Thursday, May 19, 2011
Happy Birthday Hannah!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Adventures in the Mountains!
Hannah got to go on her first vacation last week. Our family and David's sister took their parents to a cabin to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. As an extra bonus, we got to celebrate Mother's Day there too. Hannah had a lot of fun playing with Grammy, Grandy and Aunt Carisa as well as seeing some of the sites around Blue Ridge. Here are a few pictures of her adventures.
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| Giving flowers to Mama for Mother's Day |
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| Reading a book with Grandy. |
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| Exploring a turtle (at a distance) with Aunt Carisa. |
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| Family portrait with the mountains as a back drop. |
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| Swinging for the first time. |
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| Climbing the ladder to the monkey bars. |
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| "Driving" a tractor. |
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| Enjoying the daisies. |
Friday, May 13, 2011
Watching Hannah Grow (Has it really been a year already?)
It is hard for us to believe that it has been almost a year since Hannah came home with us (where has this first year gone?). She had just turned two when we got her, and next week she will turn three! She is growing into such a big girl physically, mentally, and spiritually. She has grown over three inches and gained five pounds. She can no longer wear the clothes or shoes we bought her in China. That is a little sad for us, but for her it means that she gets to pick out new shoes! She loves running, jumping, climbing and tumbling. She seems to have no fear when it comes to being lifted, tossed or swung in the air; the faster, the better! She's pretty smart too and likes counting and saying her ABC’s. She learned English quickly and has become quite a chatty little thing. In fact, she gets upset when she is left out of a conversation, and says, "I want to talk." At some point in the fall, she quit using Chinese at all. Whenever Lois tried to speak Chinese to her, she would either say, “No!” or put her finger to her lips and say “Shhhhhh!” Since introducing her to “Ni Hao Kai Lan,” she has begun to use Chinese again, and even asks Mama to speak Chinese some times. There are so many things we would like to tell you about her, but don't want to overwhelm you in one blog post; so, below we have made a list of some things you might like to know about Hannah followed by a snapshot for each month she has been home.
Hannah loves to listen to music and sing. Her favorite songs are “Jesus Loves Me,” "God is So Good," “Deep and Wide,” “Itsy, Bitsy Spider,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "ABC's" and “Brown Bear, What do You See?” Lately, she has begun to use the tunes that she knows with her own made up lyrics. The results can be quite funny when she starts singing about Cheerios or Cheetos.
Yes, Hannah likes Cheerios and Cheetos. Hannah just likes to eat. Her favorite food is still noodles, but she also loves hamburgers, French fries, grilled chicken, chocolate and just about anything sweet. When she sees something that looks good, she points to it and says, "What's THAT?" Her favorite restaurant is "Old" McDonald's where she can eat two hamburger patties, a small fry, apples slices and a bottle of milk in one setting. Yes, Hannah likes to eat.
She loves reading and some of her favorite books right now are her Bible, “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake” (and all of the "If You Give a ____ a _____" books), "Happy Birthday Biscuit," "Clifford Graduates" and her photo album with pictures of family and friends. She doesn't watch a lot of TV or movies yet, but she does enjoy watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Curious George," And "Ni Hao Kai Lan."
I know I said it before, but I have to say again that Hannah likes to talk. If you ask her what she wants to talk about, she is likely to say, "Jesus." You never know when she's going to stop in the middle of what she is doing to narrate or explain what is happening. She gives advice occasionally too. She might tell you, “Be careful!” or “Don’t forget your noodle!” or, if you are breaking open a fortune cookie, “We don’t eat the paper."
She still likes shoes, dressing up in cute clothes and looking in the mirror. Her hair has grown out so she can wear pig tails now. The first time she saw herself in the mirror with pigtails, she said, "Hannah's a GIRL! Yes, Hannah is all girl.
No matter where she goes, she is always anxious to get back home, and as we enter the driveway, she says, "We're home!"
I guess you can tell by all of the activities we have listed that Hannah is a busy, busy girl. She is up early and likes to stay up late, but when you ask her if she is tired, she will likely say, "No, I'm happy!" And Hannah does seem to be happy in the life she has come to live with us. And we have to say that we couldn't be happier to have her in our lives.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so to save a few words, we thought we would give you a glimpse of Hannah's 1st year, we hope you enjoy it :>)
Hannah loves to listen to music and sing. Her favorite songs are “Jesus Loves Me,” "God is So Good," “Deep and Wide,” “Itsy, Bitsy Spider,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "ABC's" and “Brown Bear, What do You See?” Lately, she has begun to use the tunes that she knows with her own made up lyrics. The results can be quite funny when she starts singing about Cheerios or Cheetos.
Yes, Hannah likes Cheerios and Cheetos. Hannah just likes to eat. Her favorite food is still noodles, but she also loves hamburgers, French fries, grilled chicken, chocolate and just about anything sweet. When she sees something that looks good, she points to it and says, "What's THAT?" Her favorite restaurant is "Old" McDonald's where she can eat two hamburger patties, a small fry, apples slices and a bottle of milk in one setting. Yes, Hannah likes to eat.
She loves reading and some of her favorite books right now are her Bible, “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake” (and all of the "If You Give a ____ a _____" books), "Happy Birthday Biscuit," "Clifford Graduates" and her photo album with pictures of family and friends. She doesn't watch a lot of TV or movies yet, but she does enjoy watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Curious George," And "Ni Hao Kai Lan."
I know I said it before, but I have to say again that Hannah likes to talk. If you ask her what she wants to talk about, she is likely to say, "Jesus." You never know when she's going to stop in the middle of what she is doing to narrate or explain what is happening. She gives advice occasionally too. She might tell you, “Be careful!” or “Don’t forget your noodle!” or, if you are breaking open a fortune cookie, “We don’t eat the paper."
She still likes shoes, dressing up in cute clothes and looking in the mirror. Her hair has grown out so she can wear pig tails now. The first time she saw herself in the mirror with pigtails, she said, "Hannah's a GIRL! Yes, Hannah is all girl.
No matter where she goes, she is always anxious to get back home, and as we enter the driveway, she says, "We're home!"
