Shopping/Sick Day

I love Jin Yu because she confronts her fears. And because I know there was a time when she didn’t have a choice. Jeff Gammage (adoptive father) "China Ghosts"
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

We had a busy, interesting day shopping this morning and then paying a visit to an after-hours doctor tonight. 

This morning we met the famous "Ann from Red Thread" at our hotel, and she took us out shopping and helped us navigate the wholesale jade market. She also helped us pick out some beautiful pearls to give to CC one day. It was a fun time and I am so glad we had Ann to show us around and help us get some pretty pieces for the girls.

Jade is very popular in China. Jade jewelry is a traditional wedding gift, and most Chinese women that I have seen wear a jade pendant necklace or a jade bangle bracelet. The jade bangles never come off their wrists. I had been interested in getting a jade bangle but not for the prices we saw when we were here 3 years ago. Ann took us to some wholesale jade vendors and we looked at the bangles. I found a pretty color and tried to slip it on my wrist. WAY too small. I started looking for bigger ones but they were all the same size. Ann reassured, "Oh, no worry. We make it fit." And with that, a lady took out a slick baggie, stuck it over my hand, counted to three and rammed the bracelet over my hand. My first thought was, "Guess I'm buying this one!" At least I picked a pretty color to "try on." Mom found one she liked but getting hers on was a little trickier. The slick bag didn't work. So a guy brought out a bottle of lotion, then, for extra measure, a bucket of water. That combo with some elbow grease slid it right on. We are both the proud owners of jade bracelets now. I am trying to get used to wearing it all the time, SINCE I CAN'T TAKE IT OFF.

Boys playing a game in the streets where we were shopping.

CC was a trooper on the shopping excursion. She usually does great in the carrier every day but she does reach her limit, and just wants down.

Watching the ladies string pearls for CC's necklace.

After shopping, Ann took us to a great dumpling/noodle restaurant. This picture of her her dishing out noodles reminded us of a foreigner faux pas we made the other night. 

We were eating at one of the hotel restaurants and mom ordered a dumpling noodle bowl. The only problem was that the noodles were endlessly long. As in, it could have been one long noodle in the whole bowl. Mom was fighting with the noodles (and losing) and was just about to give up when a waitress walks by our table and speaks into her shoulder walkie talkie. She said the same word twice and I joked that she said, "Mayday. Mayday". About 10 seconds later another waitress appeared with scissors in her hand and chopped up all the noodles in mom's bowl. We could not stop laughing. 

                                       

"Snakeskin wine". Yes, people drink this.

CC this morning at breakfast. The bib kind of swallows her.

CC's favorite place to be is her crib. She loves to play in it and cruise around the rails, and when we haven't been in the hotel room for awhile, she gets so excited to see her crib again. 

Tonight, we decided we needed to get Kate to a doctor for a fever and cough she has had for 5 days. We had not been worried because she has been acting like her normal little self and has said nothing hurts. But the fever has been persistent and we had almost been through an entire bottle of tylenol and motrin on her. There is a western medical clinic in our hotel, so we went there. The doctor diagnosed her with mild pneumonia and gave us the meds we need to help her get well. Whew. I was starting to get really worried going into our 6th day of fever. The girls had fun playing in the clinic playroom as we waited for the doctor. 

                                                      

Today

“Do not forget in the darkness what you have been promised in the light.” Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5

If there is any earthly joy right now in the otherwise very dark place that our family is in ... in a year that has been so very difficult ... it is this girl. I went into this adoption expecting it to be really hard, expecting a grieving baby and long sleepless nights in China. And here we are with this joyful little girl who is nothing like what I expected. She is happy ... eats well ... sleeps well ... plays well ... she loves to be held ... she loves to laugh. I am sure hard times are to come with her (we are barely a week in!), but I'm thankful that God has given her to us at this exact point in time to be exactly what we need. She is the hands and face of God's grace, as one of my friends put it on Facebook. I am thankful.

Today ... 

... was another grey, rainy day in Guangzhou. I don't think we've seen the sun since Nov. 24. This is a view from our hotel room. We are on the 15th floor. You can see the waterfall that this hotel is famous for in the bottom left corner of the pic.

