Bonding Time!

It's raining again today, actually we are having a whopper storm, so it was a good choice to hang back at the hotel and spend some one on one time bonding with Matthew. Having looked up some chinese words to communicate with him has been key here. He is no longer bouncing around and is fairly calm, happy and smiling. He likes to stay busy busy busy, which is a problem for now since there is not very much to do at the hotel except take him swimming, which he does love.

When I awoke this morning I knew it would be a good day. The last thing I remember before opening my eyes this morning was dreaming of my grandmother. She was sitting on the bed next to me and I was telling her I missed her. My grandmother was a best friend to me and in all the years since her passing I can't remember even 5 times of dreaming of her. Take it as you will, but to me it was clearly a message that she is right here with me.

Tomorrow we get the final adoption paperwork and can leave Shanghai! Onto Gaungzhou where the American Embassy is located to complete the United States portion of the adoption.

Adoption Day is Official!

Today the adoption of Matthew was finally official. We arrived at the registration office and waited for about an hour for an orphanage official to arrive. Matthew was apparently bored and decided that he would like to run around the room scream and jump up and down on the waiting room furniture. Oh, did I mention the spitting.......There was not much we could do accept sit there and smile as all the locals in the room stared us down! So, we decided that it was time to learn a few Chinese words: Tiaopi- You are being Naughty, Bushi- No, Tangxia - Please Sit Down.

The registration office apparently decided they weren't believing Scott's signature matched his passport, so they made him sign his signature over and over and over and over again. Come on, are you kidding me. Finally they gave us our official adoption certificate. I questioned where was the birth certificate and what about his immunization records. I found myself searching frantically through my paperwork to see what was missing. The end result was they didn't have them and are now going to send them to our hotel tomorrow via courier.

Since we arrived here 100 days ago, I mean 10 days ago, Scott has been itching to take a ride on the Maglev Train. It runs between the airport anddowntown Shanghai. It tops out at 250 miles per hour and takes only 7 minutes to go 22 miles. He (Scott) was like a little boy boarding a train for the first time. (I guess I just don't get it) (must be a guy thing). Matthew seemed to enjoy the ride, but not as much a trying to climb over the back seat.

LOL! We got off the one side of train at the airport and there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken and had lunch. For a minute there, I thought I had on my ruby red shoes and I was home. Surprisingly Tasted the same.

More swimming and then we walked to the market (in the rain) because Scott's nighttime munchies were getting dangerously low. They had M & M's, Kit Kat's, and butter cookies that were in recognizable packaging.

Tomorrow we have decided to just hang back at the hotel and skip any planned excursions. We thought it best to spend some bonding time with Matthew. We are so ready to leave Shanghai. Friday can't come soon enough and we are looking forward to the familiar sights of Guangzhou.

Wizard of Oz

More paperwork today, and when we arrived, they informed us that today would only be for the notarization and would not be the adoption day, tomorrow will now be the adoption day. UGH...Exhale....we are so ready to come home, or at least move to the next legg of the race. It is a rainy day, so our guide took us to a Mall(sort of). We were in search of a stroller since our little one is a bit active and since we have alot of walking to do here as well as Guangzhou and airports, we thought it would be easier on us. As we were looking at the strollers, Matthew was saying No, he wasn't going to sit in it, but after we wheeled him around a bit, he was happy to be riding. We also purchased him legos today and he sits for hours playing with them. (Great for this rainy day).

So far, besides dumping his liquid yogurt all over the hotel floor (on purpose)(and laughing) and sticking his entire arm in the toilet after he did pee pee, all is good. Oh, let me also mention, he is still having a bit of the ready, aim, and fire whatever item is in his hand at us. It's a work in progress right now as he is no longer phased for more than 2 seconds that we remove the item that was tossed for a bit.