I guess you can tell by all of the activities we have listed that Hannah is a busy, busy girl. She is up early and likes to stay up late, but when you ask her if she is tired, she will likely say, "No, I'm happy!" And Hannah does seem to be happy in the life she has come to live with us. And we have to say that we couldn't be happier to have her in our lives.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so to save a few words, we thought we would give you a glimpse of Hannah's 1st year, we hope you enjoy it :>)
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Please Forgive Us
Dear family and friends,
We want to apologize for waiting so long to update our blog and ask you to forgive us. We were really busy, or should I say overwhelmed when we first got home, and the blog was put on the back burner until we could catch our breaths. I have thought about posting just about every day since we came home, but once we got behind, it seemed like we could never catch up. We know some of you have been thinking, “How could they not have time to just upload a picture and write a few words?” We know because we thought the same thing about some friends who just quit posting to their blog when they got home. We thought, “How could they leave us hanging like that?” Now we know. David hit the ground running when we returned catching up on work and ministry at church. And Lois? I was busy taking care of Hannah and trying to get some sort of order to the new house. For those of you who don’t know, we took up residence in a new house when we returned from China. Most of our belongings were still in boxes, and everything was in disarray when we got home. It has taken months, but we are finally feeling like we are getting the house in order. We still only have one picture hung on the walls, but we will get around to decorating eventually. To all of you who helped us pack, unpack, clean two houses and move our household, we say thank you, thank you, thank you! You have been a blessing to us!
Now, if you will forgive us for our past failure, we are going to try and take the next several days to catch you up on what has been happening around the Cooke household this past year and let you know what we’re expecting for the year to come (you don't want to miss that announcement :>)
We want to apologize for waiting so long to update our blog and ask you to forgive us. We were really busy, or should I say overwhelmed when we first got home, and the blog was put on the back burner until we could catch our breaths. I have thought about posting just about every day since we came home, but once we got behind, it seemed like we could never catch up. We know some of you have been thinking, “How could they not have time to just upload a picture and write a few words?” We know because we thought the same thing about some friends who just quit posting to their blog when they got home. We thought, “How could they leave us hanging like that?” Now we know. David hit the ground running when we returned catching up on work and ministry at church. And Lois? I was busy taking care of Hannah and trying to get some sort of order to the new house. For those of you who don’t know, we took up residence in a new house when we returned from China. Most of our belongings were still in boxes, and everything was in disarray when we got home. It has taken months, but we are finally feeling like we are getting the house in order. We still only have one picture hung on the walls, but we will get around to decorating eventually. To all of you who helped us pack, unpack, clean two houses and move our household, we say thank you, thank you, thank you! You have been a blessing to us!
Now, if you will forgive us for our past failure, we are going to try and take the next several days to catch you up on what has been happening around the Cooke household this past year and let you know what we’re expecting for the year to come (you don't want to miss that announcement :>)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wecome to America!
Hey everyone. Lois here with a post update that is way past due. I'm sorry it has taken so long to write again. I think about it every day, but I've just found it hard to stay awake longer than Hannah. She gets to take a nap; I don't. Now that we seem to be over jet lag, I hope to be able to stay awake past ten o'clock. David started back to work the Friday after we returned; so, he has been trying to catch up. He has been working from home most of the time which has made life interesting since his office has been downstairs in the living room that has no doors. Hannah doesn't think twice about going to visit any time she thinks about it which is often. Last Friday, he got someone to come help him move the furniture to an upstairs guest room (thanks Chris!). Hannah is doing great enjoying life and entertaining the whole family. I'll tell you more about our time at home in later posts, but for the rest of this one, I'll tell you about the last day of our journey. Enjoy!
After checking out of our hotel in Hong Kong, eating hash browns and eggs for breakfast at Burger King and waving good bye to China, we borded our plane in Hong Kong and headed home! With a full tummy, we happily wait to board our plane.
Hannah did amazingly well on the long journey. We only had one melt-down that lasted for about 20 minutes, and we think we could have avoided that if we had done things a little differently. It was NOT the time or place to try to teach her a lesson about throwing her toys on the floor! Altogether, 20 minutes out of 16 hours is not bad. There were a few other newly adopted children on the flight, and some of them didn't seem to do as well as Hannah. The Varns were on our flight and we got to visit with them a few minutes. The rest of the time we played with toys and stickers, read our books, ate snacks, walked around the plane, and slept. She found it pretty hard to get comfortable, but was able to sleep quite a few hours anyway.
The flight should have only been 14 hours long, but Chicago had a stormy weather just before we arrived, and all traffic was backed up. They wouldn't let us land, so we flew to another airport nearby for an hour to re-fuel before flying back to Chicago. Even after we landed, we had to wait another 45 minutes on the tarmac until they found a gate for us. When we finally got off, we took our secret brown envelop and went through Immigration and Passport Control. It took a little time, but we got to visit with the Varns some more. We didn't get to see what was in the brown envelop, but the official we gave it to must have been okay with the contents because we were quickly given a green light to go.
Hooray! We were officially in America and our daughter was an American Citizen! Of course that meant that we were now subject to all the laws of the land including those that govern airport security! I was prepared for a meltdown when they told us to take off her shoes and take her out of the stroller, but she didn't even cry when they took her sippy cup of juice to test it for bombs. She didn't really like being frisked along with Mama. Mama didn't really enjoy it either. We were exhausted by this point and disappointed when we learned that our flight to Atlanta was delayed due to the bad weather, but we made the best of things by finding a McDonald's near our gate. Hannah didn't seem to mind having chicken nuggets and French fries again. There aren't many people that can say they've had McDonald's four times in three different countries in three days. Hopefully, we won't have it again for a long time. Here we are with a full tummy and happily waiting to board our flight to Atlanta.
We were glad to get on our flight to Atlanta earlier than we expected and that it was short and uneventful. It landed after 11:00 PM, but Sheila Watson and Kay Croxton were there with my mother a ride waiting to meet us. Thanks Sheila, Kay and Mother. It was good to have someone there waiting. After letting Hannah meet her Grandma Stallings, we found our luggage and went out to let her meet Grandpa Cooke and Aunt Carisa. We drove to their house to meet Grandma Cooke and then we finally drove home. We were surprised to walk in and see Welcome Home balloons and other treats left by Aunt Carisa.
