Cora Li slept well last night. She coughed a few times, but didn't wake up
until around 7 am. However, with a new day came more anxiety. She wasn't happy
unless I was holding her. There were a few times that she'd let me put her
down, but only a few. After I finally managed to get a shower, we went down for
breakfast. She had a good appetite, and ate a few bites of everything. Her
favorite was the drinkable yogurt and orange juice. Guess we had dehydrated
her?
After breakfast, we went back upstairs and talked a little with the
kiddos back home. Oh, how I miss them! Their sweet smiles were so welcome this
morning.
We met our guide in the lobby to go to the Civil Affairs Office to
finalize the paperwork for Cora Li's adoption. The two women and one man from
the orphanage were there again. While Cora Li wanted one of the ladies to take
her yesterday, she clung to me when one of them reached for her. Yes! We
answered questions like, "Why do you want to adopt this child?"to "How do you
plan to raise her?"and then officially promised to never abuse or abandon her.
A given, but a formality nonetheless. We went then to the Notary Office to sign
more paperwork
.
Our guide took us to Wal-Mart to pick up a few drinks and
snacks for our room, and we looked at some of the interesting food items. The
kids were equally amazed and grossed out.
Fuzhou is not very westernized, so
American fare is hard to come by. We requested to find a McDonald's on the way
back to the hotel, so the boys wouldn't starve. :) We had to drive around a
little to find one. Just Billy and our guide got out to go in to order. After
we got back to the room to eat, Billy had ordered Spicy Pork McNuggets for
Rebecca instead of Chicken McNuggets, but she didn't seem to mind. I thought
they were awful!
We hung out in the room the rest of the afternoon since it
was raining. Cora Li got to take a much-needed nap. The kids did some of their
math and reading homework.
Bedtime didn't go quite as well. It was a good
two hours before sweet baby finally gave it up. She has the most soulful eyes.
I always wonder what she is thinking when it gets quiet like that. I know she
must long for her old life and everything she knows. We have completely taken
her from all of that. She's experience so much in her little life. I can only
assume that she has come to this place due to her special need. Why? Why
should she be seen as less because of a birth defect? Why should she be seen as
less because she is an orphan? She is an orphan no longer, and I vow to
advocate for her in every capacity I have. She now has a family to speak for
her, to stand up for her, to accept her, to love her.
We always ask our
guides questions about Chinese culture, food, social policies, and the like. We
were discussing the one-child policy today, and our guide told us about how her
mother was forced to have an abortion when (our guide) was a little girl. Most
everything else she told us was rather matter-of-factly, but I could tell that
she and her mother are still deeply affected by it by the change in her tone.
An "I'm sorry"just didn't seem good enough. Pray for the Chinese people. They
are proud of their country, but they live under such an oppressive government.
Even the number of churches in an area is strictly controlled by the
government. They need the Word and are hungry for it.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Gotcha Day #1
Gotcha Day #1
After traveling for 30+ hours, we arrived at our hotel in Fuzhou, Fujian around 10:30 pm. We crashed about midnight and we all got a great night's sleep. We had breakfast in the hotel, and the boys were pretty grossed out by what the Chinese eat for breakfast. They managed to find something to eat. There was bacon. William was happy about that.
When we got back to the room we watched the Bama-LSU game on the internet. Roll Tide!
There's a huge lake in front of our hotel with all kinds of parks and a greenway around it. We set out for a little stroll to pass the time until we got Cora Li at 3:30. (Our guide was to meet us in our room at 3:20 to go down to the 3rd floor conference room.) We had no idea how big this lake is because you cannot see all of it from our window. What we thought was to be a leisurely stroll turned into at least 2 hours around the entire lake. The scenery was beautiful, with lots of gardens to walk through. There was also an amusement park and a museum along the way. I had worn some fairly comfortable flats, but developed a blister on my pinky toe before we made it back. Those last few yards were not comfortable. Henry kept reminding us of how he didn't want to go in the first place and how we should have listened to him.
When we got back to the room around 2:45, the kids were hungry so we fixed them some instant macaroni & cheese that we had brought with us. Our guide was at the door at 2:50, telling us that Lihong was here! We had the kids eat quickly and then quickly gathered up our cameras and headed down. So surreal. This is happening! She was wearing a white ruffled shirt, black leggings, and a tutu skirt. She wasn't too sure about us, but she came to me right away. She quickly decided that she would rather be with a Chinese lady, so she reached out for Rebecca to take her. She cried when I handed her to Billy. I took her back and walked her around the room a bit, letting her look out the window, while Billy signed some of the paperwork. I then sat down with her in my lap to do the same.
We went back to the room, which was strange to just take the elevator. Normally, you receive your child in a Civil Affairs Office and then drive back to the hotel. She warmed up quickly to the kids, having a blast with the stacking cups. She laughed and laughed at them dropping them, putting them on their heads, or just generally being silly. She has the sweetest and cutest personality.
We ordered pizza and chicken wings for dinner. It wasn't that great, but she put away some chicken wings!
Bedtime went pretty well. She would not let me put her in the crib, so I sat in a chair, rocked and sang to her for a while. She was really fighting the sleep although it was wonderful for her to stare straight into my eyes for so long. I sent Billy down to get some milk, which she apparently doesn't like. We tried a couple of different bottles. I decided that maybe laying down next to her in our bed might work. She then started sucking her thumb and it wasn't long until she was out. I transferred her to the crib after a little while and she slept all night.
What we know about Cora Li:
She's stinkin' cute.
She can crawl, pull to stand, and cruise a little. She can get herself down off the bed.
She says and waves "bye-bye"and can blow kisses.
She can blow her nose.
