Touring in Guangzhou

The picture above is a poorer section of Guangzhou. As per typical, the city streets have shops all around on ground level with residential apartment like units above. Haphazardly between these quasi residential/commercial areas is either fancy skyscraper buildings or large new construction as seen in the background behind the bamboo screenwall. The city's are really quite clean for the massive amounts of people. There is an odd thing about this picture - this picture is not as densely populated with people as most areas. The area in Guangzhou where we spent most of our time was more a tourist trap. The "real" Chinese people other than shop Owners were busy in other sections of town, leaving this area for foreign guests. Tara and I almost compare parts of Guangzhou to Cancun - it is really beautiful, but touristy, and the people are pandering to you, all to make the sale. "For you... special price - big discount", they really know how to work a sale. Tj and I were walking around and a young girl working in a shop can out and asked if we were brothers.... She went on to say I couldn't be TJ's father because I couldn't be more than 27. Needless to say that is where I bought all my souvenirs....

This was a scene inside the Thai restaurant, the same place where TJ ate a pigeon dish. The people in the background all gathered together while we ate our early dinner, to practice their English. It was really funny listening to them working on this as a group... It somehow made me feel better knowing how hard we have struggled with our Chinese....

Yes it's true - McDonald's is in China. Along with Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Even AmWay!!! Somethings are just plain wrong. China should keep their bad toys and we should keep our .......... stuff. Amazingly enough these places are always busy here and really are much better facilities here than in the U.S.. In reality as much as I believe it is a travesty to have these entities in China - honestly after a period of time a familiar sign and identifiable food substance is quite refreshing and comforting!

Any guesses on the tallest building in Guangzhou? It is the Amway head quarter's building.... I had fun with our guide on this one. You'll have to ask me about the details.

This was a view of a huge shopping area in the center of town. Lots of exterior vendors, specialty shops and a major multi-story mall that would make any mall in the U.S. pale in comparison. These people know how to shop! This shot of the central walkway through the mall area was much more representative of the vast amounts of people and traffic we experienced. The hustle and bustle reminded me of New York and East coast. People everywhere doing there own thing. We all held hands and stayed very close together so that we did not become separated.

The weather was simply amazing. While in Guangzhou we suffer through the 60-80 degree weather, while only 10-30 degrees at home with snow and ice to boot....

Guangzhou

The playroom at the White Swan is the size of 2 conference rooms and it is filled with toys and a TV with a dvd player...I am surprised the kids would leave , but with so many things to spend the last of their money on... The hotel we stayed at definitely caters to all of the Americans that have to pass through Ghangzhou in order to file visa and citizenship documents for their newly adopted children. Mattel fills their room with toys and sends every adoptive family ( who stays at the hotel) home with a "Going Home" Barbie ( Barbie complete with her back haired baby.)
A covered walkway. The boys went out exploring to the "forbidden zone" We called the area across the bridge this as our guide last year instructed us to never cross the road - Tom couldn't stand it htis time and ventured out wiht ht eboys. They found a spice market selling scorpions, horns of various animals and the thing they have all been talking about - lions feet. I woul dahve loved a picture - I was home trying to get toddlers to sleep...okay I was sleeping too :o).
The hotel offers toddler beds ( Ty talked Tian into letting him sleep in it) - Trace thought it was part of the jungle gym. Needless to say, he is all boy and LOVES to wrestle

Trace loves everything we put in front of him - here we are eating a Thai restaurant -plesae ask TJ about his dad's face when they brought out the roasted pigeon. ( It was the ENTIRE bird- missing only the feathers) I ahve to admit it was actually very good. Sorry no picture - we forgot in all the excitemnt of Tom's reaction.

Last look at Guiyang

Last view of the landscape through the airport window

It was sad to leave Guiyang - the capital city of Trace's province. We are leaving without ever having a chance to se the place where he was left by his birth mother...Hopefully someday we will go back and find it. It was 5+ hours from our hotel and there was not time to go. I am disappointed for him. The day we visited the place where Tian was left was a hard for her at 13 months as it was outside the orphange ..memories for babies are stronger than we realize, so perhaps it is best - it may have stirred up a lot for him especially after having such a loving foster mother...



On we headed to Guangzhou - a city in mainland China just across from Hong Kong. We, along with MANY other adoptive families, stayed atthe beautiful White Swan hotel. The picture is in front of a Koi pond/waterfall that adjoins the dining area. Trace was determined to throw rocks into the water everyday and Tian figured if he could do it - she wasn't about to miss out on the fun. It makes the breakfast so much fun :o)



In Guangzhou we were able to visit the Chen family gardens and school - a fitting place to see as Trace's last name assigned to him was Chen. It was built by this family as a school for all Chen children where the family supported it by donation and the children were educated free. In the '50's, during the Cultural Revolution,the land was taken by the government and the area is now a museum... the details in the architecture are characteristically detailed and the gardens breathtaking. The pictures show the entrance decorated for New Year

Home at last

The chopstick king

Tian and Trace playing kitchen at home


Trace feeding the dog ( AGAIN!!) -

Can you guess who Kela's favorite is?


