Day #9 - Embroidery Museum and Travel to Guangzhou 9/24/11

Dear Friends and Family,

I am a bit late on our daily e-mail, or as Dave calls it, "The Daily Chenning." :-)
It has been a rough 24 hours!

Yesterday morning we met Jian at 10:00 am to go to the Embroidery Museum in Changsha. The Ramellas (ha - I finally know the last name of our beloved traveling buddies John and Judy) came with us. The embroidery museum was very small and simple, but it had stunning embroidery artwork that you could hardly believe was embroidered. In Changsha, their specialty is embroidering tigers. There was a piece of embroidery that took 2 people 2 years to complete - and it was incredible. You could see the directionality of the tiger's fur, and the eyes of the tigers were intense and realistic looking. The boys found the museum pretty interesting as well, but they were getting bored at the end :-). The docents and souvenir store attendants were admiring all of our children. Some would come up and hug Aaron, or pick up Gracie (Judy's older daughter). Neither of the kids was too pleased with this. It is a different way - personal space in China is kind of unheard of. The other day at KFC, I nearly got run over by people behind me in the ladies' room line. I had three kids with me and the lady behind me was seriously trying to push ahead of me. I wanted to say, "Can you see that I have 3 kids with me who need to pee? Please don't push ahead of me. They really REALLY need to go!" When the door opened to the free stall, I literally dashed in with the three kids before the lady behind me could. It is hard not to get upset, but I have realized that this is just the norm here.

In the afternoon, we tried to eat up all of our snacks, and then let Lily have a nap. We finalized our packing as well, as Jian was coming at 4pm to take the Ramellas and us to dinner and then to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou which was at 8pm. We went to Pizza Hut, and it was probably one of the nicer dinners we have had here. We had pizza and pasta. Jian was playing cards with the all of the kids. We left for the airport at 5:40 and arrived shortly after 6:00pm.

This is where the craziness began.

When it was our turn to check in, Jian brought out passports up and there seemed to be a problem. The ticketing agents took forever, and then Jian had to take our passports to the supervisor. We were worried that there was something wrong with Lily's passport that we had just received that afternoon. Thoughts that we could be stuck in Changsha and miss all of our appointments in Guangzhou swirled in my mind. Finally, they tell us that by law there is a limit to the number of lap baby tickets they can sell on each flight. For this flight, the limit was 5 - and they sold 7! Guess who was left in a lurch?

It was very frustrating. The agents kept calling people and discussing among themselves. Jian kept on them. But we were in the dark as to what was going on. We could not believe that China Southern did this! And of course it was a full flight, so there was not even an extra seat for them to give us. Our friends, the Ramellas, were waiting and praying for us. They did not want to get on the plane without us. Their daughter, Lily, is over 2, so she had a seat that they purchased. They didn't have the same problem as us. Finally FINALLY, it was decided that the boys, Lily, and I would get on the flight. And Dave would give his seat to Lily and he would take the high speed train to Guangzhou. Matthew and Nathan burst into tears. They were so distraught. Matthew said, "But I will be so worried about you, Daddy! What if something happens to you?" Poor guys. I was fuming! We had an appointment the next morning in Guangzhou at 8:30 to take Lily to her medical exam. We HAD to get to Guangzhou. We prayed for Daddy, and went through security. The agent who escorted us said that when the boys started to cry, she wanted to cry, too. Yeah, me three.

I don't want to get into too many details - but our flight was delayed, so Dave ended up arriving at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou where we are staying just 5 minutes after we arrived. The flight was 1 hour (and it was a teeny plane), and the train ride 3 hours. But with the delay and so forth, it ended up being nearly the same. We staggered into our rooms at about 12:30am. The boys had slept on the short flight, but not Miss Lily. She was into everything, and starting to throw herself backwards and rocking back and forth and in general making me very tired and wishing we were on terra firma. I think she was stressed out a bit (who wasn't) by the whole ordeal. Thank the Lord for John and Judy! Of course even the seats for our family were not together :-(. Don't get me started. So it was me traveling with 4 children and only two of the seats were assigned next to each other. Thank the Lord that together we were able to maneuver things so that Matthew and Nathan were behind John and Judy in row 5, and Lily, Aaron and I were just a couple of rows back in row 7. At one point, the steward was wondering if he could have Aaron sit by himself somewhere else. I looked at him like, "You have GOT to be joking." I said, "He is 4 years old. I HAVE to be next to him." Aaron was asleep when the plane landed, so I had Lily int he Ergo (still awake, mind you), and then I had to carry Aaron down the plane, onto the transfer shuttle, and through the terminal to the baggage claim :-(. John and Judy were helping so much already by keeping track of my other two, and they both had their hands full holding their sleeping children. It was a bit nuts. We lost one of Aaron's shoes on the way - and there was no NO way I could go back and get it.

