Home 2 Months!

We arrived home two months ago today! Noelle is adjusting well to her new family and home. Emma has been adjusting also in learning how to share EVERYTHING, including her Mama and Daddy. Paul and I are learning a lot, too, about having 2 two year olds. Seriously, we believe things have gone better than expected in our receiving Noelle and bringing her home. Of course, we have challenges but know the One who allowed us the privilege of adopting Noelle will be faithful to help us. I'd like to publically thank our Heavenly Father for his constant love, care and faithfulness these past few years as we've waited for His will to unfold. Following is a link to a song I've enjoyed so much as I remember His faithfulness. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1bXG4WIesA

The Journey Home

We had a very predictable (well-planned by our agency) trip overall. The return trip was not great planning, just blessed.

Good Change of Plans

Saying goodbye to our guides in Guangzhou

We originally were going to take the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong then a taxi or subway to our hotel at the airport. From the states, this seemed the best route but while there we decided to take a private van directly from hotel to hotel. I guess the train stations aren't easy to shuttle baggage through. The taxi ride from the Hong Kong terminal to the hotel would be an hour and we might need two taxis because of our luggage. The van was much less hassle and took about the same time. The extra cost was worth it and we found out after we made the decision that a couple other families made the same decision.

Blessings Going Home

Enjoying Marriott's Executive Lounge in Hong Kong

So, we arrived a bit earlier than expected at the hotel, with two cranky 2-year-olds, and were informed that our room wouldn't be clean for at least another hour. BLESSING #1: We took an "Executive Level" room that was already cleaned and headed upstairs. It came with Exec. Lounge access w/drinks & snacks, "happy hour" open bar & buffet and breakfast buffet and internet. It was nice to get some drinks and snacks for the kids, then to take turns relaxing in the lounge while the kids napped. After naps we took a shuttle to do some shopping nearby and returned for the happy hour buffet. Great all around.

The new day brought more blessings. After a QUICK buffet breakfast, we walked outside for the shuttle to the airport. While we were eating a long line had formed for the airport shuttle bus. At the back of the line, we were worried we wouldn't get on the bus and the next scheduled bus was a bit late for our flight. BLESSING #2: Just then a black-leather limo pulled up behind the bus and the bellman wheeled our bags to it and ushered from the back of the bus line into the limo! We felt like rock stars with all the people in the bus line watching us get into the limo :)

We thought it would be smooth sailing after that. Surely our 2-hour early arrival at the airport would be plenty early. We got to the "Economy Class" line to check in with bags and the departure time showed 1/2 hour earlier than was on my e-ticket!? Uh oh. While Ann stood in line with our bags I went to a kiosk to try to check-in there. But the kiosk wouldn't process our tickets, even with the help of a friendly agent. We were stuck waiting in the longer of the check-in lines; the one for people who hadn't checked in remotely. Twenty minutes later we had progressed about 5 feet and our prospects for getting on the flight were dimming.

BLESSING #3: Some kind of security (?) agent who seemed to be there only to keep people in the right lines went to a nearby counter for a company called SATS and spoke to them about helping us, then called us over. A few minutes later the SATS agent had us checked in, then we even bypassed the shorter line to check luggage as we went straight to the Delta agent nearest the SATS counter. We were done before the other lines had even moved!

Noelle, just before leaving Hong Kong

MORE BLESSINGS: From there we went to a security line and found ourselves in a "Families with Children" line that was shorter than the others. From there we went to the immigration line for outgoing processing which didn't take long. From there we walked to the gate, arriving just a little prior to the earlier-than-planned boarding time. Whew! There was just time enough to take the girls to the ladies room before boarding. Oh, and our original tickets showed us all sitting separately (!) but the final arrangement was 2 sets of 2 seats, right across the aisle from each other. And we were "Zone 1" so we were able to unpack the girls' stuff and settle in before most of the people around us showed up. Thank you Father.