 ...we welcomed 8 more families into our travel group. They have all been in other provinces getting their children last week and now we are all together completing the U.S. side of this adoption in Guangzhou, where the U.S. Consulate is. Today, we had a paperwork meeting with everyone. I am so glad we have awesome guides to walk us through this because it is so very complicated.

...we had CC's adoption medical, which is required before we can get her U.S. visa issued. She passed with flying colors and the doctors and nurses thought she was adorable! She weighed 14 lbs, 12 oz and is 26.2 inches long.

...we took CC's visa picture. She was fast asleep about 30 seconds before this photo was taken. I took her out of the Ergo and plopped her on a chair. Then, the camera light was flashing in her face and they were squeaking loud toys to get her attention. Bless her heart. She's a champ.

...our guides took us to an amazing Cantonese dumpling restaurant. It was the best meal we have had this entire trip. I would have never known to order these dishes. Our guides ordered everything and the waiters brought course after course of food to our tables. We had things like spicy, crunchy sprouts (that looked like noodles), marinated cucumber and cilantro salad (yum!), caramelized turnips and sweet potatoes (amazing!), sweet and spicy fried vegetable (that tasted like chicken), flat vegetable pancake that looked like a quesadilla, and finally, lots and lots of dumplings. Seriously, the food was so good! Everyone in our group was raving over it. This is not the best picture but it's the only one I had. Collins slept through the entire meal and Kate was not feeling well. Here are some pics of the food...

                                     

                             

...we met another little baby only 12 days younger than CC! We got to talk when we were getting the medicals done. Emma is a little cutie! 

 ...CC wore the little jacket I monogrammed with her initials. And it made me remember that Danny's dad was the first person to call Collins "CC". It was before I even knew the pronunciation of her Chinese name, XiXi. We were Facetiming with them when we told them about our referral back in September, and he said, "I'm going to call her CC". 

And, finally, today...

...Sweet CC turned 10 months old! 

A Day in Zhuhai

“Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world.” Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie

Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act. Proverbs 24:1

A lot of significant things have happened in the last 24 hours, and I am still processing it all, but I wanted to write down my thoughts on the orphanage visit before too much time passes. 

Thursday, November 29, was an early morning for our crew ... we all loaded up in a van with our guide Miko and a driver at 8 a.m. to drive to Zhuhai, which is about 2.5 hours south of Guangzhou. It is right on the coast of the South China Sea.

We drove through the city, which we learned is the 3rd wealthiest city in Guangdong province. It was a VERY nice city. We pulled up to the orphanage and were greeted by a number of orphanage employees with cameras in hand. It was quite a welcome! Even the nurse was outside waiting for us. She picked Collins up and immediately started fussing over her, feeling her forehead, trying to cover her up more with the thick, warm jacket I had. All of this I totally expected, but apparently it wasn't enough because I got fussed at for not dressing her warmly enough! She told me she thought CC had a fever and that she needed to take her temperature. These orphanage visits sure make you feel like Mom of the Year. ;o)

While we were walking in the entrance, two beautiful women pulled up and immediately came over and started fawning over CC, picking her up, kissing her, taking pictures of her. It was then that I realized my new daughter is somewhat of a rock star at this place. Miko told me that the women were part of a Mom's Volunteer group that spends time with the children at the orphanage and that they came today to say goodbye to CC. One of the women brought her a gift -- a thick, soft and puffy outfit. If you've been to China, you know the kind of outfit I'm talking about. It has thick, puffy pants; a thick, puffy undershirt; a thick, puffy vest; and a cute fluffy white hat to match. It is really nice quality and I know she spent some money on it. She and the nurse tried to stick CC's tiny little legs into the pants that would probably fit Lia Kate. It didn't work and they gave up. It really was so sweet for this woman to love CC so much to want to do this for her. I am very honored and this outfit and the pictures of these women will go in her box of special adoption keepsakes.