Nap time seemed to be a bit of an issue today, we had him lay him down and he was furious and kept getting out of the bed to put his shoes back on. He kept saying the same thing over and over and over. (This is where the communication is so difficult) He didn't want water, he didn't need to us the potty and his belly was full. The only thing I can think of is that he just didn't want to nap. His orphanage information says that he takes a nap everyday, so I am not sure why is was so upset. We had to shut the blinds and make the room dark before he would go down, but he finally did. After nap, Scott took him swimming in the hotel pool, but this was obviously all new to him. Bed time seems to also be an issue as it is now 10:30 pm and he is showing no signs that he will be going to sleep anytime soon. He started out getting very furious again, but is now laughing with his feet hanging off the bed and trying to reach the phone.

Since I have what I came for, now all I want is to be in the comfort of my home. There's no place like home and no place like America. Do you think If I put on red ruby slippers, I will be able to wish myself there. Here goes.....Closing my eyes.......Click, Click, Click......There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.......Damn I'm still here...... Oh well.

More tomorrow...I have to try to get our little one to sleep.

Gottcha Day!!

What an incredible day!

It started 9:00 am this morning meeting BoBo, who took us over to the Civil Affairs building for "Gottcha Day". Upon arrival we had some paperwork and had to get medical clearance that we did not have swine flu. A medical person came in and took our temperatures and recorded our whereabouts over the past 7 days. After the green light, they brought Matthew in (YangYang is what they call him here)......He was holding two pieces of candy and immediately came over to me and gave me the candy and kissed me. (It doesn't get better than that). He then gave Scott his piece of candy and gave him a hug. The caretakers had prepared him to tell us he was ready to go live in America. In Chinese, but they translated for us). He was ready to leave, he knew we were his Mama (mother in Chinese) and BaBa (father in Chinese). The official from the Orphanage gave me a bag filled with the items I had sent him in the care package as well as the camera I sent for them to take pictures. They gave him a traditional Chinese outfit to keep from them, as well as a hand made book when he started to attend a preschool with past progress and photos. It is entirely in Chinese, but the pictures are priceless. They had even taken a photo of him using the potty for the first time. We basically took him by the hand, he waved to the caretakers and we got on the elevator and left. It was as easy at that. No tears, nothing sad about it. He was so excited to get in the car and ride. I think the car ride was his favorite part of the day.

We took him to lunch where he ate anything and everything. (vegetables, beef and noodles) It was so cute to see him eating with his chopsticks. After lunch we headed over to the department store where he picked a few toys, then we headed back to the hotel, where he played quietly for an hour or two, then he got a second wind and then, Oh my goodness, he never stopped talking and running around playing AND........well, he was being a bit naughty.........Yes he was testing the water you could say. He would take his toys and throw them across the room or at us, he would take his water glassand dump it on the floor and laugh like there was no tomorrow.... Funny at first, but we had to start letting him know he could not be throwing things anddumping water on the floor so we tried to best tell him No No and every time he winged something at us, we put the item up on the shelve for a bit. He was, of course, very mad, but caught on that he couldn't throw things.

We changed him into some of his new threads and took him to the Chinese restaurant in the hotel for dinner. Again, he ate like there was no tomorrow! I can't imagine where he put it. After dinner it was time to go back to room so he could meet his new sister on SKYPE video cam. We had arranged for her to meet Matthew at 7:00 am her time. It was so precious, he saw that she was Chinese and started talking to her 100 miles an hour. I guess he thought she would know what he was saying....very cute. After meeting everyone on Skype, we gave him a bath and it was time for bed. He is now sleeping like a little angel.

The communication between us has been a bit difficult, we are going to try to learn a few of the most important things to say in Chinese before we leave. (i.e.: hungry, water, potty, not feeling well, etc.)

Matthew seems to be a very happy little boy and always laughing. He seems to be completely content with us. We have now been blessed twice. Thank you China for giving us our second miracle. Thank you God for giving me the strength to hold on to this dream and making it come true. I wanted to give up many times. Somehow I can no longer remember what I went through and the years involved to get here. We are a complete family. He is a perfect fit.

Tomorrow we go back to the Civil Affairs office for the official adoption day and more paperwork.....(I think he was just on loan today)!

WHEW!!!!

A letter to Matthew in anticipation of his arrival!!