We are home!!!! Trace is doing great - still adjusting to the time change, but everything else seems to be falling into place. Tian has decided she likes him - he is a very willing tea party companion (aka victim) . He loves sipping little drinks of water and eating goldfish. I am surprised ,as I thought sharing all of "her" things here at home would be the most difficult, but so far she has loved it. I think being home with him is more of what she imagined than having to adjust on the road.

TJ, Trevor and Ty are glad to home and have enjoyed having pizza and more pizza. Auralee, our dear friend who watched our house while we were gone, had pizza waiting for us when we walked in the door. It was WONDERFUL!!

We have been doing loads and loads of laundry and I think everything is out of the suitcases and the last few souvenirs are finding there places.

Trace had been to our pediatrician, who so far has given him a clean bill of health - minus a nasty sinus infection and pending lab results, but overall he healthy ( YEAH!!.) She is very familiar with Chinese adoption as her brother and his wife have 2 little girls .( What a coincidence - in our little town to have a pediatrician who is well versed in health issues of Chinese babies! You would think "someone" had a hand in all of us finding each other...) She is pleased with the repair done on his lip and is setting up appointments with an ENT, cranio- facial specialist etc so we can start the ball rolling to repair his palate. Even with a sinus infection and a major cleft ( meaning his cleft extends through the gum line, all the way back and actually divides his uvula ( the hangy thing at the back of your throat ( Ty said I should tell people what that is :o)), his ears are healthy, so we are counting our blessings. He is already using some English words ( more, eat, mama, mine, and his first word and favorite: "no") He is using sign language as well ( please, more, drink and eat )

Our first morning home he discovered that he LOVES waffles ( not maple syrup though). Kela ( our old crabby dog) decided she likes the new addition, who thought it was fun to throw pieces of food at her.

Tom's dad and Tessa came Saturday for a quick visit - it was wonderful to see them. They have just returned from a visit to England -so we especially appreciate them making the drive with jet lag. Tian would not leave poor Tessa alone - I think she was making sure Trace knew she was her grandmother first!!

We are now getting ready for Trace's Sunday debut, do you think I can find any of the boy's old Sunday clothes that will fit him?!!! I did find the sailor suits...por kid he is a US Citizen for 4 days and we drafted him.I will let you know how he does, we woke up both babies up at 8 hoping they would take a good nap before we leave for church at 12...we'll see if the gamble pays off.

What a Circus Act....

YOu will never believed what happened today. We were quietly (okay,well not so much) walking around the tourist traps, - chasing Tian, who had not slept enough, carrying Trace who was alternately eating Goldfish crackers and dropping them down my shirt ,as well as singing becasue he knew Tian wanted me to carry her, and Ty was trying to convince Tom and I he should have EVERY sword, knife or battle ax he saw, when a reporter stopped Tom to ask a few questions. He had spotted us before ( I think we were being stalked) and wanted to interview us for a news story. I thought we were being so discreet... We answered some questions about the adoption process,then he asked if his photographer could take a few pictures after he finished his tea. Tom asked where he would like to meet us and he said he would have no trouble finding us!!!! Should I be insulted ?!? I stepped in a shop to look at baby clothes, the boys waited outside for us and the next thing I knew he was interviewing the boys - heaven knows what they told him - TJ probably recounted the monkey/finger tale....anyway, they took several photos and offered to email them to us. Nothing too exciting and we went on our way, and I know they were following when Tian had a meltdown because she did not want some of the goldfish she wanted ALL of them, now! Needless so say, she had a screaming time out ( where she sits in place and just screams( it works for her. After a few minutes she is back to herself)) I am sure those pictures, me sitting a few feet away and Tian sitting screaming., made it inot he article....Hopefully, we didn't end the CHinese adoption program in one fell swoop.

We had a fun afternoon and enjoyed some Thai food ( sorry Leah we thought of you at least) - nothing to exciting Tj will post pics later...as he order pigeon (whole, head included pigeon)
for dinner
I still didn't think we were that much of a spectacle - are we?

Guangzhou

We are on the homestretch!!! We headed out to the airport Friday afternoon - we must have looked like a circus act. Tian with a harness on , Trace in the carrier on my chest. We arrived with our 7 suitcases and while finagling with all the luggage Trace decided if Tian was walking he was going to walk ( how should I put this...he is a bit determined) I traded Tian the harness for a piece of gum ( I know ...I have set a bad precedent, but there was no screaming) put her on a hand holding leash thing , put Trace int he harness and let them walk, we had to get through security where they checked our passports - the poor Chinese girl was VERY flustered - she put Ty through on Trevor's passport , then I went with the babies - the leashes ( for lack of a better word) worked beautifully - Tian ran though the machine, then Trace chased after her - believe me EVERYONE stopped to watch the show. I am probably on the evening news....
The plane ride was a breeze - I don't know if Trace had some sense that this means we are keeping him or what , but he was down right giggly. He played on the plane, ate my plane food ( note this - it was a 1 hour flight and they served a full meal!!!) and TJ's food, then we hit the next milestone he used a western style toilet, then we made it to the hotel with him singing and laughing for the entire 45 minute commute and he took a bottle from me!! Up to this point he really hadn't taken a bottle, just kind of sipped at it. This is how Tian was at first - the bottle thing is pretty intimate to her. Even now if she is mad at me she won't let me give her her sippy-cup...We are thrilled that Trace seems to have decided we are okay. I am sure we will still have many weepy moments where he misses Nai- nai ( his foster mother), but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am also glad we brought all the kids. I was VERY hesitant to spend so much especially since we had such an expensive "vacation" in Wisconsin, and we haven't sold any land, and Trace will need surgery, and Tj is going to college - the list goes on and on, but I am so glad the boys could see China, but I truly believe having them with us has helped Trace adjust. Like Tian - he acts as though being one of 5 kids is as natural as can be. I am beginning to forget what it was like without him- you know how you feel when are out and it seems like someone is missing even though you are all there? I don't feel that way anymore...

