Mark: Time for some more nap time photos. Also, quick update: Song Yi did have a positive reaction to the TB skin test, so we had to do the chest x-ray this morning. Thankfully, it went really well and she's all clear to come home! She was very excited, because it also means we get to swim in the pool again today!


We enjoyed our time at the Guangzhou Zoo with Helen (she's taking the picture, not in it...)


Clearly, she's not photogenic... :) Don't you just want to eat her up?


Mama went shopping and got 3 matching dresses (unfortunately, Song Yi will have nothing to do with hers) and pearls. Yes, those are real pearls for Lilla.


This was Mama's opportunity for a glamour shot. Shamian Island is full of beautiful big trees. Unfortunately for all of us, you just can't walk 5 steps without sweating profusely.


The pool attendants let us take pictures at the pool when it was closed and there were no other guests there. Lilla is hiding in the cave behind the waterfall at the pool. Not sure why she's carrying Lou around...


This park was behind the zoo. The name says it all. I really wanted to go, but we went to a yummy noodle shop instead. That's Happy World for me. :)

Mark: OK - we're really falling behind in our posts now. I think Katy wrote this 2 nights ago...

Ummmm so again typing on Word at 9:15 pm. I hope people don't mind reading all the details. I brought a journal but I dislike the physical act of writing (too slow) and haven't been writing anything in it. It's either here or my memory (shot). We went out to lunch after the pool and Lilla had peanut butter and jelly and fries and we found that Song Yi also likes fries and ketchup! She ate a ton of noodles and made sure to find all the baby shrimp. They had a good nap, but Song Yi woke up very sad. She didn't smile and actually got teary. Maybe she had a dream that reminded her of something. It is so hard sometimes not to be able to really talk to her. So we just sat near her and she finally perked up a bit later when she got a cookie :-) and then we had to go to the passport office (I think that was it--we handed over our passports and they gave us a red folder.) We saw a lot of the people who had been at the civil affairs office when we met Song Yi and everyone seemed happy to see us doing well. On two different occasions, people who were there that day have said that they prayed for us. So thankful!

Came back to the room for more crazy play. We played a very funny version of hide and seek in which we hid and Song Yi hid in the same spot about 5 times in a row. At one point, she hid in the bathtub and covered herself up with a towel. When she saw her leg was sticking out she grabbed a pair of shorts and laid them over her leg. But she was laughing so hard the whole time there was no mystery to where she was hiding. Lilla likes to just jump out and try to scare people so Song Yi actually liked that. We tried to color and calm them down but no go, so we just left and carried our laundry to one of the many stores. Song Yi bagged up some of the laundry and then carried a very heavy bag all the way to the laundry place. She looked like a little grandma staggering down the street. We ate at a good restaurant (unless it makes us sick) but their water smelled like the Pearl river, which sounds pretty but it isn't.

We decided today was turning into testing day, to see if we will say 'no' to her. Or maybe to see if we still like her when she is naughty. We will and we do. She tried various things like smearing soap all over the counter, running away and standing up in the van. She also started this tongue click thing that kind of goes with a "what you talkin' about Willis" kind of look, or a "you are soooo dumb" look. That is either when she is corrected or we don't understand her. It's kind of funny for now. I know once we understand each other better and we know she feels safe we will have some training to do. She is the type where she is so cute she is dangerous. (Mark: Landon, I'm looking at you...)

After that we walked to a little park where hooligans hang out (aka 12 year olds on skateboards with cigarettes), little kids play and adults exercise. Our YMCA used to have a large population of older Asian folks who would use the Cybex equipment with basically no weight on it and kind of chat and do about 8 reps of each thing. Now I know why! This place has outdoor exercise equipment that anyone can use and they all talk on the phones or to each other and just hang out sort of half heartedly exercising. Song Yi was walking more later on and she can walk fast contrary to the popular belief that she must be carried at all times.

Later in the room they strung beads on chenille stems (aka pipe cleaners) for quite some time. Song Yi made about 6 bracelets and was hiding them in a phone book. I showed her she had drawers she can put her things in and she liked that. She and Lilla were having trouble sharing the beads and at one point Lilla saw one that was "very special to her that she had bought with her own money" but I don't know about that. I think she is just feeling the strain of having to be patient. Finally (one Lilla meltdown later) Song Yi accidentally gave her the special item and we moved on. Song Yi absolutely would not put on her PJ's until she had a shower even though they had one after the pool today. That must have been part of their routine. She also has quite an elaborate hand washing and tooth brushing ritual. The tooth brushing involves using bottled water to wet the brush, squeezing on BY HERSELF thank you the exact right amount of paste, brushing and then rinsing and spitting several times followed by a drink. She often washes her hands up to her elbows like a surgeon and I saw a girl do that in the restroom today too.

Before bed she was looking for her sunglasses (because she must have her panda, IKEA bear, Barbie, cell phone and sunglasses in bed as well as her Minnie flip flops right nearby on the floor) and she got out the picture book we had sent her. That was the first time she looked at it since we met her even though it has been in her backpack the whole time. She named us all and then pointed to our pictures and to us. I do think she was well prepared by the orphanage, but just when the reality hit it was too hard. Now I feel like she acts like she knows us or maybe she met us before. She is not shy at all and I am really thankful for how she laughs, shares with us, plays and looks at us. You can tell she has been well cared for.

Okay, tomorrow medical exam. She will get some shots and they will do the TB skin test so please pray for all of that to go well.

(Mark: short update. She only needed 2 shots and we will find out tomorrow morning (Sat) if she needs a chest x-ray to confirm negative TB. Thankfully, there was no fever or side-effects from her 2 shots.)

Trying to post some pictures while the girls are napping...


Lilla loves the pink parasol that she got to buy!


Fast asleep clutching her most prized possession: the Princess cell phone


Some reading time. You would almost think that she could read the books with the amount of time she spent going through it. Note the sporty tattoo.


