Monday

Monday   I know I have done a poor job of blogging but taking care of a new child by yourself is quite time consuming and internet is expensive here.  I thought I would take a few moments when he is otherwise occupied to put down a few thoughts for each day and put them on the blog as time permits.   Monday was the day to meet Sawyer.  After watching time pass rather slowly in my room, I decided to take a walk to see what I could see.  "Joshua" (not sure of Chinese characters) Tower is just a few blocks from my room so I thought I would walk there and take some pictures.  Traffic in Guiyang is like traffic anywhere else in China – at your own risk.  Even though there are crosswalks, pedestrians are not protected.  So, in order to cross the street, I had to use underground tunnels which can be quite scary and very much like a maze.  I was apprehensive of this so I simply walked straight to the river, which, although beautiful, smells horribly despite the fact they are cleaning it for the dragon boat races next week.   There I found a short tunnel underneath the bridge which crossed me to the other side of the street and headed straight for Joshua Tower.  The tower is 3 stories high and over 1000 years old.  Behind it lies a tiered garden of sorts which get progressively higher.  There was a youth art exhibit with some amazing photographs on display.  It was very surreal to sign in at the visitors desk with my American name surrounded by Chinese names.  While there, I met a school group of children, probably 5th or 6th grade.  I walked by and then heard a solitary "hello".  I turned and said "hello" to giggles.  I was then treated to a chorus of "hellos" and "how are yous".  I also received a "What is your name?".  Of course I answered all of the questions because a know a foreigner is  a novelty here in the province.  Guiyang is a poor province in China with the highest population of minorities and, is therefore, not visited as often.  It was fun to get out but boy does this place get hot.  It's not that the temperature is so much hotter than home, but the sun seems to beat down more fiercely here.  Vickie says it is because of the elevation of the plateau which is approximately 4000 ft above sea level.  Needless to say, I drink a ton of water every day because of this.   I have not been eating much here so today was no exception.  I think mostly because of nerves.  Vickie and the driver met me in the lobby at 2:30 so we could go to the adoption office to meet Sawyer.  The traffic is horrible and I would never drive here.  We arrived right at 3pm to  take a scary elevator which I am sure is not up to code, up to the 14th floor.  We then had to walk up 2 flights to the 15th floor.  Sawyer was in the bathroom.  I was totally unprepared for the onslaught of orphanage workers who arrived with him.  Three females, one male director, and one male something I am still unsure of his job.  All of them were with Sawyer.  When he walked into the room, my first thought was how tiny he was.  He is so small, more the size of a three year old than a five year old.  The workers told him I was mama and he walked over and said mama.  I had taken a stuffed dog with me which he promptly hugged.  Long story short, we bonded by playing with an airplane and the dog together while the paperwork was complete.  When it was time for the staff to go, they all said bye and he said bye.  It was when they were out of sight that the crying began followed by the screaming of "I want to go home".  This I was prepared for so I picked him up and held him.  The director came over and spoke with him.  Vickie said they were telling him that we had lost him long ago but we had found him and now he was going to go home with us and be with his family forever.  I thought it was sweet but I wasn't thrilled with being portrayed as parents who lost their kid.   Vickie asked them to go ahead and leave and a few mini m & m's later he was better.  We stopped on the way back to the hotel at Deco's because he was hungry.  Vickie said it was like KFC and would be a treat for him.  Let me just say one word about Deco's – YUCK! Never again will I eat there.  It is nothing like KFC but it filled his belly since I did not really want to take him out by myself just yet.  I had flashbacks of Simon running away.    I will end this day with saying there are some very real health and treatment concerns with Sawyer which I will not go into great detail as it is his story and private.  I will say his teeth are in horrible shape and somewhat nonexistent making eating difficult.  He also has a severe vitamin deficiency given the state of his nails and hair.  I know his orphanage is very poor and there is also the fact that he was not abandoned until age three which means there is a lot of his history we do not know.  It will be of the utmost importance for us to get him to our pediatrician as soon as possible when we get home.  He likes to play and has enjoyed his toys but he is not a very loving child just yet.  He has now been abandoned twice so I am sure that will take time.  He is very adventurous and loves jumping from bed to bed.  He also likes standing on his head using the wall – odd but cute.  He seems to be intelligent as he picks up communication fairly easily, but oh is he stubborn and sneaky.  Given an inch, he will take a mile in a heartbeat.  All of this is typical orphanage behavior including the manipulation which he excels at – especially when he is being disciplined.  He has considered hitting and spitting on me – both of which he decided not to do.  He is very shy around strangers but did tell the driver that he liked me so I was pleased to hear that.    It is difficult to take care of a new child by yourself.  I miss Scott and the boys and would very much like for all of us to be together.  I fly out Friday at 12:50.  I am still waiting to find out when Scott leaves.  I am counting the days!

