Chinese New Year - 2013

Year of the Snake

We attended the Chinese New Year event that is sponsored by my employer.  We have gone to this the last several years and love it!  The kids look forward to this every year.  The neatest thing about this year's event is that the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu warriors were there as the main event.  The boys wore their shirts that Michael got them at the Temple only a month ago and were able to speak with some of the warriors after the show.  The warriors are all from the Henan province, but now train here in the U.S.  The boys LOVED the warriors and Bella LOVED the dancers.  The food was great and we were joined by some friends as well.  We had a really fun time and all of the kids ran from booth to booth to check everything out.  I think Eli enjoyed the food the most.  Here are a few pics from the evening ...

Bella thought the headpieces on these dancers were so neat!

Kung Fu Warriors - spear to the throat

Bella and Elyse

 

Keenan and Aidan with the Kung Fu Warriors

 Lion Dance

The kids ready for the show

Aidan, Bella and Keenan

Eli

 

Year of the Snake

Bella

 

Eli

 

Vanessa, Jonah, Heather and Eli



Love All Around



So maybe we are a few days after Valentine's Day, but I just had to share the wonderful surprise that Michael, Aidan and Keenan did for me. After school, the boys disappeared upstairs and were very busy with something. I didn't ask because I could tell it had to do with Valentine's Day. That, and because Keenan told me not to do anything for dinner. His words, "Trust me. Don't make anything for dinner." When Michael got home, Bella, Eli and I were told to go upstairs and wait. About 20 minutes later an appetizer was delivered to us. Then a few minutes later, I was led downstairs by the most adorable waiters I have ever seen. The dining room was lit all over by candles and set for all of us. The waiters served a delicious meal. We had appetizers (sushi and some wings - 2 of my favorite things). We had salad from Deweys. Then we had baked potatoes and steak. Graeters was our dessert. Everything was delicious!!

Here were my waiters ... too cute! 

 

Dinner!  (I would have dressed up a little more if I would have known.)

 

Our sweet Valentines ... it is VERY hard getting them all looking and smiling at the same time!

 

Keenan and Eli

Eli really hasn't gotten the concept that he really is not supposed to ride this truck

 

When sis is at school, we have fun with her toys!

We have been keeping VERY busy, hopping back into almost everything.  Eli had a couple more doctor appointments today and was awesome considering we were there for 3 hours.  He has gained another pound (that makes 4 in the last 4 weeks!).  He is starting to slow down on eating a bit.  I think he realizes that he is offered plenty of food and does not need to eat everything in sight.  He has also become very good friends with our dog.  He "shares" his food with her ... isn't that nice??

We just got done with a 4 day weekend off of school.  We had a great weekend ... both boys had a sleepover (Aidan went somewhere and Keenan and his friend stayed here).  He had more visitors from Aunt T and Uncle BB and cousin Addy.  I took the older boys on a little date to the movies and also got to see one myself with a friend.  We still are trying to figure everything out.  Little by little, we are getting there (I think). 

Ups, Downs and All-arounds

I cannot believe we have had Eli for 3 weeks, yet it somehow feels like he has always been with us.  We have been home a little over a week and the first several nights were ROUGH!!  He was not sleeping well, so we weren't sleeping well.  He would cry out frequently and we would get him settled down in time for him to cry out a few minutes later.  We first put him to sleep in a pack n play in our room.  After a couple of nights, he figured out how to climb out!!!  We could not believe this!  We then put the crib up in our room and put the crib right next to the bed hoping that if he could see us that this would soothe him.  So far, that seems to have helped.  He has slept through the last few nights and we are finally getting some rest too.  (Although, I wake up sometimes anticipating him getting up.  Crazy, I know.)
This little guy (aka "Little Dude" ... name given to him by Keenan) is one happy boy!  He LOVES his brothers and sister and is just so happy all of the time.  He has learned to throw temper tantrums, however, and we do see these when we take food away from him.  He loves his food and has eaten everything we have given him, except cucumbers.  He is into everything!  He enjoys all of his new toys and also enjoys ripping magazines, climbing onto the couch and emptying the tupperware drawer in the kitchen.  He does not like it when he does not know where I am at, but that seems to be getting a little better as long as one of his siblings is around or he has a new activity to keep him occupied.  He loves splashing in the tub and he thinks it is soooo funny when he gets water in his face. 
This is NOT the same kid that was handed to us 3 weeks ago.  I am amazed at this little boy and how he fits in perfectly into our family.  He is sweet and set in his ways like his oldest brother Aidan; is a momma's boy and is sneaky like Keenan; and is ornery and silly like Bella.
When he came to us, he could stand and walk along things and also take a few steps when prompted.  Now he is really walking all over the house and thinks it is so funny when he is walking towards us that he laughs so hard that he falls over. 
When he first met our dog Lulu, he did not like her.  We think it is mainly because she is a small dog and would get in his face.  He now does not seem to mind her and even tries to play with her.
We are trying to find our new normal with 4 kiddos.  We have jumped into our routine and Eli has done amazing going along with the flow.   
He had his appointment with the International Adoption Clinic at Children's today.  Since our medical appointment in Guangzhou, Eli has gained 3 pounds!  (Not surprising with all the food he has been eating.)  He really turned on the charm today with the nurses and therapists at the hospital.  He had a TB test, 2 shots and had 11 different vials of blood taken.  Some of the bloodwork is to see what vaccinations he truly has had and to determine what he still needs.
We have also had a lot of family come to visit with Eli.  He does better as long as we are home right now.  We think this shows he is comfortable here.  Here are just a few pictures from the last week ...