We call this "Ham with Bacon". Can you guess which is which? :) This is our view of the Pearl River as we enjoy the breakfast buffet each morning.


A sassy little pose


Baba with his babies

Mark: As I'm posting this, Lilla is having a bedtime meltdown and Song Yi is staring at her like, 'What the $%^& is wrong with you?'

Katy:
Yesterday (Tuesday?) We woke up way too early, except for Song Yi, who we finally had to wake up at 7am. She reminds me of Landon, likes to sleep, but when she is on, she is ON and fun, silly, with maniacal laughter. But she can also sit and color for an hour, which reminds me of Jake (Landon can also concentrate and Jake can also be silly, fyi). And she likes girly things too, which is right up Lilla's alley. Meaning - she fits right in with us!

Yesterday she ate 2 bowls of congee with some kind of salty crunchy green vegetable she wanted mixed in. (Mark: I assumed yesterday that it was spinach, but I don't think it is now. We asked two different restaurant staff at the hotel that spoke fairly good English what it was and the best they could do was "Chinese vegetable". Thanks, that narrows it down... Katy wanted to know so she could cook something at home that she knew Song Yi enjoyed for breakfast. I'm not real sure I want my house to smell like that stuff cooking.) She eats very well, but tells us when she is done, which is good. After breakfast we looked at the fish in the lobby by the waterfall (yes, our hotel has a 3 story waterfall inside!) She kept saying WOW!! Lilla saw a bright yellow fish she liked. Then we had to go to another meeting at the civil affairs office, the same place we met her that first day. Our guide was very good to explain to her what was going to happen. That morning she was chattering away at me and I caught Mama, baba, fei ji which is airplane. I think she thought we were leaving to go home! But Helen explained to her. When we got to the office I could tell she was very anxious, and she wanted Mark to carry her. (Mark: As soon as she recognized the big room where she had her meltdown the day before, her whole body changed and she was really clutching me. Thankfully, we didn't have to spend much time in that room. She also got very scared when we went to another room to have our photo taken all together for some document. I'm sure that she recognized a staff person from the day before.) But soon, she and Lilla started coloring and we were only there about an hour and everything was okay.

If you need ideas about things to take to China when you adopt a 5 year old girl, may I suggest stickers, Color Wonder with princesses or Tinkerbell, sunglasses, bubbles and stacking cups (forgot those!! - later on that) and of course a cell phone that looks real and is annoyingly loud.

After that, we went to a shopping center where Lilla picked out some black patent shoes and a frilly pink dress. Song Yi chose Hello Kitty tennis shoes, Minnie Mouse flip flops and 2 shorts outfits. (Mark: Going shopping is one of those things that makes you understand how cheap and plentiful (hello, 1 billion+ people) labor is in this country. In every tiny department of the shopping center, there were one or two individual staff people. They are just standing, waiting for you to come to their department, or they are busy with some trivial task. Staff people outnumbered shoppers by 4 to one, if not more. It's insane.) Lilla couldn't find more shoes she wanted so we said we'd try later elsewhere. Song Yi was being very standoffish to me and not letting me touch her. She was all about daddy. I am sure I did something to offend her. Remember the pictures of her we first got in the fancy dresses? When she gets her feelings hurt or really doesn't want to do something, boy, you know it! That look says it all.

We came back to the room and the girls took naps. Then we had snacks and played inside because it was raining. I hate to admit it, but I don't really like playing. I know that sounds terrible (and I really do play sometimes--my eye may be on the clock), but I like to read books to people, watch movies with them, chat, play games, do crafts...Actual playing is not often in my repertoire because once you have more than one kid, they play together - but we have PLAYED. Song Yi loves to be silly, splash water, hide, blow bubbles, do gymnastics on you, play ball, stacking cups, pretty constantly....so I am doing it and it is actually pretty fun. I have never had to win someone over before or gain their trust, but I know that is what we are doing with her. So we are trying to follow her lead and play.

We walked to a wet, humid park (well, someone's feet didn't really touch the ground...(Mark: yeah, tell me about it. My right arm is about to fall off.)) and did bubbles and then we went to 7-11 and got ice cream. Song Yi got Mark to eat all of hers because she only wanted the cone. Noodles in the room, very long bath with bath crayons and then bed. Song Yi and I sat and read a book and it dawned on me why she kept starting at the back of the book--that's how they read in China! We looked at a coffee table book about fancy food while Lilla and Mark watched a video. I got an earful! I think she was saying Daddy likes this, big brothers like this, mama likes this and Lilla likes this. Chatter chatter chatter. She doesn't seem too frustrated that we don't understand her. If she really needs something she can show us, otherwise we smile and nod and talk back to her in English. She also has said sticker, here ya go and boat. Today at lunch she said wo bu yao water. :-) They went to bed fine. I am so glad!

This morning Lilla woke us all up at 6am. So we got ready for breakfast quickly and saw the fish being fed. It was so early the hotel waterfall wasn't even on yet. After that we went to look at the pool. Oh, she now says pool. Mark had been carrying her a lot and Lilla was getting sad. We were all walking and Lilla asked to be carried so Mark said okay and I went to pick up Song Yi. Uh oh. She was NOT happy. It was like a dark cloud passing over the sun. Usually she is all smiles, or sometimes just serious but this was dark. So Mark talked to them and said he loved her and he loved Lilla. We said it in Chinese. He sat and held Lilla a little bit and talked and tried to hug Song Yi too but no way, she wasn't having it. She didn't cry but that would have been better than that look. (Mark: actually, when I was trying to talk to her again, she turned her face and I could see her lip curl and she was definitely fighting back tears. She didn't cry, though. I was about to.) We walked on and when Mark put Lilla down he picked her up and by the time we came upstairs and started hitting the beach balls, the Song Yi sun came out again. Whew. At least she doesn't hold a grudge. (Mark: I don't think it was holding a grudge, but it's learning that mommy and daddy have enough love for Lilla and Song Yi, both. Oh, and Jake and Landon, too, but I guess we'll fight that battle some other day... )

Then we Skyped the boys and got to talk to Jake, Landon, granddaddy and Riley. We tried to talk more but Song Yi was yelling something over and over again, being silly. By her look and motions at me, I think it was get out of here! She was sitting on daddy's lap. Kind of nice to have people fighting over Mark :-) Then she and I started doing some spinning, dunking, wrestling play (which makes me sweaty and a little sick, but I do it anyway sometimes-- it is kind of fun) and after a bit I was tired and desperate for a new idea. Lilla was dancing and coloring but on the verge of getting her hackles up. So I pointed to my pink toenails and then to Song Yi's. Boy, did she light up. She couldn't move fast enough! She wanted her toes and fingers done. She showed me every spot I missed and was very still the whole time. Lilla also had all of hers done and then we went to the pool.