As exhausted as we were, our bodies told us it was past lunch time; so, we sat down to eat our first meal together at home as a family at 2:00 AM. David and I had turkey sandwiches and Pringles while Hannah had a scrambled egg, sliced turkey, yogurt and Pringles. With full tummies, we were all happy to fall into bed after a very long day to sleep for a very long time. Good night and Wan an! ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz.....
The next few posts will not be in chronologial order as I tell about Hannah's new life ... More pictures and details to come :>)
After checking out of our hotel in Hong Kong, eating hash browns and eggs for breakfast at Burger King and waving good bye to China, we borded our plane in Hong Kong and headed home! With a full tummy, we happily wait to board our plane.
The flight should have only been 14 hours long, but Chicago had a stormy weather just before we arrived, and all traffic was backed up. They wouldn't let us land, so we flew to another airport nearby for an hour to re-fuel before flying back to Chicago. Even after we landed, we had to wait another 45 minutes on the tarmac until they found a gate for us. When we finally got off, we took our secret brown envelop and went through Immigration and Passport Control. It took a little time, but we got to visit with the Varns some more. We didn't get to see what was in the brown envelop, but the official we gave it to must have been okay with the contents because we were quickly given a green light to go.
Hooray! We were officially in America and our daughter was an American Citizen! Of course that meant that we were now subject to all the laws of the land including those that govern airport security! I was prepared for a meltdown when they told us to take off her shoes and take her out of the stroller, but she didn't even cry when they took her sippy cup of juice to test it for bombs. She didn't really like being frisked along with Mama. Mama didn't really enjoy it either. We were exhausted by this point and disappointed when we learned that our flight to Atlanta was delayed due to the bad weather, but we made the best of things by finding a McDonald's near our gate. Hannah didn't seem to mind having chicken nuggets and French fries again. There aren't many people that can say they've had McDonald's four times in three different countries in three days. Hopefully, we won't have it again for a long time. Here we are with a full tummy and happily waiting to board our flight to Atlanta.
We were glad to get on our flight to Atlanta earlier than we expected and that it was short and uneventful. It landed after 11:00 PM, but Sheila Watson and Kay Croxton were there with my mother a ride waiting to meet us. Thanks Sheila, Kay and Mother. It was good to have someone there waiting. After letting Hannah meet her Grandma Stallings, we found our luggage and went out to let her meet Grandpa Cooke and Aunt Carisa. We drove to their house to meet Grandma Cooke and then we finally drove home. We were surprised to walk in and see Welcome Home balloons and other treats left by Aunt Carisa.
As exhausted as we were, our bodies told us it was past lunch time; so, we sat down to eat our first meal together at home as a family at 2:00 AM. David and I had turkey sandwiches and Pringles while Hannah had a scrambled egg, sliced turkey, yogurt and Pringles. With full tummies, we were all happy to fall into bed after a very long day to sleep for a very long time. Good night and Wan an! ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz.....
The next few posts will not be in chronologial order as I tell about Hannah's new life ... More pictures and details to come :>)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Beginning the final leg home ...
Hello all, David here. We have made it safely to the Marriott at the Hong Kong airport. Wow, it's hard to believe we've been in China over 2 weeks, and we have had Hannah for over 1 1/2 weeks - where has the time gone? Tomorrow we start the marathon ~24 hour journey back home ...
We left our hotel in Guangzhou at 2:30 and our guides were able to get Hannah's Visa and top-secret, sealed brown envelope in time for us to catch the 4:15 train out of Guangzhou for Hong Kong. It was a 2 hour ride and Hannah did well, though she really started losing interest after the 1st hour or so ...
For tomorrow's flight, Lois has all kinds of snacks (food is a great distractor, at least for Hannah), toys, books, coloring books, stickers, ... Is it enough to entertain her the whole way home? We shall see ... At least they have us seated in the back of the plane. Lois has already decided that we will take turns letting Hannah walk all over the gate area until we board, hoping to tire her out (or at least get her to the point that she would like to sit for a while). Our new friends, the Varns, from Southern Illinois are also on the same flight as us, but they are up in Economy Plus (the somewhat expensive seats :>) - so we may or may not see them. They elected to start their journey in the morning - they will fly to Hong Kong from Guanghou, layover for a few hours, then get on the flight for Chicago.
We arrived in Hong Kong about 6:15 and decided to go ahead and eat at the train station instead of waiting until we got to our Hotel (it was about a 45 minute ride out to the Hotel). There was a McDonalds, it was quick and easy ... I do understand now, how McDonalds makes money off of families (the quick and easy part is pretty tempting after a long day; and in China the added benefit of familiarity just kind of seals the deal). The room is clean and comfortable, but a far cry from the Suite we had in Guangzhou. At least it is a king-sized bed. Hannah is in a portable pack-and-play, and seemed especially excited about getting in it; I guess anything new peaks her curiosity ...
Our flight leaves around noon tomorrow (around midnight Atlanta time) and goes direct to Chicago where we are supposed to deliver the top-secret sealed brown envelope to the immigration officials there. Apparently they will unseal the envelope and know what to do with it's contents (I don't even know what's in the envelope ...) We have been told to prepare for a 1 - 3 hour adventure through US Immigration, we'll see ... We have a 5 hour layover, so we should have plenty of time.
It will probably take me a while to process all that has transpired over the past 2 weeks. What an amazing journey - at approximately 4:15 PM, on Sunday, 5/30, Lois and I became parents, and Hannah found her forever family. How unbelievably blessed Lois and I are! The transition thus far, has not been without it's bumps, but it has been amazingly smooth. Thank you for sharing this journey with us, for praying for us and for encouraging us - we could not have done this without all of you. And there is no way we could have done any of this apart from our Father in Heaven who adopted us into His family.
With that, I bid you all good night as we say good bye to our daughters home land ...