STILL MORE BLESSINGS:
We sat near the back of the plane so we were last to get off and the gate agent told us that the other Asia flights had gotten there first so there were long lines for customs and immigration. It WOULD have been a long wait but a friendly immigration agent took an interest in us as we got into the cue. He prescreened our customs document so we could speed through the immigration desk when we finally got to the front of the line. We thanked him and got in line. A minute later, though, he came and got us out of the line! We backtracked, apologizing to those who had lined up behind us. Then he took us to another "SPECIAL ASSISTANCE" line with only ONE couple in front of us! WOW. I can't show you photos because no cameras or phones were allowed, but that is the desk at which Noelle became a U.S. citizen!! There was no fanfare, just about 5 minutes of paperwork and a "Congratulations" from the agent and we were off to claim and recheck our luggage.

Noelle likes her new Aunt Kay and Cousin Cofer

The flight to Atlanta was relatively short and our homecoming was made SO much easier by Ann's sisters who all three met us at the airport and helped us get our bags into our van (they brought it from home and parked it nice and close.) Noelle screamed bloody murder for the entire 1/2 hour ride home so arriving was all the more sweet :) We were SO tired.

Thanks to everyone who helped. We came home to a nice clean house with flowers on the table, and food on the stove and in the fridge. And the grass was cut, front and back! After dinner, Ann had lots of loving help getting the girls bathed and in bed while Paul went to bed (about 28 hours after getting up.)

We're in Hong Kong!

For the first time, we're in a place where we can see our blog! Many thanks to Adam for doing the updates while we were in mainland China.

Marking Time

We can't wait to get home! There's nothing left to do but wait for transportation.
Yesterday we had a quick brief on leaving the country. In the evening we went with another family to a VERY nice mall downtown. We don't spend $3000 for a pair of glasses or a purse so we mostly just walked around. It turned out that there actually were some reasonably-priced stores on the bottom levels. We finished up with a great Italian/American dinner at "Danny's."

Ann & Emma with the Guangzhou skyline in the background

Today was a sightseeing day. We took cabs with several other families to Beiyun ("White Cloud") Park where we rode an electric tram to the top to visit the overlook and walk about. We then took the cable car back down to the bottom. After nap time, we received Noelle's visa and... that's it! YAAYY! We would love to go get on a plane immediately but actually we must still wait until after a certain time tomorrow to leave the country.
A van will pick us up at our hotel tomorrow (the 23rd) at 10 a.m. and take us to our hotel in Hong Kong where we will stay overnight at the Marriott Sky City hotel near the airport. On the 24th we'll board our Delta flight to Detroit and on to Atlanta! Ann's sister Amy will be picking us up at the airport in Atlanta. We are so looking forward to being back in our own home. Ann's frequent comment is that she's looking forward to having her washer and dryer. What I think about is how Noelle will adapt to our home and especially her new crib.

Almost home

Our 13 families with 14 children from Henan Province

Sorry we dropped out of sight for a while. Things are settling down now and I think we're starting to relax. Today was our LAST big get-together for group pictures and a travel briefing. Some families are already starting to head back to the states this evening.

The days are starting to run together. Though the schedule hasn't been hectic, it has been difficult as we are all learning new routines. Noelle is doing very well. Emma is the one having a difficult time with Ann being mostly dedicated to caring for Noelle the first week or so. Noelle clinged to Ann at first but is starting to loosen her grip as she feels more secure in our family. Paul has taken Noelle alone to the little shopping mall next door and to breakfast. Emma has been a bit aggressive toward Noelle at times and clearly feels a bit neglected by Ann. So we're trying to give Emma more time with Ann as Noelle accepts more care from Paul, but for Noelle there are still times when only Mama will do.

The view from our hotel

The first couple of days in Guangzhou were busy with medical clinic appointments and paperwork in the morning, then lunch and naps and a little playtime or shopping before dinner. We've also taken a sightseeing trip around the city and Ann visited the pearl market during nap time yesterday.

We had a couple rough days with Ann getting sick on the 17th at dinner time. We ordered pizza from Papa Johns with two other families and met at the hotel's outdoor playground. Papa John's pizza was by far the best food I've had in China! But Ann didn't feel well and had to rush back to the room. She was sick all night. Then Emma was sick all the next day.