I tried playing with Lilla in the big pool, but it was too deep for shorties like me. So we found an adjoining baby pool and got in there. Song Yi wouldn't get in the big one, but she LOVED the little one. (Mark: well, she eventually warmed up to it. It was very obvious that she had never played in a pool before, even a baby pool. She was very cautious getting in the water and unsure of her steps. I wish we could have taken pictures or video, but the pool rules say NO CAMERAS and the pool attendants were very quick to chastise rule breakers...) She confiscated a baby's stacking cups (the baby had two left and the mom said go ahead) and went to work. For 45 minutes, she poured water from a water bottle filled by her slaves (me and later Lilla) again and again and again. Then the stacking cups drained through little holes and she did it again and again and again. Finally the original cup owners had to go but said we could keep the cups and leave them outside their room later. Their baby didn't care. Later she tried to take a 2 year old's cups too, who was having none of that, but finally she traded her beach ball for a few cups. She will share when prompted, but every time I turn around, she is hoarding Lilla's cell phone.

Lilla seems much older to me now and is acting like such a big girl. Song Yi seems younger, maybe more acting like a 3.5-4 year old, so I think Lilla is able to tolerate that. Jake and Landon, you will have no problem--I know she will love your silly play!

Mark: OK, "quick" post with some photos. I say "quick" because it's taken me practically an hour to get these uploaded correctly. :(


Enjoying congee and boiled spinach (it was her pick - blech! The smell made me gag.) a little more than any 5-year old should.


The giant koi pond in the lobby of the hotel is a hit!


After some rain outside, the playground equipment is good for splashing baba.


The ice cream was too cold for Song Yi. I'm not sure she's had ice cream before. She made me eat the ice cream (no, seriously) and she ate the cone.

(Mark: It's now Tuesday afternoon in China and Katy wrote this post last night, but we haven't had a chance to post until today. I have been given permission to add my own editorial... :))

Okay, now that we have Lilla and Song Yi in bed, I am typing this up in Word to save and post for later. Jake and Landon, Lilla told us about 5 times today that she misses you!!

So, we flew to Guangzhou Sunday and arrived here around 3pm. If you can imagine a place more hot and humid than Atlanta, this is it! We were still jetlagged and so tired. Today, we blessedly slept until 7am. Yesterday we just walked around, took our laundry to be washed at a shop and ate dinner. I am ashamed to say we had pizza! (Mark: I'm not ashamed - it was really good.) Our hotel is the lovely White Swan Hotel. We are in a suite which is nice because there is enough room for all of us to be together (VERY comfortably!) and Lilla and Hope can start sleeping in the same room just like they will at home. The president of Pakistan is here at the hotel so there is a lot of extra security. (Mark: I had a very surreal moment at the front desk of the hotel as I was in the process of exchanging $3000 US cash for $22,000 Chinese RMB. The woman was using one of those Las Vegas/drugdealer bill counting machines and just as she was handing me two huge wads of cash, in comes the President of Pakistan and his entourage, security, etc. They were just arriving from the airport and the hotel literally had the red carpet rolled out and the staff was lined along both sides clapping to welcome his visit. After they had all gone by, our guide, Helen asked me "So, do you know which man was actually the President?" I said - "not a clue" and she said "Yeah, me either.")

This morning we ate at the hotel buffet and normally I would not really go on and on about a breakfast buffet, but this one really should have a song written about it. Dim sum, omelet bar, fruits I don't even recognize, cereals, yogurt, congee (rice boiled for eons and garnished with whatever preserved eggs, pickles or veggies you want), French pastries, German cold cuts, Indian okra and cauliflower, eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, tater tots, stir fry, french toast...are you hungry yet?! It is literally about 15 yards long. Anyway, so we ate a lot :-) and then met our guide to exchange money (Mark: We had to get so much RMB that we had to do it in two phases...) and chat. To burn nervous energy we walked around the island for a few hours, shopped a little, picked up our laundry, ate lunch (ashamed to say I ate French fries). Our first lunch try was on the 5th floor walk up of an un-airconditioned building. We walked in and all Chinese eyes (Mark: ummm - there weren't any other eyes in there) turned our way. And stayed there. A guy brought us a piece of paper and a menu all in Chinese. I tried looking up a few things but decided today was not the day I wanted to eat in 100 degree heat possibly food that would make me sick on a day I was already nervous, so to Mark's chagrin (Mark: my search for an out-of-way lunch spot for less than $1 per person will have to wait) we left. I knew we had plenty of adventure coming our way later.

Then suddenly it was time to meet our guide and drive to the Civil Affairs office. We were all VERY nervous of course. We got there and filled in some papers and waited. Then some of the orphanage workers brought in Song Yi. She just stood there and would not come near us. So we tried to show her the things in her little backpack we brought her, but she wouldn't look. The workers were very nice and patient and talked to her a lot. They had the photo album we had sent and even pictures of the party they had for her when we sent the cake, as well as a panda we sent. They said she told them she would say hi to "baba and mama" when she saw us and that she was very excited to meet us.