Bella pushing her brother around the house.

Eli with Grandpa and Grandma

Eli napping with Grams

Being "cool" with Papaw

Blue eyes Keenan

 

All the boys taking a ride



 

Such a cutie!

H-O-M-E!!

We are HOME!  After traveling so many hours and losing track of what time zone and where we were, we finally made it home last night.

Our day started out by taking a van from our hotel in Guangzhou to the Hong Kong airport.  We were warned that the drivers were fast, but oh my gosh, were they!  We reached speeds of more than 145 kilometers per hour.  We were weaving in and out of traffic and on the left hand side of the highway, there is no shoulder, only a concrete wall.  I think I prayed the entire time.  I kept thinking, we made it this far, please do not have an accident now.  And remember, there are no carseats for little ones, so we held on tight to Eli.  The trip between the 2 cities took a little over 2 hours.  We were able to see more of Hong Kong as we drove through (at much more reasonable speeds).  It looked beautiful ... someplace I really would like to go back to visit.  Mountains and water surrounded the city. 

We had some time to hang out at the airport and "try" to wear Eli out a little.  Once on the plane, Michael and I had great seats.  We were in bulkhead and we had a bassinet for Eli.  We had a lot of room considering.  Eli did great on the flight.  He did not cry, but he laughed a lot and he laughed loudly.  This would have been just fine if the entire plane wasn't trying to sleep.  None of us got a lot of sleep, which may have worked to our advantage. 

We had a wonderful welcome home.  Family and friends joined us at the airport with lots of smiles, hugs, signs and balloons.  It was so sweet of everyone and we thank everyone for coming out and meeting our new little guy.  We thought he might be shy, but he showed everyone his smiles and love for playing peek-a-boo under his blanket.

We grabbed dinner with family and then headed home.  Eli did great in the carseat considering this was the first time he was ever in one.

Since none of us slept much on the plane, we all went to bed easily when we got home.  Eli got up a couple of times in the night, but slept most of the night and so did we!!  I hope that we get him on this timezone quickly so we all can rest and catch up.

This morning all of the kids have been playing with him and showing him all of his toys, his room and all around the house.  I am not sure what he thinks of this place.  I wonder if he thinks we will be leaving here again soon since each hotel we have stayed has only been for about a week and then we have gone somewhere else.

The kids all love him and keep saying how cute he is.  Bella asked if we could keep him.  She has been a little more timid around him and attached to us, but we expected this.  Here are some photos from the last couple of days.  I will continue to blog, but it won't be everyday.  Thanks to everyone who followed our journey and encouraged us along the way.  And thank you to everyone who helped out with the kids while we were gone.  We COULD NOT have done this without you!!  Much Love to you! 

Our first Half Dozen picture

 

Sweet friends welcoming us home

 

Keenan and Eli cuddling last night when we got home

 

And playing this morning

 

Eli loves his oldest brother, Aidan, who has been a HUGE help since we returned home.

Kings and Queens

A favorite song of mine is one that every time I heard it, I thought of Eli ... here, in China, without a mommy or daddy. Without brothers, without sisters, grandparents, friends. God has called us to take care of the widows and the orphans. We believe that not everyone is called to adopt, but we do believe we are all called to help in some way. Whether it is sponsoring a child or by donating items or money or maybe it is personally adopting a child into your family, we all can help the orphans of this world. Here is the chorus of the song called "Kings and Queens" by Audio Adrenaline ...

"Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in Your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout your name in victory
When we love when we love the least of these
When we love the least of these
Break our hearts once again
Help us to remember when
We were only children hoping for a friend
Won’t you look around these are the lives that the world has forgotten
Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open"

If you haven't seen the music video, it is worth looking up. It truly is beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64bongHqYU

Today was our last full day in China. We went to the park again across the street. It really is a beautiful place and was much busier than last night. People are so interested in us and in Eli, that they sometimes follow us around for a while. We never feel threatened, just annoyed at times. You can always tell when they are talking about his lip when they touch their own face and point to him. It used to bother me, but now I hope it is more of an education for them that children with differences are accepted and loved just how they are. I had one lady ask me last week if I was from America while I had Eli in my arms. I said that I was and she said, "bless you, bless you" while patting Eli's back. I was so touched.

