlie's bedtime.  We got things unloaded a little bit, gave him a bath, and started the nighttime routine.  He was NOT having it.  After us holding him and him screaming for what felt like forever, we put him back down to play and ordered room service. Charlie had eaten quite a bit, but we hadn't had any dinner.  10pm and still no sign of bedtime.  Finally, I put him in the carrier and briskly paced the floor of our bedroom until finally success about 10:45pm.  Whew!  By the time he went to sleep we were so tired we could barely think straight!

Sleep finally did come and we woke this morning for our medical exam.  All adopted children have to go to this one clinic in Guangzhou to see their doctors and report to the US Consulate that they are "healthy".  We basically stand in line in a very crowded waiting room (not Charlie's favorite thing to do) and go into tiny rooms to meet with different doctors.  We saw the ENT to check his hearing, ears and mouth.  We saw the "General practitioner" to review Charlie's med file and do a quick overall assessment.  We saw the nurses to have him weighed and his temp taken.  Then, we could play out front of the building until everyone else from our group was done.  It took several hours.

After we were all finished we headed back to the hotel.  I attended a meeting about our consulate appointment later this week and Brian took Charlie on a walk to get him to nap.  This afternoon was pretty fun just walking around and playing and the evening went much better getting Charlie to sleep on his normal schedule.

Guangzhou is very humid but we really like our hotel.  It is a very international hotel, especially with the trade fairs going on right now, so we are by no means the minority here.  There are people from all over the world and many other families that have adopted as well.  It's a nice break from Nanjing where we felt like the local tourist attraction at times.

Tomorrow we have another "free day" so we plan to visit Shamian Island for some local shopping and then to visit a jade and pearl market.  Should be fun!

Specific prayer request:  Things are looking up.  We are getting to know Charlie better and he is learning to trust us.  Only a few more sleeps until we can come home!  Please pray that we can keep finding joy in our trip as we anxiously await coming back home!  Goodnight friends!!

Checking out Charlie's mouth with the ENT

Checking his heart

Quick general assessment

Checking his weight

We're free!  We passed the exam and are ready to play!

Charlie and his little buddy Josh

Free Day in Nanjing

So today Brian was supposed to go to the notary to check some documents, but there was a problem with our appointment and so our guide took care of checking the documents on our behalf.  This left our morning free and we knew we needed to get our little man out of the room.

We went down to Confucius' Temple which is a few minutes walk from our hotel with another couple in our group.  The temple itself is pretty cool and there is a big bell you can ring for good fortune.  There is also a market that we could walk through selling goods and street food, etc.  I'm not much of a street food eater, so we passed on the "mystery meat" on a stick.

We came back to the room for lunch and then met our guide and the group to tour a local garden area.  It was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Nanjing. This place was amazing.  A beautiful garden with waterfalls and ponds located in the middle of the city!

Then we went to dinner as a group at a place called "Grandma's home" which served local Chinese food.  I tried a few items and Charlie loved the egg soup stuff.  Apparently it's very traditional to serve this soup to babies after 4 months of age.

Little Man is coming out of his shell more and more every day.  He loves food and is very happy when there is something to eat around, but doesn't seem to overeat, which is good.  He likes playing ball and with the bubbles and likes to wander around the hotel hallways and lobby.  We are working on getting him to hold our hand when he walks otherwise he falls down a lot.  He's still a little unsteady on his feet but I'm sure chasing big sister around will solve that quick!

 Tomorrow we get Charlie's passport and then head to the airport for an afternoon flight to Guangzhou, our last stop in our journey.  I cannot wait to get there as I've heard great things about it.  Mainly that it has great shopping and an American food restaurant with actual cheeseburgers!  I can almost taste it now :).

Specific Prayer Request: I am a little anxious about the plane ride tomorrow with Charlie.  Will you please join us in prayer that all goes smoothly?  Love you all.

Here are some photos from our tour of the gardens today.  The pictures don't do it justice!