But I think when the time came, of course she was scared. I mean if she felt half as afraid as I did, that is a lot for a child. She had a snack and water with her and the workers got her to drink some water and she briefly became interested when Lilla pulled out her lip gloss. But we were in a room with about 10 families receiving their children and it was a little crazy, and every time a baby would cry she would cry more. She was very attached to a lady she called jie jie which means big sister, who had to be in and out to do paperwork. Every time jie jie would leave, Song Yi would scream (Mark: and I have to say that's not a figure of speech - she was screaming) DON'T LEAVE!!! We kept trying to engage her but eventually I just sat beside her. As soon as she could she moved away from me on the sofa and finally got up and walked away. When I tried to sing her a song she screamed BU YAO!! Which means I don't want it! That was pretty much all she said. So when we left the guide just said to pick her up and go, so we did and I got hit, scratched and kicked and that was when Lilla and I both started crying (Mark: what? You think I was watching all this not crying?). At least she didn't hit Lilla. (Mark: Actually, Lilla started crying when she saw mommy getting hit. She was very sad for mommy and Song Yi.) I felt so sorry for Song Yi because maybe I would hit the stranger who picked me up and took me from jie jie too. The guide and I just held her hand so she couldn't do that anymore. We were at the office for about an hour but it felt much longer. (Mark: I also felt badly for the other families having their 'Gotcha Day' with us. Their video tapes of their first moments with their new babies will forever be etched with the sound of Song Yi screaming like a banshee. I wish the Men in Black would come with their memory eraser-thingy and take that hour out of my brain.)

Finally in the van she had to sit beside me, between me and the guide. The guide tried to talk to her, about our photo album, anything. She said she hated everything and that stuff wasn't hers. She did not like anything we brought or our clothes we brought her, only the clothes she was wearing. We showed her a picture book and she even said she didn't like beach balls, watermelon or toys. Finally we broke the ice with some stickers and she let us put a sticker on her bear we had brought her. All this time Mark is in the back with Lilla, who finally just fell asleep. It was only about a 20 minute car ride but it seemed much longer! And amazingly she calmed down during that time. Did I say our guide was awesome? She has a 5 year old son, so she was very skilled at thinking of ways to engage Song Yi and include me too.

When we got to the hotel, Song Yi agreed that we could all go upstairs together. She let me lift her out of the car and held my hand inside when Helen (the guide) said to. She agreed that the lobby was beautiful. By now she was not crying anymore and was looking around. On the elevator Helen told her she could push the button tomorrow. We came in our room and showed her everything, the potty, the beds, out the window, her drawers with all her stuff. Funny enough in the van she said she only liked white clothes (because nothing we brought her was white and the shirt she had on was white) well, it just so happened, we had white PJ's, white underwear, white socks for her. It was funny, like she was busted! She showed us which PJ's she wanted to wear and which outfit she would wear tomorrow. Unfortunately the shoes she was wearing are way too small and the ones we brought are too big. Maybe tomorrow we can buy more.

So then we showed her the birthday presents we brought. And praise the good Lord that one of them was a toy cell phone! Lilla had one too. So Song Yi and Mark pretended they were calling each other and one funny face from Mark and she was laughing. It also seemed like she didn't mind being near me, so we pretended on the cell phones for about 15 minutes. We also gave her a Cinderella Barbie, so Barbie talked on the phone. After that it was fine and she was smiling a lot, chattering and eating snacks and sharing with us. She makes great eye contact and let me put a cracker in her mouth and give her some water. She was already saying Hello and Bye Bye and also is now saying water and okay. Then Lilla (who by this time is doing some stupendous attention getting) brought out the Color Wonder and Song Yi said she likes to color. We did that all together a long time and it was so cute she would hold up her paper to show Mark, saying Baba! And he would high five her. Helen was still with us.

Helen had to go and let us have time alone, so she explained to Song Yi about the fact that mama and baba are total idiots and don't speak Chinese so she will have to be patient :-). She told her about her bed (which thankfully arrived just then, a rollaway to put by Lilla's little sofa) and the breakfast and the office visit tomorrow. She told Helen bye and see you later. I was so glad she didn't cry. Then we colored some more and played around with the cell phones. Lilla was struggling and started goofing off, which I don't think Song Yi liked. She seems pretty gentle and calm, plus she is a lot smaller than Lilla. Please do pray for Lilla to feel secure, for us to know how to handle it and for them to have some bonding. As it is, I feel Song Yi is starting to bond with me and Mark but is wary of Lilla. Who knows what her experience with other children is.

Mark went out to get some food and she looked a little concerned so I did some acting and tried to say a few Chinese words (she kind of looks at me funny when I try out my Chinese) and maybe she got it. She kept calling Mark on the toy cell phone. It was funny because the last time she called, he came in the door! We did bubbles while he was gone and she was howling with laughter. We ate noodles and she squatted on the floor and just got her chopsticks and chowed down. She drank a ton of water and thankfully can go potty by herself and did fine with that. She ate bok choy and eggplant too and was very happy eating and refused rice. (Mark: that paragraph really doesn't do justice to the amount of food that she put away. She was hungry!)

After dinner, Lilla took a bath. Song Yi said no. It wasn't until Lilla was completely done with the bath and the tub was drained that Song Yi decided she wanted to take a bath, too. We had these crayons you can use in the bath tub so they had fun coloring on my arms and wiping it off, coloring everywhere. We would say Bye Bye whenever we wiped off the crayon. She and Lilla had fun in there until Lilla tried to write on Song Yi's head and she did not like that. At one point she asked to get out of the tub, so I thought she was done, and I dried her off. She was laughing and shaking her head at me. When I was done drying her she ran to the potty and went and then climbed back in the tub. Actually she lifted her arms so I could get her in. I would love to know what she was saying! Silly mommy, I just have to pee! LONG bath and BIG mess but they were laughing and having fun.

