Adoption Day

24 hours after our Gotcha Day was our actual Adoption Day (In China families have 24 hours after signing guardianship papers to make the final decision about whether they want to proceed with the adoption or not). This was a HUGE day...huge because of the significance of Kai actually becoming part of our family...huge because of the all of the appointments and travel that we needed to do on this day.

To begin our day, we started back at the Registration Office in Zhengzhou, which is the provincial capital of Henan province. There were we were presented with our actual adoption certificate, showing that we are the legal parents!

After being presented with our certificate, we also found out that the Registration Office also waived our registration fee, which was 1,450 RMB (or about $225). Apparently, they are planning on increasing the fee but have not yet decided how much. So, in the meantime, they have decided to not charge at all! What a nice surprise!

After there we headed to the Notary Office in Zhengzhou. Here we just turned in some documents and paid our notary fee of 3520 RMB...unfortunately, they did not waive that fee! It was very hot and smoky in the room that we were in, but Sam thought it was cool.

After a short lunch, we were headed out for the biggest, most exhausting part of our day. We needed to head to Jiyuan City, which was about 2.5 hours outside of Zhengzhou. This is the city where Kai was found and where the orphanage is located. Because this is where Kai is originally from, this is where we needed to apply for his passport. Ok, here is a disclaimer on the photo...we were all HOT and TIRED. I felt terrible (and ended up getting car sick on the ride back...very humbling experience!). Basically, we were all completely sick of it, so this is the best we could do!

Aside from the busy schedule, various appointments, almost 6 hours in a van, 85 and HUMID weather, and getting sick, we had a great day! Kai started really bonding with us. By now he was calling me Mama and calling Chris Baba. He calls Sam gege (older brother). He wanted absolutely nothing to do with the orphanage director (this is her in the photo), but only wanted mama. In fact, he only wanted to be held by me the entire day. I have to admit, my arms were a little sore! He did not want Chris out of his sight, but did not want to be held by him. He is loving his big brother and literally copies everything Sam does. This has been a good reminder for Sam about being a role model! And, he talks...and talks and talks and then talks some more! If he's not talking, he's singing. There is a song he sings about 2 tigers; it is to the tune of "Brother John". I was singing the English words and he kept repeating the same phrase to me. I asked our guide what he was telling me. Apparently, he was telling me that I was incorrect :) If he's not talking or singing we know he must be sleeping!

One of the things that we were starting to notice was that Kai wanted absolutely nothing to do with the items that we were given by the orphanage director. Absolutely nothing! Whenever he saw an article of clothing or the toy train that we were give he would scream. Loudly. He took them and hid them under the bed. We're going to hold to them (in hiding, of course) and take them home with us. I think he'll want to see these again at some point...or maybe it's just that  I'm just not ready to let go of that part of his life before joining our family. At the hotel, Kai enjoyed looking at his new clothing and wanted to put most of it on all at once. Although most of the clothing we brought is too big. He is in a 2T/3T shirt and 12 month pants. Seriously, this kid has the longest torso and shortest legs!

I will be posting more pictures soon!

Gotcha Day

So, we have been in Zhengzhou since Sunday but have not had any wifi connection. So, it looks like I have a lot of posting and updating to do. I was going to start by posting pictures of our trip to the Great Wall, which we visited while still in Beijing, but I'm guessing most people want me to get to the good stuff..Kai!

Our Gotcha Day was Monday. This is when we received Kai and signed papers for guardianship. We arrived at the Registration office in Zhengzhou around 10:00 am. Kai was already there when we entered the building, since he had taken the bullet train with his nannies earlier that morning. It's a really good thing I put on waterproof mascara! I melted when I saw him. He was so much cuter and sweeter than any picture could ever show!

We had the chance to hold him, feed him, and I rocked him as he fell asleep. To be honest, he was quite indifferent toward us when we first met him. He didn't have much emotion at all when I first held him. He really sort of ignored me. To start building a relationship, we had the chance to feed him...yum, fish congee out of a can!

