Last Day in Zhengzhou

No real agenda today except to collect Valerie's passport from the agency reps who picked it up from the passport office this afternoon. Crazy thing - there are 100 million people living in the province of Henan, and the passport office, which serves the entire province, was able to get ours back to us in two days.  Impressive!  Valerie will use her Chinese passport one time - to enter the US. At that point she'll immediately become a US citizen and will need a US passport to travel abroad.

We took Valerie back to the park that we went to the other day.  It was an adventure trying to figure out how to purchase subway tickets from the automatic kiosk without the help of our agency rep.  But we did it!  The park was lovely and we enjoyed a bit of a cooler day.

We walked back to our hotel, maybe about a half of a mile or so.  That was another adventure!  What looks like a sidewalk is really where the scooters can ride.  And you have to make sure you stay out of their way.  It's a little crazy.  I'll include a picture.  Also, I'm not sure what the laws are here but it appears that the larger vehicle gets the right of way - scooters yield to cars, cars yield to buses, pedestrians yield to everybody.  It's nuts.  I'll also include a picture of the intersection that we have to cross to get to the store.  When the green walk symbol is lit, you can walk but you better watch out! Cars turning have the right of way and the scooters are going every which way!

Valerie had a nice easy day. Lots of calm time playing in the room with us.  That seems to be the place where she's most comfortable for now.  Sleep is mostly good - keep praying!  She called me mama today.  Love it! She warmed up to me at first but took until today to be comfortable letting Todd hold her more.  She's such a little darling.  She likes getting kisses from me and has even given a few back.  She has times when she gets overwhelmed  - she stares off into space or gets really sad and starts to cry.  If I hold out my arms she'll usually run to me and let me comfort her.

Lotus flowers in the background

Xinyang Orphanage

Today we went on a sobering but important trip down to Xinyang, to visit Valerie's orphanage.  Xinyang is about 200 miles south of Zhengzhou, 90 minutes by bullet train.  By the way, the bullet train is the way to travel in China - comfortable, affordable, fast. On the train Valerie was crying quite a bit.  We wondered if it brought to mind her (likely) only other train ride - the one that brought her to Zhengzhou on gotcha day and brought such a big change to her life.  It was another long, hot day but we want to document as much of Valerie's past as possible since there's so much we don't know.

In describing the orphanage, I'm choosing diplomatic wording because I know they have limited resources and they're doing the best they can.  But I do mean limited, with small crowded rooms in an old building.  We saw many kids with special needs, who mostly seemed to be resigned to their environment.  We did get to meet Valerie's favorite nanny and special playmate.  We saw the crib where she slept and the room where she spent her waking hours. The nannies seemed kind and we're thankful for that. But it is disturbing to see so many kids in a crowded room. We've talked about the grieving process for Valerie but after today I feel like I need to grieve those first two years of her life. No one should have to live like that without a family.

For context, Susan was in the orphanage here in Zhengzhou - the flagship of orphanages in the Henan province.  It was good (by good, I mean important) to see the conditions at another orphanage.

Please continue to pray for our little girl - I imagine that it'll take a long time to heal.  A lot of stress on a little one living in survival mode for so long.

Since being back in our room she has had a great time playing with her stacking cups.  I think it must be such a wonderful (but strange) new experience for her to play by herself in a stress-free environment with two parents at her fingertips.

Mercifully, Valerie slept through most of the orphanage visit waking up just at the end so she didn't see us coming in and have to wonder if we're going to leave her there.  She only saw us saying goodbye. Please pray that she's not too overwhelmed by the visit. It was a difficult but important thing to do.

Valerie's Room

Her best friend peeking out of his crib and her favorite nanny touching the crib she slept in

The kids were all about to go down for naps - Valerie's crib is empty - Hallelujah!

Valerie's "finding spot" was at the orphanage gates so we took a picture there

Xinyang

It's Official!

Even though Gotcha Day was two days ago, we've only been Valerie's legal guardians until now.  Today we finalized her adoption at the Henan Province registration office in Zhengzhou.  So now we're officially her parents, but of course we've had her close in our hearts for months.