We brushed teeth and she didn't like our toothpaste and I figured out she is used to rinsing and spitting, she wouldn't just spit. And we forgot her new toothbrush, so she had to use a big hotel one and she showed me she wants a small one like Lilla's. I think she is very smart. She is very perceptive, showing me how the flowers on her shoes are like the flowers in her pictures or showing me all the stars on every page. After PJ's she climbed right on Mark's lap to cuddle. I can tell she likes him. (Mark: but of course...)

After the long bath, we let them watch one Looney Toons, but the whole time she was trying to engage me and be silly on her phone. She let me tickle her and rub her back. Of course I did Lilla's too but Lilla said why do you always do Hope's back first? We will need to be very aware of Lilla's needs, too. At bedtime, she settled down with her cell phone, Barbie, bear we brought and the bear we had sent. Lilla has her own cell phone, Barbie and bear too. We will work later on everything can't be equal but for now I am going for equal! We sang songs and prayed and they liked that. Lilla sang Johnny Appleseed for us. Song Yi kept playing with her cell phone so I brought her her backpack and pointed in. She shook her head no and motioned putting it under her pillow. I said okay, but shhh and she smiled, and I didn't hear it again! They both fell right to sleep and it is 9:45pm. Very tired! In the end, today went really well, considering all the possibilities. I hope things will continue and we will be able to communicate and have fun, especially Lilla and Song Yi. Oh and her eye, didn't even mention that! Tears come out of both of her eyes. It looks like her right eyelid is fused shut, just like she is winking, it stays closed all the time. She has eyelashes on both and both eyelids move. Her lip is split on the right side too, like a cleft that is only on the red part. I will be interested to see what that is. She looks very healthy, clean and did I say she was CUTE? (Mark: If you did, I missed it. She is a total doll and her smile makes me want to pick her up and squeeze her - all the time.)

Well, we have to make this short because the computer connection is in the same room as where the girls will sleep very soon (we hope!) Yes, I said girlS. Today was actually very hard. Hope (who we are calling Song Yi for now) was moved back to the orphanage about a month ago. She traveled to the Civil Affairs office with some of the workers, who were very nice and helpful. It is a really good orphanage as far as that goes. Anyway, she did NOT like meeting us. She sat with us for awhile but by the time we were wrapping up, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and saying she did not like anything we brought, she never saw our picture and she did NOT want her nanny to leave. She actually scratched me a lot and tried to get away from me. Everyone was crying at the end. The good news is that our guide was awesome and really got her calm in the car to talk to her. She did get Song Yi to agree to come up to our hotel room. God is good because within just a few minutes Mark had her laughing and she was sharing food with us and chattering. I think it was good that she pitched such a fit. I mean, who wouldn't? She did know our picture and was prepared for us and understands about the hotel, airplane and our home. So, we have colored, eaten, and played with bath crayons. And the toy cell phones have been endless fun. She didn't want a bath but saw Lilla in there and after we drained the water and got dried off, Song Yi decided she wanted a bath too, so we started all over. She was really laughing and being silly. It was great. She is very cute and small. Please pray for Hope and Lilla. So far, Lilla has been acting a little crazy which Hope doesn't like. So far, no bonding but maybe tonight!! Will try to post more tomorrow, but I didn't want to leave you hanging!

We have stayed very busy in Beijing! On Friday we went to Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and an acrobat show. Everything is very crowded right now since students don't go back to school until September. I am glad we saw these places before because all we have seen is people! Lilla was a trouper but finally gave out when we sat down for the acrobat show--the one thing she probably would have really enjoyed! Our group we are traveling with is really nice and everyone has kids that were adopted from China. We have to say goodbye to them today as we each go to separate provinces. On Friday everyone will come to Guangdong Province (where we are flying today) because that is where the US Consulate is and everyone has to go there for their new child's visa.

Anyway, Saturday, we went to the Great Wall. Lilla said "we're here! I've waited YEARS to see the Great Wall!" She then proceeded to make us climb really really far! We climbed and climbed and finally had to go back so we would be at the bus on time. We ended with lychee flavored popsicles. Very refreshing! After that we went to the Summer Palace and I mean we couldn't see anything but people. We did enjoy a Dragon Boat ride which was nice.

Last night most of our group (no guide) went to a Cantonese restaurant. Thankfully there was a picture menu and a patient waitress who spoke a little English. She kept telling us we didn't order enough. But when the food came, oh my gosh. One thing one of the dads ordered was dumplings for everyone. They ended up being steamed buns which are about as big as a baby's head. He had ordered 12 of them! On top of that we had "delicious black fungus" (it was!), a whole fish with head and tail, stir fried pigeon and peppers with noodles, spicy beef, green beans, broccoli with about 20 cloves of garlic, a few other dishes we don't remember ordering, 3 giant beers (accidentally giant), tea and bottled water. When we got the bill, it was only about $6.75 per person! We did everything wrong, from Mark pouring his tea into the soup bowl, to all of us using our placemats as napkins. The whole kitchen staff was watching us and laughing, and most of the restaurant employees came by to see what we were up to.

We also got some additional information about Hope and found that she is called Song Yi (song-ee it sounds like). She likes "Bobby dolls" I am assuming means Barbie. We brought her one, so good :-). We also now know the names of her foster parents. My favorite quote from the update is:

Q: What does he/she hate? What makes him/her upset?
A: She has good personalities. We haven't found that she dislikes anything. She will get upset when she is criticized or she can't find a friend to play with her. She will calm down if you explain to her or give her more attention. She is easily to satisfy.

Earlier in the report it says she is a "gentle, thoughtful and lovely girl."

So right now it is 7:22am in China. I have been up since 4am! We will meet Hope Song Yi tomorrow at 2:30pm!! Please do keep praying for Lilla. She seems a little nervous and said she is very excited but scared, like being on a roller coaster! I totally understand the feeling!!