Dear Matthew,

We have been waiting anxiously for your arrival, but realize you have not been waiting for us. We have prepared for you as best we can, we have decorated your room and filled your closet with clothes, shoes and toys. We are not sure how prepared you will be for us though. We pray this life altering experience will be an easy transition for you. We have as best we can, prepared ourselves that you may experience loss and grief. You will likely experience the loss of your caregivers you are closest to, as well as familiar sights, smells and language of your birth country. Your little world may turn upside down, but we will make you feel safe and secure that you will gain trust in your new family. You are coming home to a family who will love you beyond imagination. We promise to protect you and give you a good life filled with happiness and unconditional love. We can't wait to hold your hand, so we can take you home.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Remembering China (Gottcha Day) 4 1/2 years ago!

Since today will be fairly uneventful, I thought I would reflect on 4 1/2 years ago when we were in China for the same reason we are here now. On 4/21/05, the day Katie Mei was placed in my arms would be the day I would realize why I was born, to be her mother. Nothing has been so fulfilling. Here are a few pics from within minutes of them placing her in my arms.

Day 6 - Old Town of Zhu Jia Jian

Today we visited the old town of Zhu Jia Jian, an ancient water town, a.k.a Shanghai's Venice. We walked the village and took a boat ride through the canals. BoBo, our guide convinced us to have lunch at one of the local restuarants. (this one had only 4 tables and was nothing you could ever imagine eating at) BoBo assured us the food would be safe to eat. She ordered us beef, pork and rice. It was tasty, but I still couldn't get past 2 bites. Two local older ladies came in to ask us if they could sing to us for 10.00 yuan ($1.50 american dollars) They sang for us for about 3 minutes, it was sweet and funny at the same time.

As we were having lunch and discussing the unusal foods that Chinese people eat, she was saying that in the Cantonese province, people eat dogs, cats and rats. (holy crap!) (Excuse me while I bend over to pick up my jaw) !! I know I have heard this before, but somehow you just don't want to actually know that it is true. (It's true) I guess my face expression was saying many things, so she followed up by saying that they don't eat thier pets, these are farm raised dogs, cats and rats! (Oh, okay that was suppose to make me feel better!) Please! BoBo said the deadly virus SARS was originated from the locals eating rats. (I always thought it was a bird virus) (I'll have to look it up, now I am curious).

On our way out of the village, there were two older Chinese people, a man and a woman, beating each other with an umbrella. BoBo said they were probably husband and wife and having a little spat. (Why am I reporting this? Well, because China is known for the women not being as superior as thier man, so I thought it was good to see she was giving him a whipping right back.)

In the evening we went to an Acrobatic Show, it is said to be the best in the world, I must say it was incredible!

Tomorrow is a day of rest, nothing is scheduled, I couldn't be happier. I want to get some laundry done and prepare for Matthew's arrival on Monday.

Everything at home is going great. Katie is actually having a blast. Thank you to all those who are caring for my angel.

Day 5 - Sightseeing!

Today our guide took us to see some of Shanghai's sky scrappers, many of which are built with Chinese beliefs, for instance one is built with a squareopening at the top, it is believed that the evil spirits can fly directly though the opening and will not land there. We then went to visit Yu Garden, built in 1577 by a Ming Dynasty officer for his parents so they would have a happy place to spend their old age. The surrounding ponds were filled with hundreds of huge Koi fish with mouth openings a big as a half dollar coin. We also visited a tea house where you sit and they prepare you many different teas for tasting. All of teas had a different purpose (healing, headaches, weight loss etc.) Our guide said Chinese people drink tea every day and not from a tea bag. So fellow adoptive parents, skip the tea as an option for caretakers/guide gifts. Unless it is better quality tea leaves.

Scott and I ventured out on our own and found a shopping mall. One of the floors was just toys, we will bring Matthew back here so that he can pick out a few things to bring back to US, so that he will feel he has his own possessions. We will also have him pick out a gift to bring back to Katie. We tried to have dinner when we were out, but were unable to find a restaurant that could communicate with us. So we thought it would be best to go back to the Hotel. The experience last time we were in China was very different than this time around, this time we have a guide but they are only with us in the early parts of the day. Last time our guide was with us 24/7, a much better option as we are finding ourselves frustrated. We are very much looking forward to getting to Guangzhou where we are familiar with the surroundings and can revisit the places we already know.