Back to Guangzhou, it is Very touristy here , like Cancun. The boys have all said they like Guiyang better - keep in mind it was not a very clean place - they preferred the realness of it. Here the shopkeepers are pedaling goods, dragging you in the stores, it is fun, but not the same.

Trace had his visa medical exam today - not very intensive though. They snap their fingers on each side of his head to see if he turns, the only good thing was we know his ears are healthy ( yeah - I wasn't terribly worried as he speaks very well and know when I ask if he wants a snack, but it is good to hear as babies with cleft palates generally have ear problems) Traces cleft in his palate does run the entire roof of his mouth. We were hoping it did not include his soft palate... it makes things a little more complicated, but he is tough and I am sure he will adapt very quickly. ( He will have to learn haw to speak all over again as right now he cannot manipulate his soft palate as we do and he has never learned to suck) The doctor was impressed he could eat and drink as well as he does ( believe me, there is no problem with his ability to eat or drink- which truly is a miracle)We met a young American Chinese couple adopting 2 very beautiful twin girls from the same province Tian is from and there were A LOT boys. We have seen at least 7 other families with boys. Trace weighed in at just over 25 lbs - he is big too....so much for getting petite children . It would be nice to have had a calm, quiet, compliant one though.

The boys and Tom have ventured off to find lunch. I am here with sleeping toddlers. Did you know you could snore with a hole int he roof of your mouth? Trace can. Both he and Tian are completely exhausted. We have the rest of the day to explore Guangzhou - I guess we will see if it is all touristy or just the envelope around the hotel.

I am here with sleeping kids - did you know you could snore with a hole in the roof of your mouth? Trace can! - they are completely exhausted.

Our Last Day in GuiYang

Pavilion at night -


view from our room

I am sad to leave; TJ wants to stay too. The people here have been very kind to us - from the produce salesman at the corner who can't believe the number of Mandarin oranges the kids eat to the woman who makes WONDERFUL stir fry to the patient cabbies who try to get us to the right place. It has been a wonderful adventure.

Last night we were able to see the pavilion lit up it was breathtaking. We walked along the river and let people stare at us. Some have been brave enough to try to talk with us, but most just tryto figure us out. I wonder what they think about this strange American family taking away their children. Many people stare and talk amongst themselves and sadly, most smile and seem to think Tian and Trace are lucky to be leaving China for America.

This morning we ALL slept in and then after our usual breakfast terrorizing of the dining room we headed out to the flea market. 4 little boys and a little girl followed us around bashfully saying "hello" and then daring each other to say it again. One boy finally go tthe nerve to tlak to Ty, unfortuantelywe could not understand him. I am sad our CHinese is so limited and most of what we do know they can't understand here. The little boys were aptient and finally had a great time trying to say our names. Their clothes all had English logos so we read them and tried our best to translate through actions and a few CHinese words - they thought that was terrific. Ty sword fought with one and then they chased and played. A womna stopped and asked me if Trace was my only son ( I understood - yeah) I told her I had 4 sons and 1 daughter and she ran to tell her friends and they all came over to see the crazy lady. They were very friendly and talked to Trace and made him smile.

t

OUr two little friends- they did not want their picture taken though

with traffic ...a little terrifying we headed back tot he hotel

Bunnies at the market - they were VERY cute

We took a WILD cab ride that was mor elike the Indy 500 with traffic going th eother direction to let the babies take a nap. The boys headed out to bring back stir fry - Trace ate almost as much as TJ - wowing us with his chopstick skills. They are both sleeping right now and we are trying to get the hotel to allow us to stay a couple extra hours before we check out - our flight doesn't leave until 6 pm....

Our lunch being cooked right out onthe corner- I wonder if it meets sanitation codes...it is best not to think abou tit - just eat it while it is hot:o)

Trevor's birthday (Febuary 26)

For my birthday we went to a Buddhist temple and saw monkeys. These were the monkeys that bit off T.J.'s fingers. It was hilarious and scary. The monkeys were smart enough to steal stuff.The baby monkeys were smart to. They also new that us coming was another feeding frenzy. I also got two cakes. How lucky is that? The one cake that baby Trace, my new little bro., picked out for me was better than the one the hotel made. My favorite present (my only present) was from Ty. It is a ping-pong pattle or as the Chinese would say "Ping-pong pattle".

Obviously - there is no parental control

Okay - here is the story, for whatever reason here in China we cannot view th Blog only add to it. I don't know why...could be our lack of computer skills, Tom's firewall on his computer ( maybe it thinks it is an.....inappropriate site...) , but I didn't see all that TJ posted.... no he has not lost any fingers, toes etc. The monkeys were terrific - only naughty. Also, if you have left us comments on the BLOG we can't read them....I will read them when we get home.

