Home At Last

We have been home for 2 months and it seems that Camryn has been a part of the family forever. She has adjusted well to life in America! I have been able to stay at home this summer and work from the house and that has been such a blessing! One of the side benefits of working for your husband! Camryn is very smart - she is using sign language to communicate, but already understands what we are saying in English. She is sleeping well and likes most food. We have reduced the bottles from 5/day to 3/day, but she doesn't seem to mind at all - she really enjoys eating! Since we have been home, Camryn has learned to scoot on her bottom, pull herself up to standing and is army crawling across the floor. I believe she will soon be crawling, if not walking. Oh and she loves Sydni and Dalton! She lights up when they are around. They both have been a great help with her. Sydni is always wants to feed her and put her to bed. Sydni took a babysitting course in June and she has babysat for us a couple of times. Camryn is now also taken with John! She loves to wrestle, play and tickle with him. For awhile, she didn't like it when he kissed her because of his mustache, but she's loving on him now! Camryn has experienced her first birthday, first birthday cake, first ice cream, first Royals game, first swimming pool trip, and first car seat (which she acts like she's been in since birth!) Oh, and she used the potty! After we had been home for a week, I remembered that in China they sit babies on the potty and they don't use diapers. I sat her on the potty and she knew exactly what to do! We have since taught her the sign language for potty and she makes most b.m.'s in the potty. We are not pushing this or expecting no accident - we still use diapers. We just hope to keep the general idea in her mind, so complete potty training may be easier down the road.

God's Hand at Work

The 2 weeks in China was a faith-building reminder that our God is a loving God that holds us in the palm of HIs hand. Too often we go through our busy, normal days and when things happen that are a blessing from God we are quick to say, "Well, that was lucky!" As I look back on our China trip to pick up our new daughter, I am reminded of more than one situation where God's Hand was a work and He was in control. For example, ... * We traveled 30 hours each way on our trip that included multiple layovers and multiple carrier changes in airplanes and buses. There were no delays, missed flights or problems. In fact, because Mom was in a wheelchair we were the first in line, we were able to change seats to accommodate her leg and we had attendants take us through the airports through the back elevators. What a blessing! God is our Protector! * We were in a foreign country for 2 weeks with 2 children, 3 adults and a new infant daughter. Not one of us got sick. We even ate the fruit in the hotel rooms! God is our Healer! * Camryn's adjustment to her new family was nothing more than a God thing! She had a period of grief the first night and the second day. By the second day, she was attached to me as her mother/caregiver and was very obvious in her preference. When she was hungry or tired she only wanted me. We were prepared for attachment issues that never happened. God is Compassionate. *The process for matching families with a child is a little different in China than other countries. In China, they take pride in matching the child's personality to the families. I believe that God had a Hand in it. Camryn could have been our natural born child. She fits in our family perfectly. One of the things that we enjoy doing as a family is camping and hiking. The first week we were in China, we asked the guide to take us to the mountains. We hiked all afternoon in the humid heat. Camryn loved it! She sang, she talked, she laughed at the kids. She loves to be outside! God is All-Knowing! *The second week we had to go to Guangzhou for the final paperwork. There was only 1 other couple that was in our "group" with our guide, Peter, and really the only other Americans that we talked with. We mentioned that we were going to make a appointment for Dalton with the doctor at the White Swan because he was coming down with pink eye. The lady told us not to bother - she had a unopened bottle of pink eye medication with her and she would give it to us! She always carried one with her because her boys got it so often. God is our Healer! *And most amazing of all, we were able to find out about Camryn's first year of life. She was abandoned the day she was born and taken to a foster home that day. She was never in an orphanage situation. The family that fostered her was a family of four from a rural area. The foster mom was a stay at home mom, with a 14 year old daughter who was learning English in school and an 11 year old son. What are the odds that she would have been placed in a home situation identical to ours? As soon as you meet Camryn, you realize that she is very comfortable with people and has an engaging personality. For 2 years, as a family each night we prayed that God would keep her safe, that she would be loved and taken care of and I know that many others were praying the same thing. God is Good! God hears our prayers and works all things for His Glory!