And yes, we've taught her to say "Roll Tide."
She has a little cold right now.
She's quieter than John. She says a few things in Chinese, but she's more reserved.
Although she has some physical delays due to her special need, she seems pretty intelligent.
She doesn't seem to like candy.
She didn't care for the soft bunny blankie that I brought her.
Stacking cups are the bomb.
She's a tiny thing, with the daintiest hands and feet.
Her ankles and feet seem weak. I'm thinking she'll need AFO's for support.
Her hair could use a trim.
After traveling for 30+ hours, we arrived at our hotel in Fuzhou, Fujian around 10:30 pm. We crashed about midnight and we all got a great night's sleep. We had breakfast in the hotel, and the boys were pretty grossed out by what the Chinese eat for breakfast. They managed to find something to eat. There was bacon. William was happy about that.
When we got back to the room we watched the Bama-LSU game on the internet. Roll Tide!
There's a huge lake in front of our hotel with all kinds of parks and a greenway around it. We set out for a little stroll to pass the time until we got Cora Li at 3:30. (Our guide was to meet us in our room at 3:20 to go down to the 3rd floor conference room.) We had no idea how big this lake is because you cannot see all of it from our window. What we thought was to be a leisurely stroll turned into at least 2 hours around the entire lake. The scenery was beautiful, with lots of gardens to walk through. There was also an amusement park and a museum along the way. I had worn some fairly comfortable flats, but developed a blister on my pinky toe before we made it back. Those last few yards were not comfortable. Henry kept reminding us of how he didn't want to go in the first place and how we should have listened to him.
When we got back to the room around 2:45, the kids were hungry so we fixed them some instant macaroni & cheese that we had brought with us. Our guide was at the door at 2:50, telling us that Lihong was here! We had the kids eat quickly and then quickly gathered up our cameras and headed down. So surreal. This is happening! She was wearing a white ruffled shirt, black leggings, and a tutu skirt. She wasn't too sure about us, but she came to me right away. She quickly decided that she would rather be with a Chinese lady, so she reached out for Rebecca to take her. She cried when I handed her to Billy. I took her back and walked her around the room a bit, letting her look out the window, while Billy signed some of the paperwork. I then sat down with her in my lap to do the same.
We went back to the room, which was strange to just take the elevator. Normally, you receive your child in a Civil Affairs Office and then drive back to the hotel. She warmed up quickly to the kids, having a blast with the stacking cups. She laughed and laughed at them dropping them, putting them on their heads, or just generally being silly. She has the sweetest and cutest personality.
We ordered pizza and chicken wings for dinner. It wasn't that great, but she put away some chicken wings!
Bedtime went pretty well. She would not let me put her in the crib, so I sat in a chair, rocked and sang to her for a while. She was really fighting the sleep although it was wonderful for her to stare straight into my eyes for so long. I sent Billy down to get some milk, which she apparently doesn't like. We tried a couple of different bottles. I decided that maybe laying down next to her in our bed might work. She then started sucking her thumb and it wasn't long until she was out. I transferred her to the crib after a little while and she slept all night.
What we know about Cora Li:
She's stinkin' cute.
She can crawl, pull to stand, and cruise a little. She can get herself down off the bed.
She says and waves "bye-bye"and can blow kisses.
She can blow her nose.
And yes, we've taught her to say "Roll Tide."
She has a little cold right now.
She's quieter than John. She says a few things in Chinese, but she's more reserved.
Although she has some physical delays due to her special need, she seems pretty intelligent.
She doesn't seem to like candy.
She didn't care for the soft bunny blankie that I brought her.
Stacking cups are the bomb.
She's a tiny thing, with the daintiest hands and feet.
Her ankles and feet seem weak. I'm thinking she'll need AFO's for support.
Her hair could use a trim.
Monday, June 17, 2013
A Year's Not So Bad
I've been asked "when" I'm going to start blogging again. I don't know. I'm horrible at writing and I enjoy reading everyone else's musings so much more. I do facebook so I don't have an excuse that "I don't have time." I think my excuse is that I'm pretty brainless these days and don't have much more than a fleeting thought to share. Maybe social media and texting have done this to me?
I guess I'll post our "old" news... We are adopting two little girls from China. We are HOPING to go before November, but there's been a snag in the process. On the China side of things, there's been a new computer system that's been implemented in the last few weeks and there have been major problems! Ah, technology.
Let me introduce our daughters-to-be. Cora Lihong will be 2 on September 6th. She is in foster care in Xiamen City, Fujian. She has spina bifida (repaired myelomeningocele) and hydrocephalus. Mariel Tianxiang is 9 years old and her birthday is November 28th. She has been in foster care for the past 3 years and is in Guangzhou, Guangdong. She has albinism. We are beyond excited and READY to get our girls!
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I guess I'll post our "old" news... We are adopting two little girls from China. We are HOPING to go before November, but there's been a snag in the process. On the China side of things, there's been a new computer system that's been implemented in the last few weeks and there have been major problems! Ah, technology.
Let me introduce our daughters-to-be. Cora Lihong will be 2 on September 6th. She is in foster care in Xiamen City, Fujian. She has spina bifida (repaired myelomeningocele) and hydrocephalus. Mariel Tianxiang is 9 years old and her birthday is November 28th. She has been in foster care for the past 3 years and is in Guangzhou, Guangdong. She has albinism. We are beyond excited and READY to get our girls!
This is Cora Li in March after we sent her a care package.
One of Cora Li's referral photos
I think this is the picture of Mariel that I fell in love with!
This picture was taken in May. Mariel performed in a children's program at the orphanage. We sent her this dress in April.
Beautiful Mariel
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