We left our hotel in Guangzhou at 2:30 and our guides were able to get Hannah's Visa and top-secret, sealed brown envelope in time for us to catch the 4:15 train out of Guangzhou for Hong Kong. It was a 2 hour ride and Hannah did well, though she really started losing interest after the 1st hour or so ...
For tomorrow's flight, Lois has all kinds of snacks (food is a great distractor, at least for Hannah), toys, books, coloring books, stickers, ... Is it enough to entertain her the whole way home? We shall see ... At least they have us seated in the back of the plane. Lois has already decided that we will take turns letting Hannah walk all over the gate area until we board, hoping to tire her out (or at least get her to the point that she would like to sit for a while). Our new friends, the Varns, from Southern Illinois are also on the same flight as us, but they are up in Economy Plus (the somewhat expensive seats :>) - so we may or may not see them. They elected to start their journey in the morning - they will fly to Hong Kong from Guanghou, layover for a few hours, then get on the flight for Chicago.
We arrived in Hong Kong about 6:15 and decided to go ahead and eat at the train station instead of waiting until we got to our Hotel (it was about a 45 minute ride out to the Hotel). There was a McDonalds, it was quick and easy ... I do understand now, how McDonalds makes money off of families (the quick and easy part is pretty tempting after a long day; and in China the added benefit of familiarity just kind of seals the deal). The room is clean and comfortable, but a far cry from the Suite we had in Guangzhou. At least it is a king-sized bed. Hannah is in a portable pack-and-play, and seemed especially excited about getting in it; I guess anything new peaks her curiosity ...
Our flight leaves around noon tomorrow (around midnight Atlanta time) and goes direct to Chicago where we are supposed to deliver the top-secret sealed brown envelope to the immigration officials there. Apparently they will unseal the envelope and know what to do with it's contents (I don't even know what's in the envelope ...) We have been told to prepare for a 1 - 3 hour adventure through US Immigration, we'll see ... We have a 5 hour layover, so we should have plenty of time.
It will probably take me a while to process all that has transpired over the past 2 weeks. What an amazing journey - at approximately 4:15 PM, on Sunday, 5/30, Lois and I became parents, and Hannah found her forever family. How unbelievably blessed Lois and I are! The transition thus far, has not been without it's bumps, but it has been amazingly smooth. Thank you for sharing this journey with us, for praying for us and for encouraging us - we could not have done this without all of you. And there is no way we could have done any of this apart from our Father in Heaven who adopted us into His family.
With that, I bid you all good night as we say good bye to our daughters home land ...
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
And God said, "Let there be sound" ...
And there was :>) David here. Not sure where the switch was, but God must have flipped it over night ... Hannah woke up happy this morning. She smiled at everyone at breakfast and started grunting and moaning more than usual. Then while we were waiting for the bus to go to the toy store, she and Rachel had a "give me 5 down low" moment:
On the way to the toy store, she started giggling, squealing and making all kinds of noises (of course, I wasn't thinking very clearly, so I didn't get any of it on video :>( The toy store was pretty disappointing, basically just one section of a department store. I was envisioning some huge mall with floors and floors of toys ... Oh well, with such a limited supply, we didn't buy much :>) However, the whole time I wheeled Hannah around the store, she was babbling and squealing and grunting and pointing; touching things, swinging her feet in the stroller - all in all, more interaction, sounds and exploration than we have seen from Hannah since we got her. And she has been going ever since ... We have thoroughly enjoyed watching come out of her shell - each day has brought something new and exciting. We are so blessed and so thankful for what God has done, though there will probably come the time that I'll be asking God where that switch was so I can turn it off for a while :>)
Today was our oath ceremony - bascially, anyone who gets a visa from China has to swear an oath that all of the information they gave was true. Since Hannah can't speak yet, we took the oath for her (and since I filled out all of the paperwork, it makes sense that Lois and I should take the oath for her :>) Being that we were going to the Consulate's office, Lois dressed Hannah up in a pretty dress, complete with hair bow and new shoes - of course, Hannah loved that:
It turns out that the oath ceremony is really a very informal thing, and it was hot, and we had to wait about an hour before taking the oath - the dress was really overkill. The seasoned veterans new this and dressed their new children comfortably, us newbies had our children all dressed up. Oh well, it made for a good picture or two :>) The Consulate's office is in the process of building (the new building will be ready in 2013), so in the mean time, they have rented the 4th floor of this rather non-discript office building. But, since they wouldn't let cameras inside, this is the best I can for a picture of us in front of the Consulate's office:
They told us that they process around 25,000 visa requests a year (for all of China), and that last year was the first year that special needs adoptions surpassed non-special needs. So far this year ~61% of all adoptions have been special needs.
After the ceremony, we came home, changed clothes then headed out for dinner and a trip to the "Trust Mart", kind of like a local supermarket. Dinner, was, well, interesting. The Chinese food this trip has been really disappointing. Maybe it was the cities, or maybe the culture is just changing. You used to be able to get kung-pao chicken, sweet & sour pork, sizzling beef, and lots of other stir-fried dishes just about anywhere. This time, we were hard-pressed to find any kind of stir-fried dishes on any of the menus. We've been told that as the Chinese people have become more affluent, they want "exotic" food when they go out to eat, and so the restaurants are catering to this new clientèle. All kinds of sea "creatures" and animal parts; I guess it's good for business, bad for Americans looking for simple Chinese food ... It's not been all bad, but it's definitely been better. I think that has been the most difficult part of this whole process - finding a suitable lunch and dinner for us and Hannah (thankfully, a large breakfast buffet has been included with all of our hotels). We've had McDonalds and Subway for lunch more than I care to admit ...
The main reason we went over to the Trust Mart was to buy a relatively inexpensive stroller for the trip home. We've been told it would be a wise investment as the Hong Kong airport is one of the largest in the world, and the Chicago airport is one of the largest in the US. A stroller will certainly help save the back, and should be well worth the $20 ... We should be able to check it at the gate (ie take it all the way to and from the plane).
And so with that, the China portion of of our journey will soon come to a close. Hopefully, we will be boarding a train to Hong Kong at 4:17 tomorrow afternoon, arriving in Hong Kong sometime around 6:30 or so. We'll spend the night at the Marriott near the Hong Kong airport, then fly out of Hong Kong just after noon on Friday. If I can get internet access at the Marriott, I'll be sure and make a final farewell post from Asia ...