Hi everyone--
Well, we made it! Thank God, all flights were made and surprisingly we landed early both times. Lilla did well on the flight, we made it through the temperature scans and all of our bags were there at baggage claim! Praise for all that! I am writing all of that so I can remember not to complain that Lilla was awake from 11:30pm-2:45am. Also, not inconsequentially the hotel breakfast is great and the coffee is very strong. Our hotel in Beijing is nice and the room is soundproof. Well, except for one person IN the room if you catch my drift. Lilla just said "mom, isn't China beautiful?" Today we will go to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and then to the Olympic Village and an acrobat show. Continued prayers for jet lag recovery, patience for everyone would be great. One note, it is really strange for people to see Lilla, talk to her and ask us questions and we can't answer. I wonder what they think? If they ask us how old we are, what color something is what our names are, we know the answer. So far no one has asked me anything I can understand....
Okay, I have another minute, so last night we walked to the "hypermarket" (because super is not quite good enough?) and bought water bottled by Pepsi, chips in various flavors like kiwi, cucumber and italian red meat. We bought some cheese but it was like cheese flavored white chocolate with a hint of strawberry. So interesting. The store was called "Wonderful" but the reusable bags said WalMart on them. Are they everywhere or what?

Happy Birthday Hope Song Yi!

Although it is now 2am on the 18th in China (don't think about it too much!) it is Hope's birthday on August 17! My dad's birthday too, so Happy Birthday Dad.

We had a service buy Hope a birthday cake, so we might get pictures of her celebrating. If not, we meet her on the 24th!!

Last night my very sweet friend Stacy offered to host a few people to pray for us. It was REALLY just what I needed and was very calming and put the focus back on God. Do I really think I can control a child's emotions, TB testing, swine flu, airline baggage and my own organizational skills? Well, yes I do sometimes, but really and truly I am glad to know that the reality is that I do NOT control these things. I have to trust God.

We sang this song at church last week and it really describes how I feel about this whole experience.

Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer

Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labor through the storm
You have called me to this passage
And I'll follow though I'm worn

Jesus guide me through the tempest
Keep my spirit staid and sure
When the midnight meets the morning
Let me love You even more

Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go
And at the end of this long passage
Let me leave them at Your throne

May this journey be a blessing
May I rise on wings of faith
And at the end of my heart's testing
With Your likeness let me wake

--Keith Getty, Margaret Becker

Okay, hopefully we will be able to blog in China and give lots of updates so check back soon!!!

Lilla's birthday and more

Well, I'll start with the happy! (The sad doesn't affect our family personally, but it is worrisome...read below!)

We celebrated Lilla's birthday on her REAL birthday. I am so glad we did as in the past there has been much confusion about why do people have parties on days that are not their birthday? It really bothers her. Her favorite thing to say whenever we questioned something she was doing: "well, it's MY birthday!!!" Try to say it with as much sass as possible.

We went to the pool and partied with family. It was fun!


As for the mysterious cantaloupe, if you have been checking to see about that, here is what happened: Well, if you want the whole story, you must go back a bit. Last year I planted 6 cantaloupe plants and they all died. Sigh. Disappointing but not surprising. I also planted green beans last year and maybe one plant really took off and I got about 7 beans. Argh.

SO. This year, I worked on my soil a good bit. I planted tomatoes. I planted lettuce (died). Then I decided to have another go at green beans because I really like them fresh. I planted about 8 rows, maybe 50-100 seeds. About 10 plants came up and green beans grew!! Yea!

Then, a weird vine appeared and overnight it doubled (I swear). then yellow flowers appeared on it and then a strange fuzzy green ball appeared. Was it a zucchini? Watermelon? A few days ago a tan webbing came up on the outside and we realized it was a cantaloupe!! We accidentally grew a cantaloupe from a packet of green beans seeds!


As for the sad news, there is a new worry in China. Actually there are two. First, the typhoon. As far as I know there was no evacuation from Hope's province. Our prayers are with people in the affected provinces and families waiting for children as well.

But the main new worry is a new CDC instituted TB test. Effective July 1, 2009, all children over age 2 being adopted from China must have a PPD skin test, and if that is positive, a clear chest xray, to be brought into the U.S. Sounds like a good idea, right? There is so much messed up about this!!

What's wrong with the TB testing and the implementation of the treatment?

-no other Americans entering the US from China have to do this! Even if they have been living in China.
-the testing is done after the child is legally adopted. The testing could be completed and treatment started much earlier in the adoption process, so families will not be torn apart.
-children are no longer contagious after just 2-4 weeks of being treated. However,if a child tests positive, they must remain in China for the duration of treatment, until a sputum culture is negative, around SIX MONTHS!! Many adoptive families would not be able to stay with their child that long, having jobs and other children back home. So imagine, you adopt your child and a week later you find that you can't bring them home with you after all and will need to go back to China in several months to get them. Heartbreak for everyone.

A family has just had to leave their newly adopted child in China. I can't imagine how horrible it would be. Please read their blog here.

What can you do?
-If you are reading this and you work at the CDC, please do what you can to inform your colleagues and keep families together.
-If you work in the media, please pick up the story.
-If you are a nobody :-) please sign this petition!
-and not to be selfish, but please pray that we persoanlly do not run into any snags with this.

Of course no one wants TB being spread around by anyone. But this new rule is overzealous. There are many other ways to go about this!

Trip Itinerary!!

Okay, sorry to leave everyone (all 3 of you lol) hanging! Everything has been confirmed!

8/19 Fly to Beijing for touring and fun
8/23 Fly to Guangzhou
8/24 Meet Hope Song Yi!!
9/3 Fly home

Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes! We are getting very excited! Will post more later about Lilla's birthday and our mysterious cantaloupe...

TA!!!!!

So, FINALLY this morning at 10:30 we heard from our agency that we did indeed get our travel approval!!! Woo-hoo, I *think* I can see the finish line (yes, I know another race starts right after this one!).

Tentative travel dates are August 19-September 4. That just depends on when we can get a consulate appointment. I really am having a bad attitude unfortunately because I wanted to travel sooner. But I know God has a plan.