more pics

Pictures

Another day...

I am perturbed.  I think that is the best way to sum up my current feelings.  It is still almost 5 hours before I meet my son.  There are two other families here who already have their precious babies; even my husband has our youngest, and I sit here twittling my thumbs.  I know it is an orphanage decision about when and where the exchange takes place, but it doesn't change the fact that it is irritating.  All in His time - I think he's still trying to teach me patience :)   I did get to see Shepherd last night.  He is sooo cute.  I could just pinch his little cheeks all day!  When I came up on the screen he was playing in the background and Scott called him over.  He looked at the computer and said "Mama".  Broke my heart that I couldnl't pick him up and hug him, but it also filled me with joy that even thousands of miles away he knows who I am.  Last night was rough for Scott and for Chong Chong (ophanage nick name).  We stayed together on Skype while he screamed and cried for mama and baba - not us.  We knew he was tired and had a long day but going through it by yourself is rough.  Scott did get a little sleep last night but Chong Chong was up several times.  He is a fiddler and is very stubborn so he should fit right into our family.  We spoke this morning for a few minutes and he was all smiles and kept taking Mama's picture with the camera and then would show it to me.  He blew me a kiss and told me bye.  No love you yet but that is ok.  Scott is doing a wonderful job with him and I am so proud to call him my husband.   The biguns at home are doing well.  They are helping Memaw and having fun skyping with us.  My internet is not very consistent but it seems to be ok for the most part.    I had my first Guiyang meal yesterday with my guide Vickie.  It was FABULOUS.  One dish, hands down, is the best meal I have ever had in China.  Unbeknownst to me, Guiyang is famous for it's

Settleing-in in Lanzhou

As my darling wife has stated, glad to be not moving and clean from a shower. The Grand Soluxe Hotel is very nice with all the amenities, including some remodeling on the side of my room. I'm sure it will be nice when they finish sometime when I am back at home enjoying Thanksgiving with the whole family. My guide had a brought time finding me Becca's my timing with a Dutch tourist group arriving made it hard to find the "American". Steve is very nice a very knowledgeable. We traveled a hour or so to the hotel and saw many unique things. The hills around this area(Steve called them mountains) are made of Golden Sand. They are stepped in layers to allow for agriculture. Many have a small temple on top to pray for good harvests. They also have small caves made into them for people to live in.
I will meet Shepherd this afternoon around 4:00. Another family is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage and they both will be brought to the hotel then.
I am off to see what I can find in the very noisy city. There seems to be a constant noise of car horns, fireworks, and loud music.