Until then, have a blessed day - we certainly have!
On the way to the toy store, she started giggling, squealing and making all kinds of noises (of course, I wasn't thinking very clearly, so I didn't get any of it on video :>( The toy store was pretty disappointing, basically just one section of a department store. I was envisioning some huge mall with floors and floors of toys ... Oh well, with such a limited supply, we didn't buy much :>) However, the whole time I wheeled Hannah around the store, she was babbling and squealing and grunting and pointing; touching things, swinging her feet in the stroller - all in all, more interaction, sounds and exploration than we have seen from Hannah since we got her. And she has been going ever since ... We have thoroughly enjoyed watching come out of her shell - each day has brought something new and exciting. We are so blessed and so thankful for what God has done, though there will probably come the time that I'll be asking God where that switch was so I can turn it off for a while :>)
Today was our oath ceremony - bascially, anyone who gets a visa from China has to swear an oath that all of the information they gave was true. Since Hannah can't speak yet, we took the oath for her (and since I filled out all of the paperwork, it makes sense that Lois and I should take the oath for her :>) Being that we were going to the Consulate's office, Lois dressed Hannah up in a pretty dress, complete with hair bow and new shoes - of course, Hannah loved that:
It turns out that the oath ceremony is really a very informal thing, and it was hot, and we had to wait about an hour before taking the oath - the dress was really overkill. The seasoned veterans new this and dressed their new children comfortably, us newbies had our children all dressed up. Oh well, it made for a good picture or two :>) The Consulate's office is in the process of building (the new building will be ready in 2013), so in the mean time, they have rented the 4th floor of this rather non-discript office building. But, since they wouldn't let cameras inside, this is the best I can for a picture of us in front of the Consulate's office:
They told us that they process around 25,000 visa requests a year (for all of China), and that last year was the first year that special needs adoptions surpassed non-special needs. So far this year ~61% of all adoptions have been special needs.
After the ceremony, we came home, changed clothes then headed out for dinner and a trip to the "Trust Mart", kind of like a local supermarket. Dinner, was, well, interesting. The Chinese food this trip has been really disappointing. Maybe it was the cities, or maybe the culture is just changing. You used to be able to get kung-pao chicken, sweet & sour pork, sizzling beef, and lots of other stir-fried dishes just about anywhere. This time, we were hard-pressed to find any kind of stir-fried dishes on any of the menus. We've been told that as the Chinese people have become more affluent, they want "exotic" food when they go out to eat, and so the restaurants are catering to this new clientèle. All kinds of sea "creatures" and animal parts; I guess it's good for business, bad for Americans looking for simple Chinese food ... It's not been all bad, but it's definitely been better. I think that has been the most difficult part of this whole process - finding a suitable lunch and dinner for us and Hannah (thankfully, a large breakfast buffet has been included with all of our hotels). We've had McDonalds and Subway for lunch more than I care to admit ...
The main reason we went over to the Trust Mart was to buy a relatively inexpensive stroller for the trip home. We've been told it would be a wise investment as the Hong Kong airport is one of the largest in the world, and the Chicago airport is one of the largest in the US. A stroller will certainly help save the back, and should be well worth the $20 ... We should be able to check it at the gate (ie take it all the way to and from the plane).
And so with that, the China portion of of our journey will soon come to a close. Hopefully, we will be boarding a train to Hong Kong at 4:17 tomorrow afternoon, arriving in Hong Kong sometime around 6:30 or so. We'll spend the night at the Marriott near the Hong Kong airport, then fly out of Hong Kong just after noon on Friday. If I can get internet access at the Marriott, I'll be sure and make a final farewell post from Asia ...
Until then, have a blessed day - we certainly have!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The paperwork has been completed and accepted!
Hello all, David here. We got word on the way home from the zoo that all of our consulate paperwork had been submitted and accepted. Tomorrow we go to take the oath for Hannah, and then we get her Visa on Thursday and start the long journey home ...
Today we went to the zoo, but before I start those pictures, I thought you might like to see her in her new jeans:
The zoo was fun, and we were able to find most of the animals in her favorite book (one we sent to her in her care package - we also brought a copy with us). Here are a few from the zoo:
We had a good time, and I think our favorite spot was watching the Giraffe's eat. For anyone who knows our dog, duchess - well, if you thought she had a long tongue, check this out:
And speaking of eating, this is not very exciting video, but I know that the grandparents like to see video of their new granddaughter, so here is one of her at the zoo enjoying one of her favorite pastimes, eating cheerios :>)
I will say that right after this we had to put the cheerios away to get on the bus - and this time, Hannah had a full-on melt-down most of the way home from the zoo. The first melt-down at the medical clinic, we think, was more of a hysterical panic/fear kind of melt down. The one today, we are pretty sure, was more of a toddler-tantrum/angry type of melt down. Even after the cheerios were brought back out on the bus, Hannah didn't care, she was in screaming mode and couldn't be consoled. So Lois just held her and let her scream (trying valiantly to soothe her, I might add) all of the other parents looked on with compassion - they've all been there this week ... After about 5 minutes, she finally started calming down ...
After the zoo, we came home and had lunch and rested, then the Varns and us went over to Shamian Island to the White Swan Hotel, to take our own "Red Couch" pictures. For years I have heard about this fabled "Red Couch"; well, perhaps there is a fabled one somewhere, but I was disappointed to find out that there are about 6 of them in the lobby area, and none of them looked particularly "special" to us ... In the end, we just plopped ourselves down on one and started taking pictures :>) Not sure if that was appropriate or not, but we did it anyway. Here are the resultant pictures, first one with the whole family:
Then one of Hannah by herself:
And finally, one of Hannah and her friend Rachel (the Varn's little girl):
In hindsight, we probably should have sat the girls on the edge of the couch, so we could see their pretty shoes as well ... Oh well, that's what happens when you put amateurs in charge :>)
After the pictures we did some shopping, ate dinner at a great Thai restaurant, then came home. It has been a busy day and we are all tired (Mama and Hannah have been asleep for a while :>) It's time for Papa to join them. Tomorrow is a trip to the toy market - oh boy!