Suffice it to say, we will not be flying China Southern anytime soon. And also, at the end of the day - I am just thankful for God giving me John and Judy to be there to help with the kids. And also that we all were safely reunited with Dave in the lobby of our beautiful hotel. I thank the Lord that we were able to get to Guangzhou all in one piece and not have to miss any of the appointments. God is good!

The kids went straight to bed. We had to request a rolling bed from the hotel staff, and then Dave and I turned in for the night as well. We had to get up this morning and meet everyone in the lobby by 9:00.

I am very late in this update, so I will stop here.

Please continue in your prayers. We are in the latter half of our trip. We will be flying back on Tuesday night!

We still have some appointments to go to. I will try to write tomorrow about the medical appointments this morning.

Lily is playing in the trash can right now :-). Taking stuff out, putting it back in. It's all good. I took out everything disgusting.

The kids are in PJ's and bathed.

Sorry, no photos tonight. I am too tired and I can't find the cable to connect everything. Hopefully tomorrow!

Love,
Chenning

Day #8 - Yuelu Academy 9/23/11

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday morning we met our guide, Jian, downstairs in the lobby at 9:30. We were off to Yuelu Academy. Yuelu Academy is a famous institute of higher learning founded in 976. It is very famous - one of the most famous things here in Hunan. There were many tourists there - but they were all Chinese tourists (except for us). It is very beautiful - although not kept very well. It is no longer being used as a school - but sometimes lectures are given there still. It was amazing to look around and think that this was built over 1000 years ago! I could just imagine back in the day, scholars walking back and forth through the courtyards with their robes on and memorizing their lessons.

We get a lot of stares here in China - and at Yuelu Academy it is no exception. Why do people stare? I think it is because we have so many children. I was joking with Dave that we are like Brangelina - except without our body guards to keep people at bay. Seriously, people will come right up to us and start asking us questions in Chinese - How many children do you have? Are these all your children? Where are you from? You have three boys? You are so lucky! Did you dream of having a girl? Is that why you have her? It is crazy. Even when we walk into the stores near the hotel - same deal. It makes me not want to go out. But I am so SO SO glad that we brought the whole family. It just would not be the same without everybody. Our friends, John and Judy, get stares, too - because they are a Caucasion couple with 2 little Chinese girls. People were even taking pictures of our party at Yuelu Academy.

Lily is keeping us busy! She has now come more out of her shell and wants to "walk" everywhere! Sometimes she will be content to be in the sling, but she will let me know she wants down by pushing against me and saying, "Mmmmm! Mmmm!" Thankfully I have lots of helpers to hold her hands and support her as she goes everywhere. In the hotel room after her nap, she would take us to the door and indicate that she wanted to go out. Too bad there isn't anywhere to go! I am getting a little worried about the plane flight home. Hopefully it will be better since it is a red eye and she can sleep. Otherwise, we will be cruising the aisles :-(.

We had a lunch of instant noodles and snacks. Like I said yesterday, eating out is stresssful - so sometimes it is easier just to load up at the breakfast buffet, eat lunch in our rooms and then have a good dinner. Thankfully, my boys like "oodles of noodles," and Matthew especially is a homebody and never wants to go anywhere. I feel cooped up and out of my element, but the alternative of exploring the city is daunting (and would invite more stares and comments). After Lily's nap, we did venture out a couple of blocks. It was interesting because we walked down one alley way near the hotel - and there were little produce and butcher shops there. The hotels and high rises are so modern - and then there are these sights that are right nearby that are so antiquated. We witnessed a woman slicing a still wriggling fish with a cleaver right down it's back on a bloody butcherblock set in what looked like a plastic washtub. And Nathan - agog while watching this, nearly stepped on a mesh bag on the floor that was full of live frogs!