I will insist TJ mark all of his postings as his creative work....but if you call any one in China they will testify those Turner kids are difficult to control :o) We have only broken 2 glasses....

Trace is wonderful. Today ( Thursday) he has really loosened up. As Tian did, he seems to relax a little more each day. Today he was running and playing with TIan. He is a hitter and she is not happy about that. Her feelings ( and pride) have been hurt. The two of them are a lot alike (PLEASE pray for us) Every time I am holding him and she sits next to us he tries to jump on top of her swinging his arms and laughing. She will play for a minute, but she was REALLY wanting a little brother she could coddle. In fact, she told me yesterday to go get a different baby....he really isn't he coddling type.
He LOVES tea, pineapple juice, gummy fruit, dried fruit, ( most all food) , animals ( except cats ( this could be a problem) his fostr mother used to tell him to go to sleep or the kitties would come and eat him up...we have been looking at pictures of cats trying to de-program that one...Anyone want a cat or two or 3?) He loves to play with cars and ball and he is very physical ( hitting , jumping etc) He is totally potty trained !!!! ( We as Americans are way behind in that department - our social worker had suggested we try to regress him back to diapers , but here was no way he would go for that ( I am not complaining)) He can use a fork , spoon and chopsticks better than I can! We think he is a genius - he learns VERY fast. I played pat-a- cake with him once and he did all the actions later that evening without being prompted!! He loves to sing. He is always singing ...I so wish I knew all of teh Chinese children's songs. As you can tell, we like him a little bit :o) Even Tian ran in this morning after he woke up to give him a big kiss.

I am adjusting to the 2 toddler thing ( I don't know how it will be when we get back to real life..) I should have been powerlifting before we came - everytime i hold one the other desperately needs to be held as well. I can only hold both of them for a short time before I wnat to die.

Today's adventure - Tj assured me he filled in all the details about Pizza HUt ( weird - they had an Arabian Nights theme, they didn't have ANY soda and the appetizers were ...different) Today all of our paperwork had been finished and the places our guide suggested we go were out of our price range so we took a day to explore. SHe had taken us to a market that sell EVRYTHING - kind of a flea market and we tried to go back and obviously we don't speak very well so we ended up at a different market...it was fun we had a great time exploring and walking. We then decided to walk a bit before taking a taxi back....we got dreadfully lost , wandered through a high school campus ( it was HUGE) at this point we were simply looking for a taxi, but before we could find one we saw our hotel and it was only a block or two away. We have decided thst we either have an incredible sense of direction , someone is watching out for us or all roads lead to tthe Ramada :o) WE fould a great place for lunch, Tom was holding Trace, so ...I had to do the ordering...I narrowly escaped ordering chicken soup that comes with a whole ( and I mean entire) chicken in a pot - much to Tom's delight we had some incredible mashed potatoes, a mongolian beef dish, some sweet and sour chicken - I think it was the first meal thatt everyone liked. Trace was a bottomless pit - we aren't sure if this is him or if he had finally relaxed enough to really eat and drink. We made it back to the hotel where both babies are sleeping soundly (anohter miracle) We are hoping to make it out to see a pavilion lit up along the river ( a branch of the Yangtze) tonight, but who know where we will end up. We have to take 2 taxis...so far we have always ended up at the same spot...

Tj's view

Tonight 02/27 we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Yea we went to an american resturaunt how lame is that. We went for Trevors b-day, we're in China and thats what he wanted to eat. While we looked through the menu we contemplated on ordering either a couple large pizzas or a couple bowls of creamy fungi soup.

In China at the Pizza Hut the thing to do when you get the salad bar is to make a tower of vegetables with a carrot base and an outer wall of cucumber and fill the inside hollow space with other vegetables and dressing. check out the pics.

Finger food

This is my hand after the monkeys had they're lunch. I don't think they liked the way they tasted, because they spit them out. They look alot better then they did after they were bitten. There was blood everywhere. I think I'll live though. I'm actually typing with one hand instead of chop sticks today.

I'll keep you posted

Last evening

The first two pictures are pretty self explanatory..... Trace and Tian doing what we all wanted to be doing...... We have been busy and the time change is still kicking our butts.... 14 hour time shift really is traumatic as illustrated below:

Instead of sleeping we all sampled local fruit and foods. Ty is holding a dragon fruit - similar to a kiwi / strawberry in taste and texture. White inside with black seeds..... We tired out the little ones walking the streets by the hotel and also sampled some very spicy mutton kabobs cooked on the street as we watched and waited. I tried to only get 3 to sample, however I ended up with a very large handful of these incredibly good however spicy snack..... The last picture is of the littlest Turner - devouring some very spicy food..... From the picture you might guess the food had gotten the best of him, but he went back for more & more & yet more.... The boy can eat....

T.J.'s monkey story

Today while feeding the monkeys I was eating an orange and watching everyone else feed the monkeys. I guess the monkeys didn't like this too much 'cause when I went to toss the orange peel away,one of the bigger monkey's came up, and the next thing I knew was that I did'nt have 5 fingers on my hand anymore. I sat there cradling the 3 fingers I had left while the guide and some Chinese people sat there laughing at me.