Monday, June 07, 2010
We are officially TB-negative!
Howdy - David here. A few nights ago, I mentioned a video of the medical clinic where Hannah had her examination. Since we had to go back to the clinic today, I thought it would be appropriate to post it now, so here it is:
Speaking of the medical visit, we are officially TB-negative :>) Woo Hoo! That means we can come home as soon as we get Hannah's Visa (which should be on Thursday). The TB reading went very well - Hannah started to cry when Lois wheeled her up to the Nurse's desk to read her PPD placement, but it was over before she could really start. So, it was a non-issue, which is a good thing ...
Before I get into the days stories, I have another first to tell you about. Last night at dinner, Hannah finally giggled :>) It wasn't much, but it was definitely a giggle. She has also giggled a few times today as well, mostly after Lois or I build a tower out of the stacking cups and then she knocks them over. It is good to hear her begin to laugh out loud. She still isn't talking (well, just one word here and there), but we know that will come with time ...
OK, so on with the days events. Today was shopping day, and in honor of our new little fashion queen, thought I would tell you a few stories. It all started in Nanchang. Lois' sister Harriet had given Hannah some white sandals that we have with us. After getting Hannah, we realized the sandals were probably too big, but we decided to pull them out and see how big they were. All we did was match them sole-to-sole with the shoes she was wearing, I didn't even think Hannah had seen them - but when we started to put the new sandals away (they were at least 1/2" - 3/4" too big), Hannah grunted and stuck her foot in the air, as if to say, "Hold on there, let's give these things a try, shall we?" So, Lois and I obliged. Here is the photo I took:
See that silly grin? I'm in big trouble ...
So, I told you the story of the Qi Pao yesterday (she will get to wear it one more time tomorrow as we will make a special trip to take a picture on the fabled red couch at the White Swan Hotel). Last night our whole group went out for dinner to a Malaysian restaurant around the corner, and Lois decided to put Hannah in a dress that Molly, Lois' former Chinese teacher (whom we saw in Shanghai), gave her. We put her down in front of the mirror and saw that same silly grin - this is really not good ... Here is the resultant picture (unedited and uncoaxed - completely spontaneous):
Today was shopping day and one of the things Lois wanted to get Hannah was some more shoes (she would like to put away the shoes that Hannah came from the orphanage in). As soon as we wheeled Hannah into the little shoe store, her eyes kind of glazed over in sheer delight - not a good sign ... Lois found a cute pair of soft leather shoes with butterflies on them, and then we decided to get her a pair of tennis shoes. I found a really cool pair of orange and blue ones :>) Lois and Hannah found a pair of white and pink ones with sparkles (ooohhhhhh). Guess which pair won out? In the end the sparkly ones were 7x cheaper than the orange and blue ones, so maybe she was just trying to save me money, maybe? Here is the resultant picture, again uncoaxed and unedited:
Quite the model, no? I am in deeeeeeep trouble ... If we can keep her shopping the 50% off sales, at least it won't be that bad ... Lois found her some jeans (get this, Calvin Klein for $8 :>) a top and some socks, and that rounded out our day. I just walked into the room where Hannah and Mama are sleeping and this is what is at the foot of Hannah's bed:
Yes, I can hear you snickering even now ... And that's not all of the shoes - we also have a pair of red ones that match her Qi Pao around here somewhere ...
This evening we took a river boat cruise on the Pearl River. It was very nice and the weather we great. Guangzhou is about equal with Key West (or perhaps further south), so it can be really hot and humid here, but this evening was cool, with a nice breeze. Here are a couple of pictures (not my best work, but we were trying to light Hannah and get the background lights - Hannah was enjoying herself though):
Tomorrow it's the zoo! Until then ...
Speaking of the medical visit, we are officially TB-negative :>) Woo Hoo! That means we can come home as soon as we get Hannah's Visa (which should be on Thursday). The TB reading went very well - Hannah started to cry when Lois wheeled her up to the Nurse's desk to read her PPD placement, but it was over before she could really start. So, it was a non-issue, which is a good thing ...
Before I get into the days stories, I have another first to tell you about. Last night at dinner, Hannah finally giggled :>) It wasn't much, but it was definitely a giggle. She has also giggled a few times today as well, mostly after Lois or I build a tower out of the stacking cups and then she knocks them over. It is good to hear her begin to laugh out loud. She still isn't talking (well, just one word here and there), but we know that will come with time ...
OK, so on with the days events. Today was shopping day, and in honor of our new little fashion queen, thought I would tell you a few stories. It all started in Nanchang. Lois' sister Harriet had given Hannah some white sandals that we have with us. After getting Hannah, we realized the sandals were probably too big, but we decided to pull them out and see how big they were. All we did was match them sole-to-sole with the shoes she was wearing, I didn't even think Hannah had seen them - but when we started to put the new sandals away (they were at least 1/2" - 3/4" too big), Hannah grunted and stuck her foot in the air, as if to say, "Hold on there, let's give these things a try, shall we?" So, Lois and I obliged. Here is the photo I took:
See that silly grin? I'm in big trouble ...
So, I told you the story of the Qi Pao yesterday (she will get to wear it one more time tomorrow as we will make a special trip to take a picture on the fabled red couch at the White Swan Hotel). Last night our whole group went out for dinner to a Malaysian restaurant around the corner, and Lois decided to put Hannah in a dress that Molly, Lois' former Chinese teacher (whom we saw in Shanghai), gave her. We put her down in front of the mirror and saw that same silly grin - this is really not good ... Here is the resultant picture (unedited and uncoaxed - completely spontaneous):
Today was shopping day and one of the things Lois wanted to get Hannah was some more shoes (she would like to put away the shoes that Hannah came from the orphanage in). As soon as we wheeled Hannah into the little shoe store, her eyes kind of glazed over in sheer delight - not a good sign ... Lois found a cute pair of soft leather shoes with butterflies on them, and then we decided to get her a pair of tennis shoes. I found a really cool pair of orange and blue ones :>) Lois and Hannah found a pair of white and pink ones with sparkles (ooohhhhhh). Guess which pair won out? In the end the sparkly ones were 7x cheaper than the orange and blue ones, so maybe she was just trying to save me money, maybe? Here is the resultant picture, again uncoaxed and unedited:
Quite the model, no? I am in deeeeeeep trouble ... If we can keep her shopping the 50% off sales, at least it won't be that bad ... Lois found her some jeans (get this, Calvin Klein for $8 :>) a top and some socks, and that rounded out our day. I just walked into the room where Hannah and Mama are sleeping and this is what is at the foot of Hannah's bed:
Yes, I can hear you snickering even now ... And that's not all of the shoes - we also have a pair of red ones that match her Qi Pao around here somewhere ...