For dinner, we met John and Judy and their two girls downstairs again at Good Street. It was our last dinner in Changsha and at the Hua Tian Hotel. Tonight we fly out to Guangzhou. This will be Lily's first experience flying. It is strange to think of all the firsts that she must be going through. So many things that we take for granted and do every day - riding in a car, being out in the city, watching television. . . and even something like being fed on demand, having snacks galore, being spoiled with french fries, waking up and opening your eyes and seeing your mom right there. She smiled today when I brought her to the adjoining room after she had woken up and had her diaper changed. She saw her brothers who were playing cards, and greeted them with a smile. It was like she was saying, "There they are! Hey guys!"

Many of you have asked how Aaron is doing. He is doing wonderfully! Of course, everyone is in a kind of altered universe here. The boys are so happy because basically they get to eat as many snacks and play on the iPad and DS pretty much as much as they want to. We will see what happens when we get home and routines come back into play. For now, they are enjoying their debauchery. I am enjoying, too, letting go and relaxing our rules :-).

Ok - that's about it. We meet downstairs in a few minutes to go to the Embroidery Museum. In the afternoon we check out and go pick up our documents from the Civil Affairs Office and then head to the airport.

Our photos:
1) Lily and I at Yuelu Academy
2) Matt and Nathan smiling at Yuelu Academy
3) Lily, my brown eyed girl
4) Sleeping in the sling

Love,
Chenning

Day #7 - Martyr's Park 9/22/11

Hi Friends and Family,

Yesterday, we met Jian in the lobby to go do some local sightseeing in Changsha. She took us to Martyr's Park. It was really nice to be away from the hotel and the bustle of the city. It was (more) quiet there - and green! One thing I have noticed in the this city and in Tianjin is that there just really is not a lot of green. The cities are pretty much grey - with a haze of grey in the air as well. Martyr's Park is a memorial to those who have lost their lives for a cause, or their country, or fellow man. There was a monument (it's in one of my photos) that had a shrine inside and photos of some of the martyrs. The park is HUGE. There is a pond where you can go paddleboating (like the park we went to in Tianjin), and there are even county fair type rides in another section of the park. Throughout the park we could see many people (mainly seniors, but there were also younger people and some children) playing cards on picnic benches, singing karaoke (with the whole set up, mic, speaker and everything!), playing instruments, dancing, and doing tai chi. We got to walk around and also feed the koi fish that were in the pond. The kids loved that. Lily was not so interested in the fish, but kept trying to drop my lipbalm dangerously close to the water's edge. Lily likes to play these "dropping" games. We will give her an object, she will drop it, and then indicate she wants to have it back, and then drop it again and again and again while laughing. We humor her, and rejoice that this is very normal baby/toddler behavior, and remember that she probably has never had anyone to play this "game" with her.

After we got on the bus to leave the park, we headed to McDonald's and Pizza Hut for lunch take-out. Dave went to MacDonald's and John went to buy Pizza Hut for his family. Yes, our systems are in shock. So much fast food. But seriously, eating can be very stressful here. Between trying not to drink the water that the waitresses always pour for you, and making sure there is no ice in your soda (yes - soda! My kids are loving this, they never have soda in the states. It is the only thing that we know does not for sure is not made with water from China), and not eating the produce and dishes that have been sitting around for a while, and trying to figure out how to order stuff in Chinese, we have resorted to eating many of our meals at American chain fast food places. Can't wait to get home and eat a nice big salad! We headed to the hotel to eat and take a nap.

Lily sleeps a lot (compared to my other children). She sleeps about 12 hours at night without waking. In the afternoons, she has been sleeping 2-3 hours! I don't have the heart to wake her up in the morning or to wake her from her naps to do stuff. Dave says she has lots of growing to do. I don't go out either when she is sleeping. Dave took the boys to the nearby market in the afternoon to stock up on snacks and get some air. When Lily is sleeping, sometimes she has trouble breathing and will breathe few breaths from her nose, and then have a sudden intake with her mouth. She sleeps through this, but kind of jerks a little when she has to breathe with her mouth. Goodness, I cannot imagine sleeping through that. I cannot wait to have her seen by the cleft team at Stanford. We feel like she has to put so much energy into eating, drinking, and breathing sometimes that this could be another reason she is so thin.