The Real Housewives of Zhuhai ;o)

We were led into an office where we looked at pictures on the wall of other children who had been adopted from Zhuhai and met some of the orphanage officials. We then were told that CC indeed did not have a temperature (vindication!), but that we would stop by the doctor's office anyway. With that, they led us to a "triage" room and put CC on a bed and listened to her raspy lungs. I had noticed the rasp the second I held her in my arms on Gotcha day. They asked me how long she has had the runny nose, I told them I didn't know since she came with it. ;o) They told me they would prepare some medication for her.

Triage. My big kids thought they were taking her back. :o( Our moms kind of wondered too. 
I wasn't worried because I knew they just cared about our girl and wanted to make sure she was healthy.

Then, they took us upstairs to the baby room! As we walked in, there were pictures by the door of all the little ones in their care. 

And Nanny Lisa greeted CC at the door with a kiss

The nannies greeted her with cheers, hugs and kisses. You could see the love for her emanating from everyone there. And CC greeted everyone with a smile. It really was a special time of meeting everyone and letting them say their goodbyes. I firmly believe this orphanage is a very special place where children are getting exceptional care. The nurse told us that she spends time with each child every day! And even the orphanage director knew the children by name.

The minute I walked in the baby room I spotted the little girl of a new friend of mine. This little girl will soon be living just about 20 minutes away from us! Next, I spotted another baby girl who will very soon be leaving about 90 minutes away from us! This was one of the reasons that I wanted to wait for a file from our agency's partnership program ... the likelihood of orphanage-mates living near and growing up with one another. I am so thrilled that these two precious girls will be home with their families soon, and that all of our girls will be in close proximity to each other.

These three Southern Chinese girls will soon be Southern U.S. girls!

CC's crib

We got to walk around the baby area, which consists of three connected rooms. Two of the rooms have cribs (maybe 15 each) and one of the rooms is a playroom/gathering room. We saw CC's crib and it already has a new little person in it. We only saw one baby who looked younger than CC. The rest looked like they were between 1 and 2ish.

                            

Looking into the first crib room from the gathering room

We got to ask more questions about CC and found out she started crawling b/n 6 and 7 months. And she has been pulling up and cruising in the crib since she turned 9 months old, a relatively new skill. The nurse gave me a bottle of medicine they had prepared for her and laughed when CC didn't try to hold the bottle herself. Since I have had her, she hasn't once attempted to hold the bottle with her own hands (a skill most babies in orphanages master early). They said she has been holding her own bottle since she was 5 or 6 months old. I'm glad she doesn't mind me doing it for her, though! And I love that she gazes into my eyes when I feed her ... just like it should be. 

                           

We also got to deliver some items from waiting Zhuhai parents, as well as some photo albums of a recent Zhuhai adoptee who has had surgery since coming home. The nannies LOVED getting to see her pictures. It was so apparent to me how much they love these children.

                           

One of the photo collages that hung in the crib room, near CC's bed. Her picture is at the top center.

                                      

Our moms standing back, watching the chaos!

They took us all around the facilities, which were built in 2007. The orphanage is home to 180 or so children. It was very nice and they look like they really have a lot of resources for the children in their care. They have a preschool for the younger children taught by Americans (they learn English), as well as a school across the street for special needs children. They also have a covered outdoor play area with lots of riding toys and playground equipment.

Playroom

Handwashing towels hanging in the preschool area

One last bottle before we said goodbye

CC did get a little overwhelmed at the end. It was a lot of stimulation. So I took her in my arms again and they gave me a bottle to feed her. We said our goodbyes ... took some last sweet pictures ... and walked out the front door. I am so glad we'll get to tell her first-hand about the place she lived for 9 months and about the women who loved her.

My takeaway from the orphanage visit was...she was very well-loved and cared for, but also that we are going to have to work on attachment because she was probably held and cared for by so many different people. She loves to smile at people and will go to just about anyone. I am trying to be the only one who holds her and the one to meet all of her needs, so that we can build a healthy attachment to her as her parents.

After we left the orphanage, we went to grab a bite of food, and then we went on a tour of Zhuhai searching for more about where CC came from. 

                                     

Britton made buddies with our driver, who was our same driver when we adopted Lia Kate

Collins is such a blessing and I can't believe she is our daughter now. We are abundantly and richly blessed by her and we are so very thankful for the loving people of Zhuhai who have been the hands of feet of Jesus to our baby girl!