3 days until Gottcha Day!!!

Day 4, Stressful Flight

Our only agenda today was to fly to Shanghai, where we will wait out the remainder of the 7 days in country stay to monitor us for swine flu before we are allowed to see Matthew. So, I was not feeling too crazy about the fact that the passenger seated directly in front of my seat coughed non-stop for the entire 2 hour flight. Normally this would not wig me out so much, but it is China’s rule that we remain healthy for those 7 days prior to getting Matthew. This left me scratching my head at the logic of monitoring passengers on incoming flights only…..seems to me that the passenger should also be monitored getting on flights as well. UGH!

Then, there was the turbulence that started about ½ hr after taking off. The overhead announcement came on several times during flight, but was in Chinese. So I was saying…What? What was that? Excuse me, nervous American on board!

And the last highlight of the flight was the lunch/snack they served. I thought I would share a picture. It was unidentifiable. No thank you.

So far, Shanghai is best described as a city like Philadelphia. We ventured out to find dinner and came across a little place serving many familiar American foods. We did also have the pleasure of seeing some odd sights as well, like the guy standing on the corner in his red underwear. Oh my….

Tomorrow we are scheduled for more sightseeing with our guide, Bo Bo, she speaks English very well. She told me she called the orphanage today to arrange for our arrival to see Matthew on Monday. She said that it is currently set up for us to go to the orphanage to meet him. I am still unclear as to whether or not they will allow us to tour it, we were told prior to leaving that we would not be able to visit for fears of swine flu germs. We will have to wait and see, keeping my fingers crossed that we will be allowed to see where he spent the past 3 ½ years of his life.

Day 3

Have I mentioned it's hot, very hot, very humid! At breakfast there were approximately 15 families in the restaurant that had just adopted Chinese babies. I believe they were French from the language they were speaking. It's an overwhelming feeling knowing that these children will not grow up in an orphanage.

Today we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square "gate to heavenly peace" is a famous monument in Beijing built in 1420 and is the entrance to the Forbidden City, a Chinese Imperial Palace for five centuries and served as home to the Emperor and his household. The city consists of 980 surviving buildings and covers 7,800,000 sq.ft. That's a bit of history...

I would guess there were 200,000 plus people there. Very crowded and very hot and we were happy to get back to the hotel where we decided to both indulge in a massage. This would be Scott's first massage and he was so excited and bragging that he was going to get a massage from an Asian girl (a guy thing, I guess) (Kevin Whittman are you getting this...) They put us in a room with two beds, gave us clothes to change into, and much to Scott's surprise in walks two Asian men. Well...if you could have seen Scott's face. It was so funny, I could not contain my laughter. (This was priceless)!!!

Today was cloudy as well as we were having a total eclipse of the sun, so pictures are not very clear. Tomorrow we fly to Shanghai. One step closer to Matthew. 5 days left until we see his precious face.

Day 2

So we can now say we climbed the Great Wall Of China. Okay, who am I kidding, I can only somewhat say it. First let me say it is very hot, even in the mountains. The steps are very steep, it's more like taking two steps at a time at once. So after 10 steps (okay 5), it was time to rest, then go a bit further, rest and so on...Our guide, James, said "Men climb to the top to prove they are a strong and great man". I let Scott off the hook...I told him he didn't need to climb to the top to prove anything. I said, "It's hot, let's get the hell out of here", so down we climbed. Our guide then took us to a restaurant for lunch, they served a variety of traditional chinese foods. ..not too bad.

Tomorrow we are headed to Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City.

Six more days until we are allowed to see Matthew.

We've Arrived!!

.....and made it past the first swine flu quarantine check. The medical officials came on board looked around, made us all fill out paperwork detailing our itinerary to track us, then allowed us to depart the plane where we walked through infra red medical scanner to detect any elevated temperatures. WHEW!! We passed!!