For those who don't know, children with bilateral cleft palate, have 2 clefts in the roof of their mouth. It extends all the way from her gumline to where her soft palate begins. If you put your finger in your mouth and touch the roof, you can feel how far back it is where the soft palate starts. Her palate did not fuse together during the early part of her mother's pregnancy, which resulted in the cleft palate and lip (although she has had surgery for the lip already). Boy, can my girl eat. Can you imagine eating with two openings in the roof of your mouth? Those openings connect to the nasal cavity. She knows just how to push the food far enough back to avoid the clefts. When Lily "talks," it is very nasal - as she her nasal cavity is totally open to her mouth. Dave says that for now the plus side is - no boogers! They just drain directly into the mouth. Ha ha.

We had a sad moment yesterday when Nathan was playing with Lily and looking at her face. He asked what those bumps were on her upper lip? He also noticed that her nostrils are caved in a lot smaller than they should be. I explained that the bumps were the scars from the surgery that put her lip into one piece. He asked, "But are they always going to be there?" Dave and I nodded, and he started to cry :-(. Sweetheart. Dave hugged him and reminded him that the Lord does not care what we look like. We are beautiful in His eyes.

For dinner, we just met John and Judy's family downstairs at the hotel restaurant. It is called Food Street, and it has Chinese dishes from all over China. It is pretty cool because they have examples of each dish on the counter, so you can just point at it and swipe your card. Even though this is a 5 star hotel in the capital of the province of Hunan, that caters to adoptive families - most people do not speak English well. It can be hard to makes your needs known - even for me, and I thought that I could communicate all right in Chinese. We had some dumplings and char siu bao, and fried rice and some stir fried baby bok choy. Lily is eating so much, and I love to feed her and give her whatever she wants. She loves to eat the insided of dumplings, and any kind of bread.

Lastly, one last adventure (for me) to share with you all. I, a mother who has breastfed my first three children exclusively and for literally years, have been preparing bottles of formula! It is not nearly as fun as breastfeeding. I think I finally have it figured out now. We had to make the hole in the silicone nipple bigger so that the liquid could more or less pour out. I have the formula in a drop-in (a bag that goes in the bottle), and while Lily is drinking, I actually squeeze the bag gently. Babies with cleft palate cannot make a vacuum with their mouths when they suck. So while I squeeze, I can help her get the formula. Imagine drinking water with a straw that has a hole in it - I think we have all had this experience. Yes, you can still get your drink, but boy do you have to work hard for it. That is what it is like for Lily to drink from a bottle. It makes me feel a little sad too because I know for most babies - sucking is such a soothing thing. Nursing is so soothing and comforting. I think that for Lily, it is work - and not nearly so pleasurable. I always hold her to give her a bottle, but we always have to stop a few times to let her catch up and get a breath. Hopefully things will get better as I get the hang of this. And of course, after she has her palate surgery!

After bath time, we watched the last part of UP that was on tv. Then off to bed!

Our photos:
First is showing how delicately and lady like Lily is when she eats
Second is showing Lily and Nathan taking a bath together.
Last is a picture of us and John and Judy's family at Martyr's Park

Prayer requests -
1) Continue praying for our family bonding. Lily is growing in attachment :-). There was a moment yesterday when I was out of her view to go to the bathroom, and she looked for me and said, "Ma ma!" Dave said that he could tell she definitely meant me! Yay! However, when we were at the park, and Judy was getting crackers out for her daughter, our Lily reached her hand out to her to get one, too. Judy (smart mama who has done this before) gave the cracker to me, so that I could give it to Lily.
2) Pray for Dave and I as we think about the next steps for Lily when we get home. We have already contacted the doctor at Stanford for an appointment. We really want to get her seen as soon as possible.
3) This is a continuation of #2 - pray for me. I worry about Lily. There is just so much we don't know about her medical history. Sometimes I worry that there will be something else wrong. When I look at her flat head, I worry that we have missed the window for a helmet or some other therapy to help that. It makes me feel sad that she may have missed so many things that could have benefited her had we been able to come and get her sooner. But praise the Lord - you can never miss the window for being loved.
4) We go to Guangzhou tomorrow to finalize more details of the adoption process. Please pray for our safety on the flight and in province.