Scott - the silly American at large

Made it to Guiyang

Well, I am here. I arrived at the airport about 2 hours ago.  My guide is Vicki and seems really sweet and fully of energy.  Which would be great except I am totally beat.  The sad news I will not get to meet Sawyer until Monday afternoon.  The orphanage does not want to bring him to the hotel and the adoption office isn't open until Monday.  He is a few hours outside of the city so it will take most of the morning for them to get here.  I really miss Scott.  Although we both know this was the right thing to do for our entire family, it did not stop me from crying when we had to part in Beijing.  My flight here was good with no problems.  The funny thing was I was the ONLY and I do mean ONLY white person on the plane...and in the airport for that matter.  Vickie saw me before I saw her.  Our driver seems good - aka - we did not crash between here and the airport.  For those of you who have never been to China, think of it this way...the lines on the road are merely "guidelines".  Most of the time, the drivers drive ON THEM instead of BETWEEN them.  It is good to be back in China and I look forward to all of the fun things Vickie has planned.   I do have a favor though.  I cannot get are RQ here for some reason.  We did not download VPN's before we left so would someone please email me if they see another parent is in the province. I am at the Sheraton which is SUPER nice.  Also, if LynnC posts, tell her I said hey and can't wait to meet in Guangzhou.  Stupid cell phones aren't working either.  Worked fine in Beijing and in Korea but not here.  Go figure.   Going to take a shower now.  36 hours of travel stinks...literally!!   Lots of love! Sheila

Fwd: Hello from Korea

Subject: Hello from Korea

Hello all across the pond...We finally made it to Korea which is the first leg of our journey. Our troubles began in the ATL parking lot when Scott "misplaced" aka lost our parking ticket that you have to show the attendant guy. After missing the first shuttle, we found it and were on our way to check in only to find ourselves in the longest line of Asian people we have ever seen! It took 1.5 hours just for us to check in. We then find out that we have not been seated together and are 5 rows apart. I am not the best flier so this caused a major breakdown because KA said the flight was booked and there was nothing they could do. Long story short we were finally seated together just in time for the flight to take off 1.5 hours late!

The food on KA is ok but definitely airplane food. The service is impressive though. They have someone who goes into the restroom after each use to spray air freshener, wipe the sink and fold the toilet paper end into a cute triangle. Our seats were nothing special but I did tell Scott I wanted to fly first class just once..hubba hubba you should have seen those seat!

The airport is very cool architecturally and the place is so clean. They make the smokers go into a glassed in room that I swear is hermetically sealed. So from hear we fly to Beijing then on to our separate provinces. We are 13 hours ahead right now but will only be 12 ahead in China. We are tired but ok after we ate and drank lots of water.

We have talked to my mom and the boys. It was great to hear them since we miss them so much already. All thoughts and prayers on this journey are appreciated. Thanks for following along.

Sheila
Sent from my iPad

Test post

We are leaving tomorrow!!  Can't wait to meet out little ones!!

Got dates....

We will fly out on May 27th, get the boys on May 29th, and fly home on June 9! Can't wait to see the boys!!

Sheila

Doin' the HAPPY DANCE!!!

After the longest Travel Approval wait in Chinese adoption history, we have our TA's for our boys!! We can now travel to meet them for the first time. Right now, the plan is to leave on Wednesday, May 25th and return around June 10th. Both boys will have birthdays either before we get there or while we are in China. Sawyer will turn 5 and Shepherd will be 4. I hope they are as thrilled as we are to have them become a part of our family!!! Thank you all for the love and support. Please continue to follow us on our journey.

Sheila

Prayer

I need it. Right now. I had a peace about all of this. A peace and an assurance that by today we would have our TA. I thanked the Lord for that peace because it allowed me to be with my family this weekend and be happy with my family as it is, even with a couple of missing pieces. But today, we got the call from our agency. The call, however, was that, once again, there was nothing in the envelope for us. No TA's...no travel plans to make...no holding my boys in my arms for at least a few more days than I had planned. I still think the peace came from our Lord, but this fallable human can't hold on to it right now. Now, I am angry, frustrated, sad, and done. I need to hold my boys...all of them. I need to be able to plan my life. I need to be able to schedule summer camps and road trips, but I can't. So, right now, I need to pray. Please pray with me. I need to find that peace again.

Sheila