Our flight was good. Each seat had about 90 different movies to choose from to watch. Food was adequate for those indulging. (Scott). The plane had a nice aroma of chocolate chip cookies warming….only they were for the first class passengers….Not us in coach. (sort of reminded me of a Sienfeld episode) LOL!

Missing my princess. Thank goodness, we’ve already been able to communicate through Skype.

Finally, as thought, Blogger is completely blocked here in China, therefore these posts will be sent to and uploaded from my niece Judi. (Thanks Judi!)

We are headed to the Great Wall of China on Tuesday.

Blessings from China…

Goodbye!!!

Okay...our bags are packed and we are ready to go. Tomorrow we start our first legg of our journey to Matthew. We will try to update as much as possible.....rumor is however that blogger is currently getting blocked in China. Stay healthy and safe and keep us in your prayers.

Tissues!!!

The past two days have been a little tough for me. As excited as I am to finally be on our way to bring our son home, I am also so sad that I have to leave my princess for 3 weeks. She is the center of my world! I am trying to keep my crocodile tears to myself, but every time she comes to me for kisses (which is about 50 times a day) I lose it. She comforts me by saying "I love you Mommy" and then runs to get me tissues. I think I will need the whole box at the airport.

Stress Continues!! UGH!

The word back from my agency is that the orphanage basically doesn't want to allow the chest x-ray because these results will not be accepted by US Consulate and will have to be repeated again when we go to our medical appt. given by US in China before we can go home. I understand their concerns with giving two x-rays however, I am still very nervous about this and basically won't know until August 1st. I have asked them to tell me is he is showing any of the possible signs of TB to put my mind at ease. (not really possible if you know me)! We are quessing that the reason he is testing positive is due to the vaccine that is given in China for TB and more than likely everything will be fine.

5 days left and TB stress builds!!

We are leaving for China in 5 days and a bit more to worry about regarding the TB testing... Because of the new rules (started 7/1) for TB testing in China, all children over 2 years of age have to be tested for TB before the US will allow us to leave China. If a child tests positive at the medical exam, we will have to have a chest xray to rule out TB. Okay......so nervous nelly that I am, I requested that Matthew be tested before we travel so that we are not detained in any way once we get there... today we got word that Matthew tested positive for TB. UGH! So now they will take him to get a chest xray to make sure he doesn't actually have it. Stay tuned for the xray results.....

Matthew Received Care Package

Ann from "Red Thread" gifts in China sent me an email that she called the orphanage and has confirmed that Matthew has received his care package that we sent. In the contents of the care package was a small photo album with some pictures of us. It would be my quess that the caretakers have now told him that he will be leaving the orphanage to go live with us. I have such mixed emotions.....I am so happy for us and at the same time, my heart aches for the possible sadness and fear he might feel. Please pray for an easy transition.

Mommy and Me time!!

A much deserved pampering for my princess Katie before we leave next week. She just loves to get a manicure and a pedicure. She giggles "it tickles, it tickles!!! So cute......... It makes her so happy to do big girl things.

Here's a map of the provinces in China to give you an idea of where we will be.

We fly into Beijing arriving 7/20, then onto Shanghai on 7/23 where should get Matthew on 7/27, then fly to Gaungzhou where the American Embassy is on 7/31, then Hong Kong on 8/7 where we will get a flight on 8/8 to come home.

note: Yunnan is where the earthquake was yesterday.

Stressful Day!

It started at 7:30 am this morning when I read an alert on the China Rumor Queen site that several families currently in Guangzhou, China (where the American Embassy is) were being detained an additional week or more in China because United States Immigration decided to unexpectedly change the rules of no longer accepting updated home studies to be carried to China. This new development effects us as we have changed our original home study requesting a girl under 15 months old to a 3 1/2 y/o boy. This new rule now requires us to send the update to our local US Immigration office and they will wire the change to China. Basically alot of red tape that had my adoption agency and myself going nuts today to find a way to get this change to them before we travel next week. The thought of being delayed in China more than the mandatory 3 weeks had me very nervous to say the least!! I made it to the post office at 4:52 (8 minutes to spare) to overnight the necessary paper work. Keeping my fingers crossed that the approval arrives at US Embassy in China before I do!!!