My girl just woke up! Gotta go. Sorry for the dissertation!

Love,
Chenning

Day #6 - Government Appointments 9/21/11

Hello Friends and Family,

Thank you for rejoicing and celebrating with us as Lily joined our family on Monday! Dave and I are both so encouraged by your replies and your prayers. We feel like Lily is so loved already by people who have not even met her yet. Blessed blessed girl! I really do read each and every reply, and love to hear from all of you. It makes us feel like you are right here with us - which is huge, because it can feel so isolating being in a faraway place.

Yesterday we had to meet Jian downstairs at 8:30. After a breakfast buffet, the driver took us and John and Judy's family to the Civil Affairs Office for our government appointments. Basically, we had to take a family photo, then sign and thumbprint with red ink some documents, and Lily had to do a handprint of both of her hands on the document, too. This made her legally ours! Then we had to be interviewed (it was an easy one! Questions like: When were you married? (Of course, Dave got the date wrong in his answer and I had to correct him!) How many biological kids do you have? Did you know your daughter had cleft lip and palate? Do you mind that she does? Etc.). Oh yes, and pay some fees :-). Lily girl was into everything at the Civil Affairs office - pens, wrappers, paper. Makes this mama's heart smile to see her doing some typical 18 month old stuff.

Then we went back to the hotel to rest. Lily was starting to throw herself backwards, which seemed to me like she was getting tired. The orphanage staff had mentioned that she usually takes a nap at 11am. I slung her and walked around and sung to her, and she fell asleep. I laid her down and she slept for about 2 hours! In the meantime, Dave took the older 2 for a swim in our hotel pool. That was a fiasco. There was no shallow end, and when they got there, Dave didn't quite understand that the attendant there was telling them to use the footbath first, and then that they needed a swim cap. When they came back about 20 minutes later - I was wondering why it was such a quick dip. When Dave filled me in, I kind of felt like laughing. This is the kind of stuff that has been happening to us every day here.

After baths and showers, we met our guide, Jian, and John and Judy's family for dinner. We walked a couple of blocks to eat at the restaurant at the Dolton Hotel. We had some pizza and dumplings and spaghetti. It was so great to be able to eat with this other family. I told you before that they are believers, and we were able to share and fellowship about our adoption journeys and how the Lord has been speaking to each of us. If you remember, please also pray for their new daughter who is also named Lily (!). Her special need is hemangiomas on her face that are associated with something called PHACES syndrome. She is a doll and Dave has looked at her and feels that she has the milder kind. However, of course, you never know, and they could use your prayers. It was funny because Judy keeps telling us that the Lord arranged for them to be in the same group as a dermatologist when their daughter's special need has dermatological findings! We feel like the Lord gave us their company to keep us encouraged, too. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, there are so many things that concern and could cause lots of worry for us about Lily - but she has been so reassuring, having done it before 3 years ago with their older daughter, Grace.

Lily, again, was into everything at dinner. She only stopped when I started feeding her dumplings and fries. All the boys fight to sit next to her on the bus and at mealtimes. We are getting to know her better. She is very lively! She actually spent a lot of yesterday walking with us holding her hands. She likes to play "catch" by rolling a toy to you and then you rolling it back. She was even kicking our blow up balloon we brought. So perhaps she is not as delayed as I thought originally. She really cannot make many different sounds (yet). I am trying to teach her sign language for basic things. She spent the day at my side again, and did not want to go to Dada. Dave is used to this, thank goodness, and actually sees it as a great thing. We had heard about one person being the primary caregiver at the beginning. That way Lily can get attached to someone firmly before widening her circle.

Lily amazes me. It is amazing to me that she is ok with us. It is amazing that she lets me feed her and bathe her and hold her and sleep with her. After just one day of meeting! My bio kids would scream bloody murder at this age being left in the nursery for 10 minutes. So I guess it is amazing to me because it is so foreign to me, but also kind of sad that she never had this. She has laughed a lot, gone through half a box of raisins, loves rice crackers, and bathtime! She splashes and laughs and tosses her bath toys.

Nathan is so cute. He just crept in again and is lying next to sleeping Lily. My men were playing UNO next door, but Nathan has come in twice to see if Lily is still sleeping. I know that God blessed me with such a nurturer of little people for this reason. Nathan has ALWAYS loved babies - even when he was practically a baby himself.