Leaving China (Thursday, May 30th)

Six AM came way too early this morning. I am so glad we got everything packed last night. The bellboy came at 6:30 to pick up the luggage instead of 6:45! I am so glad we packed last night. For most of you that know me, I am not usually early! When we got downstairs, John and the kids went to get a carryout selection from the breakfast buffet as they had just opened up. I went to check out of the hotel. The front desk lady asked me to please wait while they checked the room. She then told me that we owed 10 yuan (about $1.50) for 1 missing spoon! Earlier this week we had to pay 28 yuan (about $4) for a broken glass cup. That's when I went and bought a bag of plastic cup's from Beatrices! By the way, all the stores on the island have American names! :) Lucy's, Michael's, Jennifer's, Sherry's, Judy's, Beatrice's, etc. We were originally planning on taking the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, but when we got Guangzhou Peter suggested we should consider other options. Because Mom was in a wheelchair, Peter said that the train wouldn't be a good idea. The station had lots of stairs and getting into the train would be very difficult. He looked into the airlines but they would be about $400 per person, so he suggested the bus. Because there were 6 of us (Camryn counts as a full person) we were able to get a minibus to take all of us to Hong Kong. However, we actually had to take 1 minivan to the Hong Kong border and then another from the Hong Kong border to the airport because the respective vehicles don't have a licence in the other's country. We got to the airport and had an easy check-in as we were 3 hours early. There were no lines and we were able to switch to bulkhead seating (seats in the front of a section that have extra legroom and bassinets in the walls that fold down.) I very glad now that we left so early. I would recommend Cathay Pacific anyday. We ate lunch at Popeye's Chicken and ordered Congi for Camryn. We were told to be in a certain area 1 1/2 hours before the plane was to leave. A lady met us there and took us through to pre-boarding. While we were there, John and the kids saw 3 military guys with machine guns march by! We were loaded on and everyone was very nice. The service on this airline is excellent! They were always checking on us.This airline hands out little orange bags with socks and toothpaste and toothbrush. They also gave me a little bag for Camryn with diaper rash medicine, 2 diapers and a baby hand cream and then folded down the bassinet so Camryn could sleep and play in it. Today we are all finally a bit gritchy as my sister-in-law, Karen, would say. Everyone has done so well, but this last leg of the trip was long. Dalton had a bit of a melt-down and I didn't respond very well. Mom slept a lot of the flight and John got some sleep. Sydni and Dalton had a hard time sleeping because of the time difference. All the experienced travelers ( a lot of Chinese people and college students) went right to sleep as soon as they were on the plane (1 PM China time but 1 AM LA time) but we had a hard time with that. Camryn especially had a hard time. She & I played a lot while she was in the bassinet. She didn't like sleeping in bassinet because she likes to stretch out when she sleeps and the bassinet is very confining. We are glad to be in America! The LA layover was long. We landed an hour early at 10:30 AM. It was strange to hear so many people speaking English and understand what they said when we were going through Customs. We got a new guy named Oscar that helped us with Mom's wheelchair while we were going through the Customs process. He was very nice but didn't really know what he was doing. Also, the first Customs guy looked at Camryn's passport and commented that it was a Chinese passport and sent us on to get our luggage. Luckily they had carts and we were able to load all 15 suitcases and carryons onto 2 carts. After waiting in 2 more lines, the security guard wouldn't let us out because we hadn't gone through immigration to give Camryn's Chinese papers and get her approval to get into the country! That first Customs guy didn't send us to the right area. Luckily one of the security guards took us back to immigration and showed us where to go. Another example of God's Hand at work - The guard told us it could be a couple of hours, but there was not one person in line when we got there. Oscar took Mom on the wheelchair shuttle to the Southwest Airlines check-in and rest of us walked. It was easier to walk outside a half mile than try to catch a shuttle bus with all the luggage! We should have just taken Mom with us because Oscar got lost. He took Mom to the wrong area and it took him about 1/2 hour to drop her off at the right place. We got in line at Southwest (no pre-service for wheelchair people here!) and waited about 20 minutes and then were told that we could get our boarding passes but they wouldn't check our luggage until 4 hours before the flight so we couldn't go into the airport for another 2 hours! Jetlagged, middle of the night in China and we are sitting in the outside waiting area of the airport. I am ready to be home! When we finally got through security, we stopped for hamburgers at McDonalds and Cami had a bottle. She's wanting to go to sleep, but we are keeping her up so she will sleep on the flight. We played until we got on the plane and then she crashed. Actually, we all crashed. The plane left at 6:50 pm and we arrived in Kansas City at 12:30 AM Friday morning. We are so grateful to Jim and Edna. They drove our Yukon up to Thrifty rental and left it there overnight, so we could just take the airport shuttle, load up in the car, and drive home. First time in 2 weeks that we have had to use a carseat. No such thing in China! We arrived in Topeka at 2:30 AM and dropped Mom off at home, because John wanted to see Mom. Imagine that! When we got home all the electricity was out. We were greeted by signs on the garage welcoming us home thanks to Ben and Claire! More surprises were inside, but we didn't see them until we got some light. Apparently the storm that had just gone through knocked the power out. We looked around for flashlights and candles and then brought suitcases. Again, Sydni and Dalton were a great help! They thought it was an adventure. After we got some light in the house, we found more surprises. We are blessed by wonderful family and friends! Mark and Wendy had cleaned the house and put up Camryn's fan! I can't tell you how good it felt to come home to a clean house! I had left it a disaster! We are so grateful for their help! My friends Stacey, Cori, Kim and Michelle had been in and left us food in the refrigerator, a wonderful basket of goodies, a bowl of fresh fruit, a crockpot meal, and welcome home signs! (I hear I missed a good party! :) Bethany and Bailey ( with help from Mom & Dad! :)) had left their beautiful doll furniture for Camryn to play with and a wonderful note from Bethany! We feel so loved and WE LOVE YOU ALL! We were in bed by 3:30 AM (lights came on at 3:35 AM) :) and we sleep until almost 1 PM Friday. Glad to be home!!