My Dad panicked. While my Mom asked the guide and bus driver about the doctors nearby. I guess none of them sounded good so we just drove back to the hotel, after we finished our tour of another Budda temple and had lunch.

When we got to the hotel the guide suggested that I just wrap my hand up in a towel and that it should feel better in just a few days. We'll see how that goes. Cause right knowI'm typing this with chop sticks in my mouth while i'm cradling my disabled limb.

I'll keep you posted.

He has a name ( Besides Fu Yuan )

Isn't this what it's all about?( Brothers and sisters shooting each other with toys...)


We spent all morning with at the Provincial Government finalizing the adoption process for China. He truely is now ours - like it or not!



We have been dreading this day - not because we have been having second thoughts, but because we knew we needed to put on paper his new name. After months of debates, suggestions via email, phone calls, we finally made a decision.





His new name is:

























































































Trace Yuan Larson Turner



Trace means warrior, we chose this because he will need to be a fighter to put up with his big sister! Seriously, becasue he will have to learn to stand up for himself and we hope he will be a warrior for all that is good and right around him. His life started full of battles and we hope that later when it all seems too much he will rememebr the people who have fought alongside him - his birthmother for having the courage to place him safely to be found when she knew she could not care for him, the orphange director for caring for him and ensuring he taken care of as many of these babies are left to die becasue they need so much expensive care, his foster family for loving him and caring for him day in and day out and fight for him to have surgery on his lip, the doctors who cared for him and the foster home director who filed paperwork to have him made elegible for international adoption , our adoption agency who has a division that focusing onthese children....the list goes on and on. Hopefully he will know that life is not fair, but that is what gives the opportunity for greatness and all that is beautiful.





We kept Yuan - the Chinese part of his name he went by - which means lucky - we hope his life will be filled with luck, and all that happens to work against him will be used to increase his fortune ( like being born with a cleft lip and palate has afforded him the opportunity to be part of our family - we would like to think that is lucky) Also, that he will remember his second family (his foster family) becasue this is what they called him







Larson - Tara's Mom's maiden name - that he will adopt our heritage along with his own ( kind of funny that Larson is a Swedish name :o) - could two cultures be more different ?)







Turner - (because Tom wouldn't let me use my maiden name) That he will know he is forever part of our family .









On the way back from the Provincial Office we saw this Chinese Gate. The Chinese people here try to make things look traditional even on newer structures they try to incorporate aspects of their culture and history.




Our boy!!! Today he really warmed up to all of us - it happened all of a sudden in of all places - WAL-MART..... It couldn't have been because 95% of the stuff in the cart was for him - Do you think??????
Oh look yummy stuff inside - gum!

Tales from Guiyang

Prior to meeting our boy, we spent the morning on our own walking around the city all around our hotel. The sights, the smells, the weather, the buildings ( construction), the people, everything here is truely incredible. We only wish we had been better prepared for the differences in the Chinese dialect. As many of you know we have been studying Mandarine Chinese - in this southern Chinese Province they speak with several different dialects. Lots of similar words, however different tones and ennunciations that we seem to totally butcher and definately cannot understand - thus making things rather interesting.
A tunnel under the very busy streets surrounding our hotel. The city is full of these or walking bridge structures over the main city intersections. These are really pretty fancy. I even ventured out late in the evening by myself and felt quite safe walking in these.

Looks like a run down sidewalk in a typical city.... These concrete planks are placed close together but are actually covers to the storm water run-off for the city ( unfortunately probably for the sanitary sewer system as well - didn't smell too fantastic. Want more details, I'm sure Ty or Trevor would be more than willing to share!!!

This little village area sits in between large fancy ornate glass skyscraper building. This country really has a major disparity of the haves and have nots. The boys and I saw a man eating out of the trash..... It was a real eye opener for Tj and a brutal reminder for me of just how easy we have it, especially as Americans. Trevor the first day of walking around in a poorer section said upon arriving back in our lavish hotel lobby - "ahh its good to be back home." It is truely amazing that some can have so much and others so little..... Yet these people persist, I have never seen violence, the city really does not seen to have much crime. We have been treated graciously and with extreme kindness & patience where ever we have gone.

Haircut anyone - Auralee, your services are desperately needed over here & best yet overhead for you own salon is extremely LOW ! No, I was not brave enough to sample the local skill! We'll see if I can make Ty get a local cut???? Anyone want to place any bets????

One last story -

Last evening, our first evening with our boy. Tj, Trev, Ty, Tian and I ventured out to get dinner and bring some food back for Tara and little T. We found a restaurant that we had passed by earlier that day. We ventured in and sat down. Boy did we draw some attention!!!! The waitress tried to ask what we wanted to drink - some how we managed to get hot tea all around and sprite and cokes as well - we must have appeared really thirsty......

She came back after delivering drinks and gave me a menu with nothing but Chinese symbols on it..... Remembering the ordeal from the evening before in the FISH restaurant - needless to say the boys and I were getting extremely nervous. Luckily Tara sent Tj with our Chinese book and a lesson fromour classes on ordering food at a restaurant..... This however turned out to be only moderately helpful.