Aaron is doing superbly well! He is very protective of Lily. I know that sometimes you get a honeymoon period before the true emotions come out (that has been the case with each time we had an addition to our family), but I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!

Today - we are sightseeing. I think we are going to Yuelu Academy. We have to wait 2 days until our daughter's documents are processed before we can head to Guangzhou.

The photos! First one is of my 4 kids waiting in the waiting room at the Civil Affairs Office while we were waiting for our turn. The second one is of Dave and I signing the documents - making Lily officially and legally ours! The third one is of me holding Lily after her handprint - notice the red ink. The last one is after naptime when Lily was devouring a box if raisins.

The verse on the back of my Wild Olive tee shirt I am wearing in the photo (Lily is wearing a matching one under her hoodie): "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Love,
Chenning

Day #5 - Lily Claire Day!!! 9/20/11

Hello Friends and Family,
I know that you have been eagerly awaiting news about how our meeting and first day with Lily Claire have been. I am so sorry for the delay - but yesterday was truly a whirlwind of a day and also emotions running high, not to mention being busy with 4 (!) kids, so this is the soonest I could write and feel like I could tell you what is going on.
Before I go on, I want to say thank you for all of your prayers. The meeting with Lily went great, and she is handling the transition well. There are things that we need prayer for - but I will get into that later. Right now she is sleeping peacefully while I type this out.
We were supposed to meet Lily at the Civil Affairs Office at 10:30am. Our guide came to pick us up at 10 am in the lobby of the hotel. Another family was going with us in a bus. Amazingly (or actually not so - I am just amazed continually by God's provision and kindness), the other family are believers who are here for their second adoption from China! Their other daughter, Grace, is with them, and she is 4. They also have 2 grown children in their 20's. It was a relief to be able to talk to someone else on the same journey (and who have done it before). Judy and John are staying at the same hotel as us and will go with us to Guangzhou, too! Isn't that great?
We did not meet Lily at the Civil Affairs Office. She was being driven over from her foster home in Changde which is 2 hours away, and they got stuck in traffic. So it was very anticlimactic - we had to go back to the hotel and wait for her there. It was crazy being in the waiting room at the Civil Affairs Office - so many families waiting for their new children. Matthew said, "The suspense is killing me!" I agreed with him.
At about 12:30pm, Lily was brought up to our room by the orphanage staff that drove her over. They immediately handed her to me and said, "She is not scared of strangers." She was taking it all in - watching the boys who were jumping from bed to bed, and letting me hold her. When the orphanage staff left, we hung out a little. She was mellow, but was playing with the stacking cups we brought for her and sitting on my lap.
We discovered that she had lice and scabies :-(. Thankfully I brought treatment from the States as I had read on the boards that this could be the case. I gave her a bath, and we rubbed her down with prescription cream and washed her hair with lice shampoo and combed out the nits :-(. When we undressed her (she was wearing 3 layers), I could tell how skinny she is - skin and bones. And she had scars on her bottom from severe diaper rash that indicates neglect. Also, her head is very flat on the back, which makes me think she was left in her crib a lot. I have to tell you that as all of this was happening - I was getting very very angry. It brings tears in my eyes to type this out. These are not the circumstances that we thought she came from.
After I dressed her in new clothes, I felt better. We all played together on the beds. She even laughed a few times when she would knock over the cups and I would say, "Uh oh!" Her eyes are bright and lively. I can tell that she is very smart. I can also tell that she has all this love inside her that is just waiting to come out. Do you know that she has been with us nearly a day, and she had not cried one tear? Yes, that seems like an easier transition - but for all of you mamas, you know that this is not normal for an 18 month old. We are starting from square 1 with attachment. She has not left my side literally. When we went shopping in the afternoon for some baby things, I wore her in the sling. She fell asleep for about an hour in there, which was sweet. The hotel staff had brought in a crib, but Dave and the boys put the two twin mattresses in my room onto the floor, so that Lily, Aaron and I could all sleep together. Dave had the other 2 in our adjoining room. I don't want to think about her sleeping alone :-(. She did not even cry when it was bedtime - she let out a whimper or two, and then I rubbed her hair and face until she fell asleep.
Right now sweet Nathan is sleeping next to her. He says he is watching over her :-).
We are so happy that she is here with us, and that we can begin our lives now as a family of 6.
Please pray for our attachment and our family. Honestly, she does not feel like my child right now. I had read that this could be the case. That it can take long l-o-n-g time to feel like she is really and truly mine. I am not worried, but could definitely use prayers for this. Love is a choice - and I know that the feelings will grow and come. This is a very different experience from my births. She doesn't know my body, and when I hold her, she is stiff - however, that has gotten better even in the last day. Lily spontaneously hugged me at lunch yesterday. When I disappeared out of the room last night to get a snack, she whimpered and was looking for me. I immediately came back and took her with me. These are all positive things. She has even started saying, "Ma ma ma ma." I don't think she means me, but I am going to take it like it does :-).
The boys are doing fabulously. They are such lovebugs and are doing all kinds of antics to entertain their sister.
Please pray for Lily. She is tall - but thin as I mentioned. She cannot walk, or stand without support. She is probably developmentally around 9-12 months. She can crawl and get around by scooting. She has great fine motor control though. She can pick things up easily and plays with everything. She knows how to feed herself - she pushes the food way back past the cleft in her palate so that she can chew and swallow it. She has eaten voraciously. We have let her have anything she wants. French fries, cookies, rice crackers, chicken, corn - she needs more meat on her bones. She does not know any language (that I can tell so far). I had been wondering whether to speak Mandarin or English to her, but it seems like both are just as foreign to her. I am hoping that means that someone spoke Hunan dialect to her, instead of contemplating the possibility that no one really interacted with her. No matter, we will start from square one.
We will be beginning our day soon. We are off to the Civil Affairs office again for some appointments and an interview. I know that today could be harder. May we rest in our Father. Through all of this, I am just so thankful that my heavenly Father adopted ME. He had loved me with an everlasting love. So thankful!
Yikes this was a lot. Some of you wrote to me and told me not to worry about being long-winded. I am thankful to have all of you standing with us, and along with us for this journey.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18
and one more that my in-laws shared with us - "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." Jeremiah 31:3