This evening we took a river boat cruise on the Pearl River. It was very nice and the weather we great. Guangzhou is about equal with Key West (or perhaps further south), so it can be really hot and humid here, but this evening was cool, with a nice breeze. Here are a couple of pictures (not my best work, but we were trying to light Hannah and get the background lights - Hannah was enjoying herself though):
Tomorrow it's the zoo! Until then ...
Sunday, June 06, 2010
A fashion queen in the making?
Hello All, David here. Lois is fast asleep, and I will be joining her very shortly :>) So this will be a quick post.
We thought we had a budding fashion queen on our hands, and it has now been confirmed :>) Here she is in her Chinese Qi Pao:
After we dressed her, we let her look in a mirror and she looked back at us and beamed a big smile - she loves new clothes and shoes, but that's a story for later. After the group picture we came back to the room to change for the Botanical Gardens, and Hannah was very upset - I guess she was thinking she had just gotten this new outfit and would like to enjoy it a little longer ... We did changer her over her cries of protest. Tomorrow is a shopping day, I may be in trouble :>)
The botanical gardens were beautiful, though quite hot. Here are a few pictures:
Tomorrow it's back to the medical clinic for a quick TB test read (thank you all for praying, to my untrained eye, it looks very negative to me), then off to a local shopping mall for some shopping (supposedly reasonable prices, we'll see ...). Then a river boat dinner cruise tomorrow evening ... Big day, so I better go get some sleep. Have a great day of worship!
We thought we had a budding fashion queen on our hands, and it has now been confirmed :>) Here she is in her Chinese Qi Pao:
After we dressed her, we let her look in a mirror and she looked back at us and beamed a big smile - she loves new clothes and shoes, but that's a story for later. After the group picture we came back to the room to change for the Botanical Gardens, and Hannah was very upset - I guess she was thinking she had just gotten this new outfit and would like to enjoy it a little longer ... We did changer her over her cries of protest. Tomorrow is a shopping day, I may be in trouble :>)
The botanical gardens were beautiful, though quite hot. Here are a few pictures:
Tomorrow it's back to the medical clinic for a quick TB test read (thank you all for praying, to my untrained eye, it looks very negative to me), then off to a local shopping mall for some shopping (supposedly reasonable prices, we'll see ...). Then a river boat dinner cruise tomorrow evening ... Big day, so I better go get some sleep. Have a great day of worship!
Saturday, June 05, 2010
We're in Guangzhou!
Hello all - this is David. It has been a really busy couple of days since Lois' last post. We are still dealing with some intestinal "issues", but we think they are beginning to subside. thank you for your prayers ...
Before I begin the update, I thought I would post a few pictures of our trip to Hannah's orphanage. This first picture is the welcoming gate to Ji'an city:
This one is of the building where Hannah spent most of her time (though we are told she was quite the independent adventurer and had pretty much free reign to go where she wanted; we were also told that she helped the other Nanny's feed the babies ...).
And a picture of the gate of the orphange, this is where Hannah was found at 2 days old (though the gate has been rebuilt in the last year, she was found near the left corner of the gate):
And finally, a picture of Hannah with her Nanny. As you can tell, Hannah was not completely happy to be there (that's her old crib in the left portion of the image with the red and white blanket):
I think the most interesting thing that happened on the trip was as we were leaving the restaurant to go back to Nanchang. All of the Orphanage staff was saying good bye and Hannah waved good bye to them all! (she had only waved good bye once to our guide earlier in the week). I don't want to read too much into this, but it was almost as if she was intentionally saying a final farewell to all that she had previously known ... Maybe????
While waiting for Hannah's passport, I was able to shoot a quick video of Lois playing paddy-cake with Hannah, it's not the best, but I think you will enjoy her smile :>)
We finally got Hannah's Chinese passport around 3:00 and headed to the airport where we accompanied 5 other families on the "no longer orphans" flight from Nanchang to Guangzhou. Hannah did extremely well, as long as we kept feeding her cookies and juice :>) We arrived in Guangzhou around 8:30 and didn't get to the Hotel until 9:00. Needless to say we were all wiped out. Lois put Hannah down in the crib, but she didn't seem to be sleepy, so she tried to pick her back up; at which point Hannah started to cry - it seems that a crib is a safe place (or at least familliar), and that's OK ... Within minutes Hannah drifted off to sleep, as did Mama and Papa ... The room is, well, what can I say, unbelievable. We are at the Garden Hotel, in a suite - I'm not sure I've ever stayed in a Hotel room quite this nice, and I've been in quite a few over the years ...