US Consulate Appt and Temples (Wednesday, May 30th)

Wednesday, May 30th Guangzhou China Today John went to go to the bank and drop some laundry for our final day. I almost went to look for him. It took him 1 1/2 hours to exchange money at the bank. There were only 11 people ahead of him in line but the bank is so slow that it takes forever! This morning we did tourist stuff and went to see the Six Banyan Temple. Apparently this is the most visited tourist site in Guangzhou. Because no one speaks English, we had the hotel front desk people write on the back of the hotel business card where we wanted to go. We just had to show that taxi driver and he knew where to go. We crammed into a small taxi with the wheelchair and stroller and headed out. This was definitely a different experience. We saw a few Western people this time, but the temples are still a religious location. Many people were bringing food offerings and burning incense. There were multiple temples in this area. The temples were interesting but it was hard to know what they were for. There no brochures explaining there meanings. We went up to the top of the Six Banyan Temple. It was about 8 stories high and each staircase got steeper and smaller. Each floor had a tithe/offering box. At the very top was an enclosed area that was filled with Chinese money. I carried Cami up to the top and it made me very nervous. I am not big on heights. We didn't stay more than 1 hour probably. We caught a taxi back to the hotel. Several taxis went right past us. One taxi stopped but when we told him that we would need to put the wheelchair in the trunk he drove off. Finally, a taxi guy stopped and picked us all up. John, Cami and I needed to be at at the White Swan Hotel by 2:15 pm to take the bus to the US Consulate, so we ate at Lucy's for a quick lunch. When we got to the White Swan the lobby was packed with babies and parents. We ended up taking 4 tour buses to the US Consulate. It was about a 45 minute drive and the AC was not working. We were dripping by the time we got to the Consulate. We were not allowed to take in camera's, cell phones, or liquids. As we were going in, we noticed a lady being interviewed. We all filed through security and into a large room with rows of folding chairs. There were about 150 babies and their parents. The Consulate Director welcomed everyone and then told us that Rueter's News Service was here and would like to video the process and possibly interview some people. The Director asked us to all stand and raise our right hand. Everyone did and Camryn leaned over and looked at everyone and then raised her right hand exactly like everyone else! She is so smart. We were the last agency (we are the only ones there from that agency) to be called to receive Camryn's citizenship papers. As we were walking out, the reporter asked if we would mind talking to them. We were able to share God's Plan for our life and why we are adopting! I heard it was being taped for CNN. Maybe we will be on the news! We went to Lucy's for dinner and then finished the packing process that we started the night before. 5 people, 9 checked suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 1 wheelchair, and 1 baby. We were up until 12:30 packing and were up the next morning by 6:00 to be able to catch the bus to Hong Kong.

Tuesday, May 29th

Tue, May 29th Guangzhou China Shamian Island John had to go to the US Consulate in the morning with Peter, the guide. Apparently we needed to have a vaccination document notorized in the US. Since we didn't, John had to go the US Consulate and have the document notorized. Mom, the kids, and I took our time getting around and hung out at the breakfast buffet. John still wasn't back so we left a note for where we were going and went out. We walked around the Island, stopped at a few shops and compared prices, and looked for stamps to mail postcards. John met up with us and we went to, you guessed it, Lucy's for lunch. Today was a breakthrough for Mom and Cami. Cami has not let Mom hold her or play with her at all. Cami will play and laugh with the kids and John, but doesn't want anything to do with Mom. It is about breaking Mom's heart! We think it may be that we is afraid of the cast or wheelchair. Mom was wearing her magnet bracelet today and showed it to Cami to play with. Cami is fascinated with the bracelet. She still wouldn't let Mom hold her, but she smiled at Mom. Tonight we weren't very hungry so we ate ramen noodles in the room and watched the movie, Goalie, dubbed in Chinese! Sydni and Dalton have been wonderful this entire trip. They have obsorbed everything they have seen, interacted with a variety of people, handled jetlag beautifully and had great attitudes. They have been such a big help with Mom. They take turns pushing her wheelchair and getting her the things she needs.They are very interested in Cami. In fact, it was when they were playing ball in the living room with a blow up ball that Cami smiled for the first time. She let them hold her without crying before she let John hold her! We have been so proud of Sydni and Dalton!