Of course, I am attaching a couple of photos. The first is of our first meeting (sorry the quality is awful, we try to get better ones today), and the second one is of Lily all cleaned up. The third is of her crazy hair right after washing (she and I can bond over this).

Love,
Chenning

Day #3 and #4 - Tianjin and Travel to Changsha 9/17/11-9/18/11

Hi Friends and Family,
Yesterday, for our last day in Tianjin, we went to a park that is loosely translated Piled Mountain Park. It actually used to be a landfill - which they covered over with soil and planted a lot of greenery on. The locals nicknamed it "Garbage Mountain." Actually, it is the greenest place in Tianjin that I have seen. Most of the city is concrete. It was great weather, and we got to go on motorboats around the lake that surrounds the park. We had a lot of fun with the Changs. After that we went directly to this dunpling restaurant that was nearby. Joining us was another family that are good friends and neighbors of the Changs, the Kuos. The Kuos have 3 children. So between our three families, we had 11 children! I think that the restaurant workers were not used to seeing so many children :-). They had about 100 different kinds of stuffings for the dumplings and you could watch through a window into the prep room where there were about 15 people sitting around a table wrapping them (they are made to order). The food was good! Unfortunately, my kids are still getting tired early (like 6 pm) because of the time difference, so the dinner ended with the kids kind of melting down, Nathan getting squished by a revolving door (poor lamb, he was trying to stop it so that he could wait for Matthew), and then Nathan throwing up outside from crying too hard. He is ok, though, no permanent damage done.
When the kids went to bed, I stayed up (all the way to 10pm!) to finish up some laundry and hang with Sophia. It was wonderful to be able to catch up some more, share together, and pry together for our families. The morning, we left to go to the airport at 6:30am. We miss the Changs already! They are really such dear dear friends of ours, and such an encouragement to be around. I am so grateful that we decided to spend a few days with them before getting down to business in Changsha and so forth.
The flight to Changsha was smooth - thank the Lord - and everyone was very nice. Our guide, Jian, was there to pick us up - and she is really competent and friendly. She speaks English, and she is a young lady who seems very put together. The driver drove us to our hotel - the Hua Tian Hotel in Changsha. We are in connecting rooms, and it is comfortable and modern. We had to go into a temporary room first because our adjoining rooms were not done being cleaned. We took that time to go grab some lunch from the buffet downstairs and go to the convenience store nearby. The English name for the convenience store is "Whacko Market." I am not kidding. For dinner we walked about 20 minutes to Pizza Hut. Aaron fell asleep on the way and it started sprinkling. Everyone told us it would be HOT in Changsha - well it is raining and 60 degrees here today, and it will be tomorrow as well! I only brought one pair of pants for each person (including Lily). We may have to stop at a store tomorrow if this weather keeps up. I am not complaining though, it kind of reminds me of Bay Area fall weather - windy and refreshing.
Anyway, we are now resting in the room. The boys are watching Kung Fu Panda 2 on the iPad. We have been dreaming of Lily and thinking about how she will be here with us tomorrow at this time - squeeee! Crazy, huh? So exciting, and also a bit nerve wracking. I can't wait to see her and hold her. I hope that she will be ok with us. and that we can all bond together as a family. I know that the Lord has brought us to this point and has led us every step of the way. I trust that He will be there in all that happens tomorrow. Please pray for us, specifically for Lily as she is separated from her caregivers and her world is turned upside down. Pray for her little heart that may feel like it is breaking. Pray that we can bond together and she will be able to grow in love and trust even in the next days. Also, please pray for Aaron. He is my "baby," still, in so many ways. I know that this will be difficult for him. He will need lots of comfort and reassurance in the coming days and weeks.
All right - that is it!
Much love,
Chenning