"....For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future...." Jeremiah 29:11

I think I'm mostly sad because we will miss Hope's birthday August 17 and because I'm impatient and think my plans are best. But seriously, self, snap out of it!! You're going to China! (that's me, trying to talk some sense into myself--not usually too effective, we need a 3rd party--anyone?)

Okay, here is an exercise in trying to trust:

What is good about leaving in 3.5 weeks instead of 2?

--We can celebrate Lilla's birthday here on August 6 and it will be relaxed and she will get plenty of attention right before what I think might be a stressful time for her

--We will have time to finish selling stuff on Ebay so I can get a better camera for our trip

--We will have time to buy new mattresses for Hope and Lilla since the current ones might be better suited for a prison or some kind of forced work camp, or in general for people you didn't like much. They are circa 1980 with LOTS of metal springs and no other cushion apparently.

--I have time to plan school for when we get back

--I can go to the parent meeting at the new homeschool co-op we plan to send Jake and Landon to.

--I have time to read the first 3 Little House on the Prairie books to Jake and Landon so they won't be behind for the Little House class they will be taking

--I have time to think through and wrap all the little gifts I have gotten to leave for Jake and Landon (oh, did I mention we are only taking Lilla and the boys will stay with my parents? Mostly because of swine flu)

--Well finally I guess because God wants it this way!

We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:20-22

it's my birthday among other things...

Isn't it funny how when you get "old" you really don't care as much about birthdays? The kids were asking when my party was and what kind of cake I was getting. Well....never and none! Mark and my dad went to Road Atlanta for the weekend so I think my gift is quality time with the kids! We went to a big mall today and painted pottery, ate lunch, rode the carousel and played indoor psychedelic putt putt. I told them they didn't have to practice piano today if they cleaned the house. There is so much wrong with that, I know!!

I was soooo hoping to hear about travel yesterday. Very sad we didn't. In fact, i cried watching a shampoo commercial

And a church skit

yesterday...(they are good though)

Last weekend, we went to North Carolina to see many of the families we traveled to China with in 2005. It is amazing how you can just pick up with people like no time has passed once you have had an experience like that together. A very fun and flexible group of people.
And then last weekend (with a big sister added in to the mix!)


Here are the girls back in 2005:


Here's hoping for good news Monday!!

Moving ahead!

So, we have only ONE more approval left! All of our things here at the end have finally moved along to their final resting places (if you speak Hague adoption, we got our Article 5 approval!) If I look into my crystal ball, I predict TA (Travel Approval) on July 17 and travel the first week of August. But it ain't done until we get CA (Consulate Apoointment). Can you see why those of us in the Hague adoption world talk about "getting some A's?!" You get PA, LOA, TA and CA :-)

My mom's surgery went well and she has had no complications. She got chemo yesterday too.

Please keep praying about our travel. People are getting quarantined, so we have to keep that in mind as we decide who will travel.

I am busy making packing lists and feeling like packing for a 5 year old is much easier than it was to pack for a 10 month old. For Lilla, we had a baby carrier, bottles, diapers, wipes, formula, food...now we are taking toys, books and stickers!

Pray for mom (and here are some photos)

Well, my mom found out she has cataracts. Not related to cancer at all. Her mom had them too. My mom will have surgery on one eye tomorrow. Please pray for her peace and a successful surgery!


We went to see "Farmer Floyd" yesterday to pick up mom's organic, locally grown produce box and he let the kids picks some carrots.


Mark got a new car--very long awaited!! He doesn't golf, fish, or any of those other time consuming man hobbies, he just likes cars. So I am happy he finally got a fun car after waiting 15 years.


This is what Jake chose for his birthday party--indoor rock climbing.


And waaayyyy at the top is Landon!


Grammy's birthday--everyone is reading their fortune cookies!

Still waiting....

Well, what have I been up to?

Last week we had 60 kids ages 4-12 here at our house for Backyard Bible Club. We had 5 adults and 2 teens in charge. It was really a great week and I am so glad it is over :-)

Jake's 10th birthday was June 18! So we celebrated that day and then took him and some friends indoor rock climbing.

Of course, paperwork! There was confusion and still is about whether or not we need to submit our homestudy addendum to US immigration or whether it was needed at all. Still waiting for an answer there!

Our paperwork for Hope's visa and our permission to travel is moving along. We have one more approval befroe we get our TA (travel approval). We could still travel in late July.

BUT the newest snag is that China is quarantining people (until they have a neg. throat culture) who:
-exhibit flu like symptoms
-sat near people on the plane who exhibit symptoms
-have the flu
-sat near someone on the plane or otherwise had contact with someone with the flu

A family there for an adoption is in this last situation, quarantined at a hotel with 3 kids and the dad is in the hospital because his throat culture came back positive. http://raisingdevils.com/ Certainly adds to the discussion about taking the kids.

Also, here is a statement from the Embassy about what they can and can't do to help people in this situation.

Basically, I have been *trying* to lift my eyes to the hills!


Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Update!!

We paid for a letter and photos to be sent to Hope last month through the very kind Ann at Red Threads. But then I started worrying (see previous post below) that Hope didn't know she would be adopted, so we sent another package and a letter and also asked 10 questions. Today we got the best gift!! We heard back from Angela at Ladybugs N Love (also a recommended service for those who might need it!).

I will post some of the Q and A here. From what I can tell, they probably called the orphanage who then asked the foster family. Total answer to prayer on number 1 and 2!!!

1. Does Song Yi know that she will be adopted?
Song Yi knows she is going to be adopted by a foreign family.

2. What does she think about being adopted?
Song Yi really what to have her own dad and mom to love her. She is very much willing to be adopted by a foreign family.

3. Did Song Yi receive our pictures and letter we sent?
Song Yi has received your pictures and letter. She can recognize family member now. she always smiles when she is looking at your pictures.

Also, we got some new photos and some other info, so that helps ease the pain of more paperwork quite a bit!