Then we had to get the adoption decree notarized at a different government office across town.  Finally, we took Valerie to apply for her Chinese passport, including a fun photo session with a bunch of not-so-happy kids! It was a hot day trudging around the city, but we are thankful for our excellent agency reps who guided us through it all and made sure everything was in order.

Although Valerie had a few happy moments today, the pics below capture what she was like most of the day -- sad and hesitant, maybe letting her grief sink in a bit more.  And she didn't sleep as well last night, so we appreciate your continued prayers for her transition.

The stacking cups, in the bottom picture, were a fun source of entertainment for her.  After stacking and nesting them for a while, she turned the whole thing into a tea party - pouring, sipping - it was adorable.

Warming Up

Our first full day with Valerie.  First of all thank you to everyone who has been praying for her to sleep well.  She slept all the way through the night last night! Woohoo!  Keep praying!

Yesterday, gotcha day, Valerie looked so scared.  Just staring around.  We kept things calm around her and were very gentle.  In the late afternoon we were even rewarded with a few smiles.  But she did not make a sound.  Not one peep.  Even when she cried, it was just silent tears. It was eerily quiet. I was beginning to wonder if she could make any noises. But this morning we got some giggles and finally some babbling noises. So sweet to hear.

Yesterday afternoon we focused on paperwork to set up tomorrow's provincial government appointments.  So today was a free day for family bonding and local adventures.  All the families rode the subway to a large city park.  We highly recommend the Zhengzhou subway -- clean, safe and cheap (35 cents for two adults one way)!  Although it was quite hot out, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the park including a pond full of lotus flowers.  Then we rode the bus back to the hotel and tried a local noodle place for lunch -- delicious!

Valerie was generally happy today and seemed to enjoy being with us.  She likes to be silly and play.  Her antics remind me of a 14 or 15 month old (she's 25 months).  As the day went on she showed more trust in us and her surroundings.  We're anticipating more outward signs of grieving and the challenges that come with that, but for now we are thankful for a peaceful start.

Gotcha!!!

She's beautiful! And she's ours!! Love this little darling!

Woke up early this morning (jetlag!) and didn't get back to sleep (excitement!).  After breakfast we met our guide in the hotel lobby and, after talking about what to expect and making sure that everyone had what they needed, we got on the bus and headed over to the registration office about ten minutes away.

There are five families in our adoption group.  One of the kiddo's was already there waiting for his family.  Lots of photos taken of that meeting! Then a while later, one more little girl arrived from her orphanage. It's very emotional going through all this together. Watching the tears and little ones not wanting to leave their caregivers. Heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

Then finally Valerie arrived! She was walking in holding hands with the orphanage director.  She let go and let me take her hand.  No tears. Just wide eyes looking around.  I sat on the floor for the longest time like that, just holding her little hand. Then gradually she let me move her onto my lap.  She let me hold her and feed her.  No smiles and on the verge of tears but she worked so hard at holding it together.

Since being back at the hotel she's had a few tears but lets me hold her close to comfort her.  We haven't heard her say anything and she isn't making eye contact with us much yet.  We're trying to be very gentle with her as she becomes comfortable with us.

Welcome to the family precious one! We're so thankful that God has placed you into our care!

Zhengzhou

Not only are we one more day closer to meeting our little darling and becoming a family of seven, we're also hundreds of miles closer.  This afternoon we left Beijing and took a bullet train south to the province of Henan where Valerie is from.  We're staying in the capital city of Zhengzhou.  Tomorrow morning Valerie will board a train in the city of Xinyang (a couple hundred miles south of here) with the orphanage director and travel to the registration office in Zhengzhou where we'll meet her. Only one more day!!

The train ride today was delightful.  It was good to see the sights along the way (last time we were here we flew). We're staying at a great hotel.  I've included a picture of the view from our room on the 37th floor. Awesome! When we arrived at our hotel room we were greeted by this empty crib.  It's exciting to think that tomorrow night it will be filled with a precious little girl. Can't wait!!