I wanted to eat chicken and really could care less about much beyond that. After about a 10 minute chinese, sign-language, pictionary session with the waitress for what seamed like an eternity - she understood we wanted chicken, she pointed to 3-4 items on the menu I finally just shook my head yes to virtually anything she said.... The boys looked at me like I was nuts - I probably am...... After about a half an hour the boys and Tian needed to use the restroom. Trev checked out the local facilities and said he would rather die! Tj graciously offered to take them back to the hotel. That left Ty & I in the restaurant.

It turned out to be a "Hot Pot" type place where they cook the food in front of you. The food really was good but extremely spicy. We got chicken, pork, tofu, and vegetables.... Oh but we got chicken, bones, skin, white meat, dark meat, heads, beaks, feet, you name it it was in there!

It was good! Ask for more details - it was truely a one of a kind experience for both the boys and I and I'm sure for the poor Chinese people at the restaurant wondering who the crazy white dummy was!

Boy is it good to be in a place of over 3,000,000 people, I know I'll never run into them again!!!!!

Yuan- yuan ( His Chinese name meaning lucky)

He is wonderful...ornery, spunky, funny and sad.


We met our guide in the lobby at 1:55 - I probably looked fantastic as I cried all they way down the elevator ...thinking of his foster mother. We filled out paperwork...waited...moved to a conference room...waited...Tom realized the camera batteries were dead - he ran ...I waited... He came back we waited....Then finally, an older gentleman and a little girl about 6 came in followed by an older couple and a little boy with hair!! No cleft lip..a scratched up face, but a nicely repaired lip ( YEAH). He was bundled up in a wool sweater, a shirt, a coat, snow pants, pant, socks so he looked like the Michelin man. ( It is the custom in CHina to over dress their children) Keep in mind we had been out earlier in shirt sleeves as the temperature here has been in the mid 50's. His foster mother kept him dressed during the entire meeting....While we talked he stared at us, took a car and toy from me while I asked questions and took notes. Slid cautiously from his foster mother's lap and played on the floor. Tom finally crawled under the table with him and the little girl who was the foster group leader ( older gentleman) granddaughter. By the end of our meeting he let me hold him for a few minutes, then we were rushed across the street to get our picture taken for the adoption decree. It was not pretty. He did not want to sit on my lap he wanted his Grandma ( his name for the foster mother) and he had had enough of being polite to the funny looking people. He cried, I cried...Finally the foster mother came in and held him - she asked is he wanted his mama and baba ( Chinese for daddy) to hold him and he shook his head no. I laughed - who could blame him ? SHe stepped outside - our guide said the foster family needed to leave. Tom held the baby - I went out to offer our small gift and to thank another mother for raising a child I was taking from her. She reached to shake my hand and I hugged her. What an amazing woman...I don't know how foster parents do it - Wow...We cried and then she and her husband left. We went in and almost as if he understood the finality - he quieted down and we took his picture. We came to the hotel and headed up to the room...


The boys I think were waiting by the door, TIan was watching "Finding Nemo" ..I brought him in ( he loves TV...gee Tom was disappointed :o)) and with the movie running in the back ground the kids took each other in. Ty just kept saying - "This is amazing!" Tian, of course, wanted to hold him ( keep in mind he had an older sister so that was not going to happen), Tj and Trevor were more bashful...by the end of the evening he was stabbing people with chopsticks, had jumped on top of Tian ( who was not happy), had thrown food, eaten an apple, soup, crackers and hot pot spicy chicken ( more on that later). Ty has decided he is the cutest boy he has ever seen, Tian thinks he is keeper and TJ and Trevor have even decided that perhaps he should give us all lesson on how to use chopsticks ( YEs, he is an expert) HE has been bathed, bottled, and after some before bed weepiness took in a little more Nemo and passed out cold. Tom thinks he may even have "the touch" he managed to get him to take a bottle...I think turning on the movie was cheating...


His foster parents were wonderful. They are both in their 60's. Our son is their 9th foster child. 8 of been placed internationally, 1 domestically. Ours is the first to go to the United States. They are excited for him to start a new life full of endless possibilities. I asked if there were other children in the home - they had a foster daughter the same age as Tian! I think that is a good thing...he is prepared to defend himself ( and he has already and he is an expert tattle tale :o) Then, they asked an interesting question...they wanted to know if we are Christian - I said "yes" which was answered with big smiles - they are as well. What are the chances - here in the middle of China? They really seemed to love this little boy and he seems very well taken care of. She shared information for over an hour - from his favorite snacks to his schedule to how he behaves when he is angry. The best news for us is that they were willing to stay in contact with us - in fact they asked us if we would send a picture of him when he is older. I got their address - they took our mailer and camera. I sent them home with a picture of our family and his room at home. I am so happy he will have this link to his past. We plan to bring both Tian and ( no we haven't decided on his name....we all think he looks like different names) back to China as young teens to see where they came from so I am hoping they will have maintained contact - who know our CHinese may even improve enough we could communicate....