P.S. Our photos! Sorry I am a bit photo heavy - I could not resist. The first one is of the back row of Lorden's van on the way to dinner. Yes, no seatbelts and lots of fun to be had. Second photo is of Dave and I in front of a street vendor who makes special breakfast crepes that Tianjin is famous for. Goodness we look like such tourists. The third and fourth just show our kids having a blast with the Chang kids - playing settlers of Catan and fighting with lightsabers. We miss them already!

Day #2 - Tianjin 9/16/11

Dear Friends and Family,
Well, our trip to the Great Wall was rained out :-(. The Great Wall (even the Tianjin portion) is about a 2 hour drive from Sophia's house. Shortly after I wrote my e-mail yesterday, it started to look cloudy. We checked the weather report that said showers. Sophia thought it would not be worth it to drive so far (and the roads here are not as up to date, can be even trickier to drive in the rain) and not be able to hike the wall. So we stayed closer to home. We went to the Tianjin Zoo instead. We had a few sprinkles, but nothing to ruin our outing. It is a big zoo, and pretty typical - but attached you will see a photo of Dave feeding the alligators! Not something you get to do in the U.S., right? For 15 yuan (which is roughly $2.50), you get a fishline with a chicken carcass on the end of it. Dave had the fun of dangling that thing and watching the alligators jump and fight for fresh meat. Very entertaining for all of us - especially the kids. You can see them on the right side of the photo watching intently. The second photo is of Matthew reading the nook a friend lent to us and petting Captain (Sophia's family dog). He looks right at home doesn't he? And the last photo is of our three boys and Sophia's 2 girls at the zoo.
We brought a picnic to eat at the zoo - unfortunately because of the humid weather we were a picnic for the mosquitoes. Dave currently has 20 bites on him. These were nearly all from the zoo yesterday. Suffice it to say, he has already greased himself with repellent this morning! After a rest in the afternoon, I went with Sophia to pick up Noah from school and then we had yummy noodles at home. Dave and Lorden took a bike ride to Lorden's work (he wanted to show him around there). After dinner, Dave and Lorden went to a university student gathering at a neighbor's house. The kids and I did not go, but I heard that it was really fun. They played games, hung out, and read a Philip Yancey story. This is Lorden and Sophia's service over here, and it has been wonderful to get a sneak peak into their life over here.
The kids and I passed out again at 8pm and slept until nearly 6am today. Not sure what the plan is today, but we fly out to Changsha tomorrow morning. We meet Lily on Monday morning. I am getting excited and nervous to be "on our own" and also to be meeting our new daughter in just a couple of days! I have butterflies thinking about it.
Thank you for your continued pryers. We appreciate them so much. We have been blessed so far with good health and rest - so we thank Father for that!
Love,
Chenning