Monday, May 28th

Today took our first taxi ride in Guangzhou and left the island to go see the real Guangzhou. Shamian Island is very touristy, very modern, and very Western. First we walked down to the bank to exchange money. We had no idea that it would be such a process! I stayed outside with the wheelchair and Cami. It took them well over 30 minutes and there wasn't but a few people in there. This was our first taxi ride in Guangzhou. Not as crazy as Nanchang, but still a lot of cars. In Nanchang, cars, bicycles and motorbikes drove 5 lanes across in a 3 lane rode. Also, there are no traffic laws at all. People drove through red lights, people walked right in front of oncoming cars and buses, and bicyles swerved in and out of traffic. It was crazy in Nanchang! We went to the Jade Market first. Mom was looking for a Jade piece and I wanted a pendant for Cami when she got older. I had heard that you had to be careful because there are lots of fake Jade made out of plastic and glass rather than Jade and they were right. It was stall after stall of the same type of bracelets and statues. The products in the few shops that appeared to be more creditable were very expensive. No one bought anything. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for something that I didn't know for sure was real. Also, it was getting incredibly hot and humid. We are all sweating like crazy. Next we went to TeeMall. It is one of the local malls where the local residents shop. And it was air conditioned! It is 7 stories tall and each floor specialized in a different type of product. IE: electronics on 1 floor, clothing on another floor, etc. The best deals were in the basement though. It apparently is the sale area and when we walked out of the elevator you would have thought you were out shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Wall to wall people everywhere. The kids found a remote control car, I found some great deals on clothes for Cami and I, and Mom found a few great deals also. John was a wonderful! He would rather be anywhere than a mall, but he hung with us for that afternoon. The mall had a Pizza Hut, so we had pizza for lunch. It is much more of a nice restuarant there than it is here. After lunch, we girls went shopping a bit longer and the guys spoted an arcade on the floor below the Pizza Hut so they played there for awhile. We left about 7 pm, but had trouble getting out of the mall! When we tried to leave by the entrance that we came in, the security guard wouldn't let us help Mom down the flight of stairs leading into the mall. He walked us to the elevator and told us to go down 2 floors to the basement by gesturing. We came out of the elevator into what appeared to be the janitor area. We saw a sign that pointed to parking so we headed that way. Two hallways, a large parking lot and a car ramp later we came up onto the street that we tried to get too. Taxi home and Lucy's for dinner!

Free Day (Sun, May 27th)

Sunday, May 27th Guangzhou China Shamian Island Cami sat unsupported by herself today! She appears to be a bit developmentally delayed only in the area of movement. I believe that her foster mom carried her in a pack on her back most of the time and. She can't roll over from tummy to back or back to tummy. She can't sit up by herself. She can't pick up food with her fingers. Mentally she is very curious and seems to be very smart. She is a great immitator. She is very alert and very observant. Today it is raining. A lot! John and Dalton left in the morning and dropped off the laundry, looked around White Swan and walked by a Catholic Church. John said it was packed and people were standing in the aisles! We later found out that there is a Christian Church down the street also. Wish we would have known that earlier so we could have gone to church. After the guys got back we walked around Shamian Island a bit and then headed to Lucy's for lunch. Lucy's is quickly becoming our favorite place to eat. They have great Cheeseburgers and other American food! At Lucy's, we ran into the couple, Michael and Sherry, that we rode with from the airport to the hotel. The apparently have eaten all three meals everyday at Lucy's! I forgot to mention that Dalton came down with Pink Eye the day we left for Guangzhou. Just one more example of God's Hand in this trip - when I mentioned that we were going to go to the medical doctor at the White Swan because of his eye, she told me that she always carried Pink Eye medication with her because her 4 boys get it so frequently and we could have the unopened bottle! Big praise! While we were at lunch it started pouring rain and heavy winds. I had forgotten the deck of cards, so we played hangman until the rain let up. When the rained slowed down, we made a run for the hotel and got soaked on the way. We stopped at the 7-Eleven next to the hotel, picked up ice cream bars, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching movies.