One Day Closer

Our last full day in Beijing and we're one day closer to meeting our little girl!  We drove north of the city to the great wall and spent a couple of hours there.  Todd and I opted to climb the steeper side so there'd be fewer people.  At some points there was a 45 degree incline!  But the view was lovely and although it was another hot day, we were able to sit in a shady spot for a while and take it all in.

We also toured a jade factory and had the opportunity to browse the store afterward. Sweet!

This evening we wandered around the pedestrian street near our hotel and went down a side alley known as Snack Street where they sell all kinds of vile things to eat - fried and on a stick.  We remember being fascinated by this last time (tarantulas, scorpions, silk worms, bees, snakes...).  This time we saw something new - they had scorpions on a stick BEFORE they were fried.  They were still alive and wiggling around!  Gross! I took a picture for you all - wish it was a video so you could see the legs and tails wiggling around.

Beijing

The main objective for these first few days in China is to get over jet lag so that we can meet Valerie when we've had a few days to rest.  Our agency has a guide here in Beijing who toured us around along with other families who are adopting with our agency.  It's good to get to know these other families as they'll be a valuable support system for us in the next two weeks.  We're all getting excited to meet our children in just a few more days!



Today we toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, took a rickshaw ride through an old neighborhood known as a hutong, and ate a traditional meal at a local family's home.  We also went to a tea house and did some tea tasting.  I'm not a tea drinker but some of them were pretty good.

Our hotel is in a great location.  We look out our window towards the Forbidden City.

In China

We made it!  Overall a very smooth travel day but, I'll admit, that's a long and uncomfortable flight.  I don't know how people can sleep sitting up like that!

Don't be deceived - these two pictures were taken in front of posters at the airport.

All five of us traveled to China when we adopted Susan but this time it's just Todd and I.  Sawyer's back at school in Arizona, my sister is hanging out with the others at our place (we're very thankful for her!), Thaddeus and Ivan are homeschooling themselves for a couple of weeks and Susan is just going to enjoy all the attention from Auntie Ruth. 

We appreciate your prayers for us and for everyone else back home.

On the Way

We're writing this from the Chicago airport as we wait for our long flight to Beijing. We're so excited to meet our little girl.  Although we know a little bit about her, we're excited to actually get to know her.

Here are a few things we learned about her from our latest and only update from the orphanage:

"She is introverted, but she is affectionate with familiar nannies. She is afraid of strangers." (Although being afraid of strangers is a good thing, this makes me sad to think that she will see us as strangers at first and be so scared. We won't look like the people she knows, we won't talk like the people she knows, or even smell like the people she knows - poor little love!)

"There were no notes or items with her when she was found."  (She was about nine or ten months old when she was abandoned.  I can only imagine the circumstances that led to this. And pray that we can provide comfort to her as she lets this fact sink in over the years ahead.)

"She loves to play by herself. She loves to play with the stuffed animals. She always lines those stuffed animals up." (Love this!  Don't worry, little darling, we have plenty of stuffed animals at the ready for you to line up!)

"Her best friend is Qin Sheng Li. And her favorite nanny is Tang Qing Ya." (It's heartbreaking to think of her going through another loss as she's taken from everything familiar, but we're trusting God to comfort and calm her. He's already provided a family for her and we're confident that he'll provide an abundance of friendships in the years to come).

"Her language development is behind. She can only say Mama." (I'll take it!)

Introduction

We're so excited to meet our newest little darling!  Only a few more days! Can't wait!  Valerie is currently in an orphanage in Henan, China.  In a few days Todd and I will be heading over to meet her and bring her home.

This blog is for family and friends (and for anyone else who wants to pray for us) to follow along as we travel to China to bring home this precious girl.

For those who know me well, you won't be surprised that my posts are not too wordy or full of emotion.  Don't mistake my lack of writing about emotions with the lack of feeling them.  We are in love and can't wait to welcome this little girl into our family.

Expected Itinerary

August 22 - Leave Ohio

August 23 - Arrive in China

August 24-25 - Tour Beijing and recover from jet lag

August 26 - Fly to Henan

August 27 - Gotcha Day!!!

September 1 - Fly to Guangzhou

September 5 - US Consulate Appointment

September 8 - Fly home from Hong Kong