Onto the hot pot story ...I decided we needed something real for dinner so Tom, TJ, Trevor, Ty, and Tian went off to search for food. I stayed home and let a VERY tired little boy who watched Nemo and slept while I held him for about an hour. The rest of the group went in a new direction - trying to avoid the scary restaurant from the night before. Tom was incredibly brave and adventurous!!! He order by the guessing method - our Chinese is pretty limited - so he could order chicken and pork, just not how - the terms we knew did not apply to this restaurant...He was brave, and he returned home with 3 big bowls of VERY spicy food. We sat it on the table -with 2 very anxious toddlers - I reached in a pulled out a chicken foot. We were all good sports...it was rather ...scary...the food was good, just very spicy. Tian ate, the baby expertly ate rice with his chop sticks. Then,as I was getting babies ready for bed and laying out clothes for tomorrow, TJ was finishing up the food...and pulled out a chicken head - complete with beak!!! I don't think we will be fighting over the leftovers!

Does this remind anyone else of a scene from Wizard of Oz......?

The 3 of us before he firgured out who we were...I had to include this one because my eyes were open in a picture ( look Mom a miracle)

TJ eating the foot....he didn't relaly eat it - we couldn't figure out how...

TJ and the chicken head - he really wanted eat it, but couldn't go any further than holding it in his mouth...I think I will tape this on the fridge to help me lose a few pounds

Countdown....

Tian is trying to nap and we are all on pins and needles...knots in our stomachs. We will meet our new son/brother in 1/2 an hour....There was " slight" change in plans - we were told we would be going to meet him at the Civil Affairs office and ,perhaps, be able to meet the orphange ( were he spent only 3 days shortly after he was born) director, but now they will be bringing him to the hotel and we will meet his foster parents... I am simultaneously thrilled and petrified. What will they think of this strange American family taking away the child they have treated as their own son for the last 19 months? Will they hate us? Will they be angry? Will they cry? What will we do - Do I hold the baby while we talk? Do I talk to them and ignore the baby? There are so many questions I need to ask for me and also for him - things he will wonder about someday. We have a letter and are going to ask them to stay in contact with us. Of course, since we just found this out we don't have a mailer prepared and DHL is closed...so we scrounged around for a DHL mailer and we will include cash to mail it back to us. We have a disposable camera and hope they will take pictured of their home and people he knows... I have a notebook full of question I prepared this morning. When we picked up Tian we were told we would meet her nanny from the orphanage, but we only met the director who had no information ,so I didn't even hope for an opportunity like this. ...
I have changed my clothes 3 times...Tom seems relaxed, but has been checking and rechecking documents...We have a small gift, but nothing that seems appropriate to give someone who has cared for a child you are about to take...A small box of chocolates, a candle and some American lotion seem so pathetic....

GuiYang

We made it !!! BY about 3 this afternoon Tian had had it - she was ready for a nap and done with airplanes ( to say she's had it is putting it mildly ). We made it to the hotel and she crashed!!

The scenery here is beautiful - many hills ( like Madison county, but it is not rolling hills, but each hill is very steep... We are in the capital city, but it is obvious that the people are very poor. The disparity of the hotel we are staying at and the view out our window is heartbreaking...on a lighter note the boys saw the children in their split pants. Young children's clothing is split from front to back at the crotch to allow...ease of personal needs....to use the bathroom and they do. Remember when visiting China to beware of puddles :o)

A little background: We are in south central China. This province is working toward becoming an energy hub. It has many underground rivers that supply power and there is also mining, mainly for coal. There are many minority group in this province that makes it culture more like the US as many are blending together

After we forced Tian up we went for a walk looking for dinner. We walked past MANY street vendors, but we were not brave enough to risk it. Then we tried a hot pot restaurant, but when Tom discovered they only serve fish we left. We are really feeling the language barrier here - there is a local dialect, although our guide insisted it was mainly Mandarin I don't believe her! The guide from our adoption agency picked us up at the airport and brought us to the hotel, then left us to our own devices...We wandered a while longer before we found a restaurant more like a buffet... I am beginning to think we ate at a soup/charity kitchen, but it was good ( and spicy) and where else can you feed each of us for about $1 a piece?! We then found a bakery and finally real milk!! Milk is hard to find and Tian has been a real good sport considering she gave up her 5 cup a day habit cold turkey...

GuiYang hilly country side - with river

Streetside vendor cart - in this cart mostly colorful veges

View of traditional lanterns in front of a government building.

More street vendors - meat shish-kabobs!!!

Interesting erosion control / gardening combination.....

Interesting stucture as seen on the top of a hill from our car ride into the city from the airport.

View from our hotel room.

Another full day- Day 2 of touring Beijing

Tian is determined to use chopsticks and if all else fails ,she stabs the food with them.
This is the entrance to the temple
An incense altarThe incense altar for the Emperor This is a wheel that common people would spin in lieu of reading the scripture...Tj thinks he could get his reading done everyday
We don't ahve any pictures of Buddha as it is considered disrespectful to take pictures inside the temple- we cheated and Trevor got this one from the courtyard


Today we had another unbelieveable day.

No fun at breakfast - the boys knew what to expect, Tian slept better - so it was a good start to the day! We started with a tour of the largest Llama ( sp?) Temple in Beijing. It was amazing. I think the boys were a little overwhelmed. There were monks there chanting, people there praying and burning incense and leaving offerings of fruit and money. I think they thought people only really worshipped golden statues in the Old Testament times... The shrines were beautiful - filled with golden statues and artwork. This one in Beijing was built to improve relations with Tibet and India about 400 years ago. It is very impressive - many buildings, a beautiful courtyard and at least a dozen various statues of a variety of Buddhas. I think the boys were most impressed by the last building - it had a plaque on the wall from the Guiness Book of World Records - the building houses the largest wooden statue from one piece of wood - it was incredibly tall - at least 100 feet and another 10 feet below ground - of course it was a statue of Buddha. Tian did okay - she thougt it was a little boring, but as usual made sure she attracted a crowd of curious people wondering how she fit in to our family.