By the evening of the 19th, both were well enough that we took a cab to Shaiman Island with three other families to go to "Lucy's" for American fare. Think of Shaiman Island as a sort of French Quarter. It's connected to the mainland by short bridges; mostly walking bridges. It's a safe place to walk about and go to small shops or the playground. The weather was perfect for dining outdoors.

We'll receive Noelle's visa on the evening of the 22nd and depart Guangzhou for Hong Kong on the 23rd. We shifted our plans slightly and will now have a van take us straight from hotel to hotel vice going by cab/train/cab.

Our flight home is on the 24th! YAY! We're all ready to be home.

A Sunny Day in Zhengzou

A few feet from our hotel

At 1 a.m., Emma is back to sleep. We put fresh sheets on her bed. Emma is sleeping on a fresh towel and there's another under her top sheet in case she gets sick again. Today was a little difficult generally.
Emma complained of a hurting tummy just before dinner and I ran her back to the room for a few minutes. We had decided to try a hotel restaurant almost within sight of our room door rather than take a taxi to eat with the other families and in retrospect that was a great decision.

Even so, we got to bed late. It's hard to say when Emma started feeling bad. Today we went on an underwhelming tour to the Zhengzhou Aquarium and Emma fell fast asleep on my lap during a very loud show. She was really zonked and didn't awaken until we got on the bus home. So, when we arrived home she didn't go to sleep at nap time and that led to a little meltdown at about 5 p.m., before dinner.

Pray that we all stay well. One other man whom Emma calls Mr. Bob had a 24-hr bug a few days ago. Hopefully this episode is from something Emma ate and she didn't catch something like that.
We were trying to recall what she may have been exposed to and there are risks everywhere. Besides Mr. Bob (one of he favorite people) having been sick, the first thing that comes to mind is the sign over our bathroom faucet: "Water is not potable unless boiled." China has serious problems with polution of the air and water. So, for example, when we ate at McDonalds yesterday the ice was a threat and we wonder at each meal whether unboiled water has made its way into our food.
Along those lines, the air is getting to us a little, I think. We all wake up with a cough. We've been having what passes in Zhengzhou for sunny days but blue skies are uncommon here. I hear you can sometimes see blue after a day of heavy rain. Buildings more than about a mile away are only grey outlines and a family that went to see the Yellow River yesterday reported that they couldn't see across it.

Noelle loves french fries (and loves to share them)

On a positive note, we got our documentation back from the Notary Office today and it looks to be in order. Along with the official documents we got many pages of records from the orphange, all in Chinese, along with more photos. You may be able to find out more than I can at the moment by searching online for Xinyang Childrens Welfare Institution. That's where Dan Dan has spent most of her life. However, the sites appear to have been blocked so I'll have to wait until we get home to learn more (the government blocks Facebook, YouTube, BlogSpot and who knows what else.)
And we got a photocopy of Liu Dan's newspaper advertisement. It is required to be posted in the effort to find an abandoned child's parents and lists the exact place where she was found along with the date and who brought her to the orphanage. Our guides have translated the advertisement for us.

BTW, the orphanage records indicate that the caregivers at Xinyang have been trained by the "Half the Sky Foundation" and we are thankful for that.

It's 2 a.m. now and Emma has been sleeping peacefully for over an hour. More later. Thanks for praying for us.

Family Time

Last night was our first good night's sleep! YAY!. Maybe we're finally putting the jet lag behind us. Or maybe yesterday just wore us out. We visited two government offices before lunch, had lunch in our hotel room (NOT a relaxing experience), and got quick naps before rushing out to catch the group's bus to go shopping. After another not-relaxing dinner with three other families we were exhausted at the end of the day. We really enjoy our time with the other families but dealing with two active girls will take some getting used to.
Emma got a full night's sleep and Noelle just kept on sleeping this morning even with Emma running around the room making noise. Some of the families are visiting their children's orphanages today or taking sight-seeing trips but we chose to enjoy having nothing to do. Nothing, that is, except doing laundry and caring for our two girls.


Tommorrow we will receive some documents from the Notary Office and visit the local aquarium. Friday we'll receive Noelle's passport and head to Guangzhou to get her U.S. visa before going home.