We will travel to Hong Kong early tomorrow morning by van (about 2 1/2 hours) and then we will fly from Hong Kong to Chicago (another wonderful 14 1/2 hour flight). I feel like we are time travelers, since we leave on Friday at 11:50 and we land in Chicago on Friday at 12:10, 20 minutes later. Its like we are stopping time. We have a layover in Chicago for a couple of hours. We have heard getting through Immigration in Chicago is not easy and can take a long time. As long as we get through Immigration on time, we should be back in Cincinnati at 5:10 p.m.

I cannot wait to hug all of my kids and for them to meet Eli. I cannot wait to see family and friends. I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed and stop living in a hotel (even though they have been nice ... there is no place better than your own bed). I cannot wait to eat a home cooked meal, vegetables that I know are safe to eat and drink milk. I also cannot wait to drink water from the tap and brush my teeth not using bottled water (you can't drink the water here). Those are the things I look forward to. I will also miss China. It is a part of me. I have now spent a month of my life in this country. I love learning the culture and seeing new things. I love knowing that two of my children were born here and that their birth mothers chose life. I may never know their whole stories, what life was like for them, but I am thankful.

Our next post will be from the U.S. Again, thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers. We ask for them again as we travel. This flight is not going to be easy for us or Eli. He has become very active so keeping him contained and happy may be challenging. We also ask for prayers as we transition to being a family of 6. We send our love from China!

 

 

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Consulate Appointment

Today is the day we have been waiting for ... the day our entire trip is scheduled around. Today was our Consulate Appointment. We went to the U.S. Embassy to take an oath and to complete our paperwork. We are now waiting on them to issue Eli's Visa, which we should have tomorrow afternoon. Once we have that, we can come home!

I have always been proud to be an American, but there are some days where being an American is extra special and today was one of those days. There were lines of people standing outside just waiting to get into the Consulate to apply for a Visa to come to the U.S. Because we are U.S. citizens, we walked right in. When we process through Immigration in Chicago, Eli officially becomes a U.S. citizen. How cool is that?!

After the Consulate Appointment, we went to the pearl markets and also to a street full of stores and people. We did not buy any pearls this time around because we had bought them when we were here with Bella. It's a good thing too, because the prices have risen significantly.

Everything is being decorated for Chinese New Year, so that is really neat to see. We are thankful that we are here this week because we keep hearing how busy everything will be next week because most Chinese people travel back to their home towns. Shops even close down.

We needed some more formula and diapers so we took a taxi from the market street to a store a lot like Wal-Mart. The store was several levels downstairs. The cart's wheels are magnetic so you can take the carts to other levels without losing control of them.

We also found some Lays chips in some yummy flavors ... "Numb & Spicy Hot Pot Flavor"; "Hot & Sour Fish Soup"; Fried Prawns" and "Cheese Lobster". Anyone want some?

Our hotel is very close to a wonderful park. We went there this afternoon and got to see all of the Chinese decorations being put up. Some of the decorations are made from recycled materials. The scales on the dragon below are made from CDs.

The umbrellas are made from recycled water bottles

Here is a tea kettle being made out of brown bottles

Eli also went in the pool for the first time. The pool is outdoors, but is heated. He didn't really care for it at first, but then thought splashing was a ton of fun.

Tomorrow is our last full day in China. We are ready to head for home and will try and blog one more time before we are back in the U.S. We have appreciated all of your messages, comments and prayers. They have all been felt. We continue to be amazed at God's blessing in calling us to be Eli's parents. We can't wait to get him home for him to meet his brothers and sister and the rest of our family and friends.

 

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Lions and Tigers and a Panda Bear, Oh My!

We went to the Guangzhou City Zoo today. I did not expect it, but it was a very nice zoo with lots of animal exhibits and rolling hills. Eli seemed to enjoy looking at the animals and showed us that he can point and wave bye-bye (with hand held backwards like he is waving to himself - so cute!). The monkeys were so playful. They were chasing and wrestling with each other and then they would hug. There were multiple lion exhibits and they were in different cages. Two of the male lions started roaring at each other very loudly. We had never seen that before! The kids did not know what to think of that. The zoo also had a panda who was lazily eating bamboo and relaxing.

Part of our group who went to the zoo

 

Eli and I also got to feed the giraffes. Not sure he knew what to think f them, but I thought it was pretty cool.

We had our group photos today with all of the families and the kids in their traditional silks.

Eli looked very adorable in his silk outfit

And last but not least, checkout this video to see Eli break out into his belly laughs. Miss you all and can't wait to come home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfYJdt-HfOM

 

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