Then, onto the silk carpet factory. I had no idea...we had a quick review of silk history. According to our guide every Chinese child is well versed in the importance of silk, the history of it and the silk road and has a basic understanding of its production since it is so importsnt to their economy. Some businesses are regulated by the government and that way quality is insured and prices are also regulated. Each of these rugs ranged in 100 - 2000 knots per square inch - all done by hand!!! They were gorgeous. A large rug - of high quality can take 2 people over a year to complete. However, the dye is all natural so they rugs will never fade and should last 30 years. I found a small wallhanging I really like for only $7000 - Tom was so mean he wouldn't buy it for me! It was a scene of China. Ty was most impressed by the fact that as you moved around the rug the colors changed -- it was really amazing.

The silk ready to be tied into a rug or wall hanging

A rug in progress - all done by hand the pattern on the back is exactly the same

A hand knotted wall hanging

Then we headed to a Tea House. Tian was very excited for her "tea party" I think she was a little surprised it did not include Vanilla wafers and water, however, there were tiny little cups. We tried several herbal teas and when they asked Tian what she thought she told them it was very nasty...so much for her future as a tea conniseur.

Then we headed for the moment we had all been waiting for - we headed for the rides in the rickshaws in "Old Beijing" or Hutong. This is where all the government officials used to live and perhaps some of the Emperor's childen as well. The homes were set up in a courtyard configuration - the south area was for the servants, west for daughters, east for sons and north for the head of the houseThe houses were built over 2000 years ago with very narrow streets, so we were driven through town not by hand pulled rickshaws, but by bicycle powered ones. They drove us through town - so Tian could shout "Ni hao" ( hello) to everyone. We then were brough to a local home for lunch. It was not as scary as one would think. However, their house was as small as an American bedroom. Our group consisted of us, a single young woman from Austrailia and a couple from Russia - we filled this small one room home. We had fish with the head and tail still intact, vegetable - my new favorite garlic stem (they are green, sliced into 1 inch legths - the look like green onion tops, but they are solid, crunchy aand have a mild flavor), peanuts , cauliflower in a spicy sauce, pork and soybeans, a choice of a local beer or Coke to drink, fresh tomatoes and oranges for dessert. Needless to say, we didn't try the beer, but we tried everything else - it was quite a feast and I don't think people really eat like that on a daily basis...After luch we toured a courtyard area owned by a family who had purchased it in the 1940's ( most of the families have passed down the property ) A local man told us about his family and - it was touristy, but fun. Ty got to feed a someone's bird mealworms and Tian and I wanted a little white blue eyed kitten that was hanging around. Then we were attacked by local peddlars trying to sell us everything form "Rolex" watches to postcards. It was fun, but hard to say no as you wondered what kind of quota they each had met....
lanterns hung for the lantern festival - the 15 day for Chinese New Year - the fireworks went on unitl midnight, but no parade...

the rickshaws

the streets in the courtyard

look -they ate with the locals and lived!!!

Our hostess for lunch

The kitchen - shown to us after lunch! ANd I complained about the one in Wisconsin...

Ty and Tian feeding a bird

It really wasn't as frightening as I look....here we on our way back to

Then we headed off to the Beijing Zoo to see the Pandas. They had 4 pandas who all performed for us. They look as cuddly as they do in the pictures. We got to watch one eat bamboo - as Tian put it, "That's was too much in your mouth!" They peeled off the bark of the bamboo very quckly - with a bite and then pulled strips off with thier teeth, they they chewed the stalks, then took handfuls of leaves they pulled off and shoved them in their mouth other time he held the leaves in a bunch and took huge bites of the tightly held bundle.. It was not a neat process and a lot ended up all over him, the ground etc - so there is a lot of wasted bamboo. They did seem as if you could just grab one and hug them though. The zoo was very different from zoos inthe US - you could get relatively close to the pandas and the walls were not very high...it makes one wonder if the Chinese public has more common sense than we do...they know better than to jump in an enclosure with the bears...

I thought it was only the Romans who ate lying down.... he kind of rolled around while he ate

We then had some extra time and got to spend some time at a local department/grocery store. They boys had never been before so it was fun. 3 levels of shopping..."I pods" for $50, fresh fish, duckheads, chicken feet, a virtual Chinese Wal-Mart. By the way, Wal-Mart has invaded China.

Chinese parking lot

the deli counter

Following the shopping excursion we saw an acrobatic show - WAY COOL. The boys and Tian were all amazed ( as were Tara and I ). Ty announced he's going to sign up for acrobatic lessons. We saw tumbling acts, juggling acts, many tricks involving ropes, straps, nets, and poles, and an act involving traditional chinese masks.

We all really had a fun day! Tomorrow we leave Beijing and head for the baby's province - Guiyang.

We'll attach pictures tomorrow and send more blog info....