Journey Through China

Reception at Fairfield Christian Church

2010-04-17T20:32:00.000-04:00

We will be hosting a reception at Fairfield Christian Church on Sunday, April 25th at 6:30 p.m. We will share videos, pictures and stories from our journey through China. Please come of you can!

(Note: I've added my insigts on potty options in China on our family blog if you want to take a look)

Roots and Wings

2010-04-06T08:19:00.004-04:00

We're wrapping up this part of the trip with the family. I'm still planning on visiting friends in Wuhan and then on to the orphanage in Vietnam, and then home in a week. So please pray for my family as they travel without me…

This has been one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences with my family. I really have to pinch myself every once in a while to make sure it's been true. My highlight has definitely been to see Sarah's and Lily's face respectively when we made a big deal about "their cities." Everyone wants to know who they are, and where they are from, and I'm glad that the girls will have this experience to remember in the future. I don't think they have much memory as little girls. And I'm not sure how much memory they will have of this trip on their own…but as we revisit pictures and remember the stories and talk about "Amu" and as they hug their stuffed animals tight (gifts from Amu), I believe they will have a heritage and roots so that later they can spread their wings.

As for spreading their wings, I see a renewed interest in the girls as they have asked me more and more how to say words in Chinese. They seemed to resist speaking any words in Chinese before the trip…now, their curiosity is stirred.

It was also really good for me to get to see the heart of some of the people here. For the most part, the people have been very friendly and have had encouraging things to say as I stumble through my Chinese with them. Many people have told us how kind we are to adopt the girls. I was touched by the way that Sarah's Foster Father gave a parting hug to me. I could tell he was genuinely touched with how well Sarah is doing, and also I could tell that he genuinely loved that little girl.

A side note…as we traveled through Sarah's hometown, I couldn't help but look at people riding bikes or walking the streets, at times making eye contact, and wonder if maybe, just maybe, God allowed me to look into the eyes of her birth mother. Eternity will tell.

It's been so fun to hear so many people say that the girls look like twins. I thought perhaps it was just because they are Chinese…but, even here, many people think they look very much alike. It's been fun to see them skipping down side walks together and through the hallways. I love being a dad.

Roots and wings. The roots go deep in China. People here have Dynasties of history compared to a few centuries in America. And now my family has a little bit of roots in China…we join the dynasties.

But the wings of my girls and China are spreading. My girls, along with many others adopted from China, have a bright future ahead because they have a "forever family." The wings of faith are also spreading in China, and we witnessed it often. All the indicators point to the fact that there is a real surge of Christianity in China. Yet of course, there is much more the Spirit will yet do in the years ahead. And many more children need homes in our world. The job is not done.

I have been refreshed during our time. It's always good to get a different perspective for a time. This trip confirms the importance of FCC's world outreach in my heart.

Attached are a couple pictures…I wish I were brave enough to dance in public. I never tire of seeing my girls have fun. Kathy and I are enjoying some "couch time." And Dane is practicing his "Chinese Yo-Yo."

Looking forward to our "Party" back at FCC…Sunday, April 25 @ 6:30 pm. We invite everyone to come!

See you soon...Tom

Swimming, Red Couch and Pearl River

2010-04-05T09:53:00.002-04:00

re-enactment of the first photo of Lily during our stay at the White Swan in '04

He is risen............................

2010-04-04T06:29:00.003-04:00

Five of us headed to church this morning for the Easter celebration. It was the normal group on Sunday morning...me and the kids. The only difference was that we walked to church. Tom came a little late and left really early as he wasn't feeling well. We enjoyed the service at Shamian Christ Church. This is a Three Self Church in China; self-supporting, self-propogating, self-governing....basically a government sanctioned church. Anybody is free to attend a Three Self Church; unlike the international churches which only can welcome internationals. We attended the service that had moth Mandarin and English. It was good to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with believers who were both Chinese and other nationalities. We enjoyed the children's choir and the string instruments. We also enjoyed telling others, "Jesu wa ay ni. (hey-zu eyed knee)" which means "Jesus Loves you."