Today was medical examination day. Nothing major, height (84cm), weight (11k), cursory ENT check (normal), cursory full body check (normal) and TB test (prayerfully normal :>). We forgot to ask for a stroller until just before leaving for the examination, and then it never made it to the room, so we kind of held up the group a few minutes waiting for it. In hindsight, it might have been a *much* better day if we had left it ... The medical facility was full of adopting families (I think that is all they do at this facility) - I have a video I'll post tomorrow ... At first, Hannah seemed to be doing just fine:
UNTIL, we had to take her out of the stroller, and then take away her sippy cup - and two wrongs never make anything right ... She started to cry almost immediately and by the time we walked the few feet to the ENT room, she was in full melt-down mode; it was quite a traumatic experience for all involved - and the whole clinic knows how good her lungs are (and commented so :>). Mama tried to hold Hannah while they looked in her ears, but Hannah was in hyper-melt down by this point, so Papa stepped in and played the bad guy. On top of all of this, they use a little squeaky toy to test the children's hearing (though how Hannah could hear anything above her own screaming is pretty amazing). In a compassionate, though incredibly unwise move, the nurse gave Hannah the squeaky toy hoping to calm her down a little. Unfortunately, they had to take it back when we left the ENT room and now we were in super-hyper-melt-down mode and it only got worse with each room we visited ... After the TB test (yep, Papa was the bad guy again), Mama scooped her up, sang to her a little and then we put her back in the stroller and restored the sippy cup - within several seconds, all was better (not right, but better). And by lunch, she was happy and playing with her friend Rachel and seemed to have forgotten it all (of course there is that common thread of food again :>)
I'm not sure we will soon forget the day (Mama was particularly stressed out over the whole ordeal) ... So you see, if we had just left that stroller ... (I think God might have been trying to warn us, and we just weren't listening :>( Though Lois did comment later today that Hannah seems to come out of her shell even more after tough experiences like this; kind of reminds us of our journey with the Father ... We did buy Hannah a red Chinese QiPao (CheePow) and some matching red shoes today - tomorrow is group picture day :>) We'll be sure to post pictures :>)
The rest of the day was consumed with paperwork - literally. Two hours of governmental forms, Visa applications, Immigration documents ... And everything has to be absolutely perfect. The guides told us that if they submit 3 incorrect consulate packages in their career, they are forever banned from the US Consulate Office here in Guangzhou - so you can see why it took so long to make sure everything was absolutely correct ...
OK, that's quite enough for now. Tomorrow we are off to the Botanical Gardens. Have a blessed day!
Before I begin the update, I thought I would post a few pictures of our trip to Hannah's orphanage. This first picture is the welcoming gate to Ji'an city:
This one is of the building where Hannah spent most of her time (though we are told she was quite the independent adventurer and had pretty much free reign to go where she wanted; we were also told that she helped the other Nanny's feed the babies ...).
And a picture of the gate of the orphange, this is where Hannah was found at 2 days old (though the gate has been rebuilt in the last year, she was found near the left corner of the gate):
And finally, a picture of Hannah with her Nanny. As you can tell, Hannah was not completely happy to be there (that's her old crib in the left portion of the image with the red and white blanket):
I think the most interesting thing that happened on the trip was as we were leaving the restaurant to go back to Nanchang. All of the Orphanage staff was saying good bye and Hannah waved good bye to them all! (she had only waved good bye once to our guide earlier in the week). I don't want to read too much into this, but it was almost as if she was intentionally saying a final farewell to all that she had previously known ... Maybe????
While waiting for Hannah's passport, I was able to shoot a quick video of Lois playing paddy-cake with Hannah, it's not the best, but I think you will enjoy her smile :>)
We finally got Hannah's Chinese passport around 3:00 and headed to the airport where we accompanied 5 other families on the "no longer orphans" flight from Nanchang to Guangzhou. Hannah did extremely well, as long as we kept feeding her cookies and juice :>) We arrived in Guangzhou around 8:30 and didn't get to the Hotel until 9:00. Needless to say we were all wiped out. Lois put Hannah down in the crib, but she didn't seem to be sleepy, so she tried to pick her back up; at which point Hannah started to cry - it seems that a crib is a safe place (or at least familliar), and that's OK ... Within minutes Hannah drifted off to sleep, as did Mama and Papa ... The room is, well, what can I say, unbelievable. We are at the Garden Hotel, in a suite - I'm not sure I've ever stayed in a Hotel room quite this nice, and I've been in quite a few over the years ...
Today was medical examination day. Nothing major, height (84cm), weight (11k), cursory ENT check (normal), cursory full body check (normal) and TB test (prayerfully normal :>). We forgot to ask for a stroller until just before leaving for the examination, and then it never made it to the room, so we kind of held up the group a few minutes waiting for it. In hindsight, it might have been a *much* better day if we had left it ... The medical facility was full of adopting families (I think that is all they do at this facility) - I have a video I'll post tomorrow ... At first, Hannah seemed to be doing just fine:
UNTIL, we had to take her out of the stroller, and then take away her sippy cup - and two wrongs never make anything right ... She started to cry almost immediately and by the time we walked the few feet to the ENT room, she was in full melt-down mode; it was quite a traumatic experience for all involved - and the whole clinic knows how good her lungs are (and commented so :>). Mama tried to hold Hannah while they looked in her ears, but Hannah was in hyper-melt down by this point, so Papa stepped in and played the bad guy. On top of all of this, they use a little squeaky toy to test the children's hearing (though how Hannah could hear anything above her own screaming is pretty amazing). In a compassionate, though incredibly unwise move, the nurse gave Hannah the squeaky toy hoping to calm her down a little. Unfortunately, they had to take it back when we left the ENT room and now we were in super-hyper-melt-down mode and it only got worse with each room we visited ... After the TB test (yep, Papa was the bad guy again), Mama scooped her up, sang to her a little and then we put her back in the stroller and restored the sippy cup - within several seconds, all was better (not right, but better). And by lunch, she was happy and playing with her friend Rachel and seemed to have forgotten it all (of course there is that common thread of food again :>)
I'm not sure we will soon forget the day (Mama was particularly stressed out over the whole ordeal) ... So you see, if we had just left that stroller ... (I think God might have been trying to warn us, and we just weren't listening :>( Though Lois did comment later today that Hannah seems to come out of her shell even more after tough experiences like this; kind of reminds us of our journey with the Father ... We did buy Hannah a red Chinese QiPao (CheePow) and some matching red shoes today - tomorrow is group picture day :>) We'll be sure to post pictures :>)
The rest of the day was consumed with paperwork - literally. Two hours of governmental forms, Visa applications, Immigration documents ... And everything has to be absolutely perfect. The guides told us that if they submit 3 incorrect consulate packages in their career, they are forever banned from the US Consulate Office here in Guangzhou - so you can see why it took so long to make sure everything was absolutely correct ...
OK, that's quite enough for now. Tomorrow we are off to the Botanical Gardens. Have a blessed day!
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