Before they left, we had the chance to speak to his caretakers. Fortunately, one of them spoke English. We took advantage of that and asked LOTS of questions. We asked about his heart, heart surgeries, special medical issues to look for, toys he liked to play with most, daytime schedules...you name it, we asked about it. The updates that we received had conflicting information on them, so we really appreciated this opportunity. One caretaker in particular had a very difficult time leaving Kai. She kept coming back and wanting to hold him. Eventually, the orphanage director asked the nannies to leave, but we were thankful to get have the chance to speak to them. We also appreciate all of the love, care, and time they have given to Kai before becoming part of our family.  Kai did not have a reaction when the caretakers left...no tears, no tantrums, no smiles...again, not much emotion at all.

Eventually, he ended up falling asleep. I think he was tired from leaving Shanghai so early in the morning and overwhelmed! So, I just got to hold his while he slept. I have to be honest and say that I loved it!

Once we left the Registration Office, we had the rest of the day to start bonding and adjusting to life as a family of four! By the end of the evening, he was calling me "mama" and was copying EVERYTHING Sam did! God is so good!

I'm working on loading the our Adoption Day pictures onto the computer. So, as soon as I get these ready, I'll do more posting!

Beijing

After a LONG flight, we have finally arrived in China! Well, we really arrived yesterday, but, let's be honest, we were way too tired to give an update! So, now you're going to get a ton of information...and pictures.

Chris, Sam, and I flew out of Chicago Tuesday night (we got there around 9:00). We had a direct flight to Hong Kong, where we arrived Thursday morning around 5:20.  After a 3 hour layover, we got back on a plane for a 2.5 hour flight to Beijing. Needless to say, we are thoroughly sick of being on airplanes!

After spending an hour in line for immigration, we finally were able to get our luggage and meet, Alice, our in-country rep for CCAI. She took us to our hotel (which is beautiful!). We were going to take a "short" nap before heading out for dinner. Well, we never made it to dinner but we did get some much needed sleep!

This morning we headed out on a tour of Beijing. This city is amazing!  We are in awe by how many people there are here. We knew heading to Beijing that it is a city of 21 million people...but today we got to experience it first hand. It's certainly different than our little town in Michigan!

As we traveled to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City today there were, literally, people everywhere (and, everyone smokes!).  It was slightly overwhelming...but so beautiful. We learned so much about the rich history of Beijing (and China, in general)....the Dynasties, Emperors, policies, etc. The pictures will never come close to doing this city justice, but here are a few that captured our experiences today:

TIANANMEN SQUARE

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

One of our favorite places was The Imperial Garden inside The Forbidden City. The trees and tree trunks were breathtaking. And then there are the rock formations!

 The last part of our tour today was visiting a hutong community in Beijing. Here is more information about what this is: hutong Beijing

We had the chance to take a rickshaw ride (and only had 1 near collision!) to a local family home for lunch. We were served a traditional Chinese meal while some in our travel group ate in the living room and bedroom. The food was amazing - definitely not Chinese buffet food we have in America!

HUTONG

 I had to post this picture...of all the fascinating things we saw today, Sam was taken by this pet pigeon in the cage where we ate!

Tomorrow we will head out to see the Great Wall and enjoy an acrobatics show in the evening. Sunday morning we will leave EARLY for the airport to fly to Zhengzhou. Monday will be our day to officially welcome Kai into our forever family! We would appreciate your prayers with our upcoming travels, welcoming Kai, Kai welcoming us, Kai's health, and for a smooth adoption process!

Update on the update

So, here's what happens when you rely on a man to give you information...you have to update your update. I have no idea how he forgot to tell me this critical piece of information, but here's what Chris just told me...

We travel to Zhengzou on Sunday, the 19th, and WILL HAVE KAI IN OUR ARMS ON MONDAY!!

Just thought I'd let you all know (and know that I'll be handling all details at this point!)

Ready or Not...

HERE WE COME!

We found out today that our appointments are scheduled and confirmed in China, so we are all set to travel. The itinerary is set and tickets are purchased. That means next week Chris, Sam, and I will be on a plane ready to meet our sweet little man.  I have never felt such a range of emotions...excitement, nervousness, fear, elation...you name it, I've probably felt it today!

So, here's what our plan is:

Our flight is during the night on Tuesday/Wednesday, so we will be heading out Tuesday (the 14th) night. We will fly out of Chicago and head into Hong Kong. From Hong Kong will will be heading to Beijing. We will arrive there on Thursday (the 16th), because Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us. We plan to be in China for about 2.5 weeks.