We also got a size update, which seems more accurate. She will be a LITTLE sister after all. Her height is 40.5" inches and weight 33 lbs, so Lilla has a good 7 inches and 10 pounds on her.

more paperwork :-(

Let me just start with this:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed....Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." From 2 Corinthians 4

I have to admit I feel a little hard pressed on every side today. But I am SO thankful that I do believe in the unseen eternal glory!

Basically, I can't say everything here that I want to, but I just found out that we need a homestudy addendum because we are approved to adopt a child age 1-4 years. Well, it used to be okay as long as the child was 4 at referral (which Hope was). But apparently now, since she is over 48 months and might be 5 by the time we actually adopt her (her birthday is August 17), we need to send $340, yet another form and new papers from our social worker. Soon.

We also submitted some papers to immigration a week or two ago and may not have sent all the necessary documentation with it, for reasons I won't go into here. But all we can do is wait and see if our officer at CIS (Citizenship and Immigration for those who don't speak IA, which stands for international adoption...) contacts us for more info.

All I want is to get to China and get my girl!!

We sent a letter and care package via a service and hopefully Hope and her foster parents will get it soon. We had sent another letter and photo album back in April but I wanted to send another in case the first one didn't make it. We also paid this service to make a phone call to the orphanage (even though she is not there, who knows how that works) to ask 10 questions. The thing I most want to know is whether or not she understands that she will be adopted. That is very important to me that she is being prepared for the day when she leaves her foster family and soon after her country, language, food...and all that she has ever known will be different. Can you please pray that someone is talking to her about these things?




We were also able to send a few pictures, so I sent this one so she could see her bed and quilt (still in progress). It's a trundle bed next to Lilla's bed. I also put her name on the wall. And I decided to send a picture that included my mom since she is HOPEfully going to be able to come with us! Please pray for that too if you think of it! I will take with us pictures of our larger family to talk to her about when we are in China. She needs to know about Grampy and Grammy and all the cousins aunts and uncles too who are waiting!

We are on day 14 of waiting for TA (travel approval) which can take 6-12 weeks. Then usually 2-3 weeks until actual travel. End of July travel is still possible!

If you like to email your representatives...

There is a United States immigration requirement now for American parents to have their newly adopted children brought completely up to date with all vaccinations before entering the U.S. using vaccines from China that may or may not be effective or even needed. If you are a future adoptive parent, grandparent or friend of someone adopting from a Hague country (that's you!!) would you consider sending this to your representatives? Adapt as needed/desired. This was written by someone on one of my many adoption chat groups. I emailed and actually got a phone call from Saxby Chambliss' assistant!

Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

House of Representives:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml


Dear ________________________,

I am writing this letter to ask your office to both quickly and diligently work toward correcting a U.S. Congressional oversight in the Hague Convention that affects internationally adopted children. This oversight requires immigrant children adopted from Hague Convention Countries be up to date on all Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended vaccines prior to entering the United States. Most other countries besides the U.S. are NOT requiring this.

When the Hague Convention was passed, new regulations were issued in the Federal Register on October 30, 2007 at 72 FR 61301. The amendments revised the Department of State regulations to provide for intercountry adoptions that will occur pursuant to the Hague Convention. This provided a new definition of "child" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, amending 101(b)(1)(F) and adding 101(b)(1)(G). Public Law 105-73 provided the exception for newly adopted children from the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit from the child's soon-to-be physician in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad. While revising the law for the Hague's implementation, in an apparent oversight, Congress forgot to extend this part of the process. As stated above, this oversight requires these newly adopted children become up to date with all of the CDC's recommended vaccines before they will be granted entry into the US.

It is important to note most of these children come from orphanages in developing countries. Various countries may have given the orphans anywhere from several to no vaccines. Often they have received vaccines relevant to diseases in their country and not required by the CDC. Some may have no medical record or an outdated record of the vaccines they received at the orphanage. Without Public Law 105-73 in place, the newly adopted children would be required to receive the vaccinations again.

As you can imagine, adoption is a very complicated process both emotionally and physically. Taking this into consideration, these vulnerable children may be required to receive a large number of vaccines all in one day, just days after being adopted and just days before they board the lengthy international flight home to the U.S. There are reports of children receiving 6-7 injections at their medical exam in Guangzhou, China in order to comply with this requirement. In my opinion, this is both cruel and unethical.

These children may be medically fragile at the time these vaccinations are required. As the law stands, there is no available exemption for anyone, including the medically fragile. If the family wants to return to the United States with their child, the injections are mandatory without exception.

It is important to note, as the law stands today, these vulnerable children are now the only class of U.S. immigrants that are given no possible exemption from their overseas visa immunization requirements. All other U.S. immigrants are allowed the possibility of exemption due to medical necessity or religious or moral grounds. Can it really be this is a result of the Hague Convention which was intended to actually provide MORE protections for these children?

The best way to handle vaccinations, and the way it was done pre-Hague, was once at home the child's Pediatrician orders a blood test to discover the child's titer antibody levels. With test results in hand, the Pediatrician recommends only those vaccines that are shown to be missing, on a safe time schedule.

We ask that your office quickly seek to extend the previous exemption that allowed adopted children to postpone their immigrant visa vaccination requirements until they are safely at home. Such an exemption would be similar to 101(b)(1)(G) Public Law 105-73 which provided the exception for newly adopted children to the vaccination requirement by allowing for a written affidavit in lieu of receiving vaccinations abroad before receiving an immigrant visa.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your prompt and timely response. The well being of some of America's newest and most vulnerable citizens depends on it.

......................

NOTE from Katy: I am fine with vaccinations, but would prefer not to have my new child get 7 in one day that they may have already had, right after being adopted, paid for out of pocket rather than through insurance, not under our pediatrician's supervision, a few days before we take a 20 hour plane ride. We did not have to do this for Lilla; it is new because of the Hague laws, which were supposedly created to protect children. Families from Sweden, the Netherlands and other countries do not have to do this. They wait until they are home.

If you're still reading, thanks!!