While we are there, we will spend time in Beijing. We will also be heading to Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan Province. Jiyuan City, where Kai was born is about 2.5 hours outside of Zhengzhou. From Henan, we will also head to Guangzhou, which is located near the southern coast. We are thrilled to see and experience this beautiful country! Here is a map, so you can see the locations we will be traveling to:

Until then, It is going to be a whirlwind. We are waiting to have a conference call with our agency on Wednesday which will give specific details about our trip and appointments. Needless to say, we have a whole LOT of packing to do. I get to meet with my long-term sub tomorrow and have her spend the day with my class. There is a lot to do...a lot to think about...a lot to be thankful for. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to make this journey!

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Haven and Lifesong

I've been meaning to post since Sunday, but with heading back to school this week, life just got a lot more hectic! Now that Sam and I have a few days under our belt, I thought I’d post before we head out of town this weekend for my brother’s wedding! I’m actually hoping to get in one more posting/update before we leave Friday, but we’ll see if that actually happens or not!

Sunday morning we (Chris, Sam, and I) had the opportunity to worship at Haven Reformed Church in Hamilton. This was not a new place for us, as Chris had done an internship there while in seminary. He also worked as a small group coordinator after he graduated. We had developed many good friendships there and it was good to be back around people whom we don’t get to see nearly as often as we should. In fact, all of Sam’s “highs” Sunday were from our time at Haven yesterday… we got to see a baby get baptized; he got to eat cake with his good buddy, Sophia; he got to see Miss Daryl, his swim instructor who he absolutely adores; after the service his book buddy from school came running up to give him a high five.

Of course, our time there was not just to attend the worship service, but to be part of it. Being a pastor, this was natural for Chris. Not so much for me. I’m used to being with 3^rd graders, not large crowds and microphones! But, I sure love talking about our little man, so that made it a bit easier.  While we were there we had the opportunity to share a bit about our adoption journey so far. It was good to share our story with a congregation that has so many members who have adopted!

We were also asked to speak about working with Lifesong for Orphans. Recently, Haven had decided to partner with Lifesong for Orphans to provide financial assistance for families in the adoption process.  Haven had decided to set aside money in order to provide low interest loans or matching grants for adoption costs; Lifesong manages the application process and funds. Earlier in the year, a member from Haven contacted us about our adoption, specifically the funding of our adoption. He wondered if we would be in need of or interested in receiving some financial assistance…um, yes, please!!!  After applying, we received a matching grant! (Some of you have asked about the Lifesong donation button on the side of our blog page – this is where that comes in. All of the donations made to Lifesong through this link are part of the matching grant that we received.) We are so thankful to Haven for their support, not only financially, but also for all of the love that they showed to us and Kai. This boy has no idea how much he is loved!

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who has loved on us and our boy through this process. We’re still waiting on our Article 5 (which we think should be here soon!) and our Travel Approval. After that, travel plans start to be made!

Update!

Oh, how is it possible to love someone we’ve never met so much?!?

We have been waiting for an update on Kai for so long. Since March to be exact. I thought getting new information would help ease the longing that we feel, but I think it actually has made it worse! Seeing his sweet smile makes us all the more eager to bring him home. This little man has truly stolen our hearts!

Of course, we take the information we have received today “with a grain of salt”, since we know that it may or may not be totally accurate.  Regardless, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. Here is what we learned today:

·       One critical piece of information that we learned today is that he has had additional heart surgeries in China. We don’t have many details regarding the procedures at this time…well, we do, but we haven’t mastered reading Chinese characters yet, so we’re waiting for the medical notes to be translated. We know that this will probably take a few weeks.

·        We also learned that he is now in foster care. So, he is no longer in the Jiyuan City Child Welfare Center. The update also said that he has a close relationship with his nanny.

·        The notes say that he is very introverted and has stranger anxiety…this could make things interesting when we get there!

·        He is a little peanut! He weighs just 22 pounds at 2 years old!

·      Sam’s favorite piece of information we learned today was that Kai loves to play with toy cars and trucks. Such a boy!

Now, for the pictures! This face melts our hearts!

We will keep you posted if we hear any additional information in the upcoming weeks before we travel!