After church we went back to the hotel to check on Tom. He was still down so we grabbled some money and took off! We hit a few of the shops. Lorissa, I got all of your things with the exception of the painting...still working on that. One of the shop owners is trying to get the artist to come to the island. The girls picked some things out for their classmates and two teachers. I made a few purchases for friends. We then went to Lucy's (again) for lunch. If Tom was well, we would have ventured off of the island, but decided safe was best. We didn't want to eat the Easter dinner at the White Swan because it was 480 RMB per person...app. 70USD per person...yes, you read that right. After Lucy's we returned to the hotel to check on Tom....still down so we grabbed more money and took off! This time we stopped at Starbuck's prior to allowing the girls to play at the park near the school. We also took some photos with statues from around the island. As all who know who have adopted, the island has several throughout. I even allowed the boys to take my photo with the fat lady by Lucy's....the only woman I've seen in China that is bigger than me! As we were making our way back to the hotel to check on Tom, we found him walking towards us. He joined us for a small walk and some time in the playroom with the girls.

We are now taking it easy for the rest of the day...ordering Papa John's for dinner! Tomorrow we are having dinner on a boat as part of the night cruise on the Pearl River. We hope Tom feels better to go along. We have decided to not push it the rest of our trip. We've done some pretty amazing things and have seen quite a bit. It's time to slow down and get ready for our return home.

TJ, missed you at church today. Know that we thought of you often and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday night. We love you!

Thanks, again, for everyone that is following!

He is risen indeed,

Visiting Yangjiang Social Welfare Institute

2010-04-03T10:00:00.005-04:00

Lily with Mrs. Wu

The girl on the right is the one being adopted by the famiy in the states. The girl next to her was found and brought to the orphanage just a few weeks ago.

Lily on the playground at the orphanage

the family with Mrs. Wu and the orphanage director

the view one direction down the road from the orphanage

the view the other way

The spot where they found Lily on the day she was born. It used to be the gate to the orphanage.

the girls with their new Barbie's.

Today was Lily's turn to see her city and her orphanage. First, let me say that it truly was a good day and I am gratefull for them allowing us to visit. Oh, by the way, Guangdong Province has a new policy and to visit an orphanage you have to pay 800RMB (app. $130 USD).

Yangjiang City has a population of about 2 million...according to our guide. Yangjiang City is known at the "cutting capital" as many cutting tools are made in Yangjiang. It also is close to the ocean so their is some tourist pull to the east. When we drove down the alley I was surprised that the gate to the orphanage was no longer there and major construction was beginning to happen. Lily was found at the gate of the orphanage. Just beyond the gate was a rather lengthy drive/walkway to the main building of the SWI. Currently, there is only enough width for two cars in front of the building. We were told they are building a new facility for special needs children. Like most Social Welfare Institutes in China, Yangjiang houses orphaned children, special needs children, children/adults with developmental disabilities and the elderly.

There was not much of a celebration or fanfare with our visit. There were no gifts given to Lily, but they were kind. We first met Mrs. Wu, the Assistant Director...maybe. It was at that time that I spotted the little girl that will be adopted by a family that contacted me to try to get some pictures. I don't want to share much without mom's approval, but I will have to say it was a special moment for me to give her a small gift from her family, a picture of them where I pointed out who was mommy and daddy and to take a few pictures of her. I threw in some dum dum suckers and later was thrilled to see her willingly sharing with the other children and the two adults with developmental disabilities. I sent the mom some photos so I know they will be a blessing to her and her family. Actually, the blessing was mine!

I also was asked to look into how a little girl, age 2 1/2 was doing. They were not going to allow us into the baby room, but decided to let me in. Tom followed. All of the babies were sleeping and I got a few pics of the little girl. She is certainly a cutie! Someone I know is advocating for her and would like to find an adoptive family. Lisa, feel free to post in comments on where to go for that information. I'll leave it up to Lisa if she wants to share her special need. I got a quick count of babies on my way out...about 34. When I walked out of that room I had the same emotions when I walked out in 2004. These babies were probably between nine months and maybe 3 years old. I'm not sure why they are still. I'm not sure if they are in the process of being adopted or not. I was really sad leaving that room....really sad. But like I did in '04, I held it in until I got off the property.

We then went and sat in the large meeting room with the Director and Assistant Director. I wanted to meet with them and yet I just wanted to get out of there! We had a nice conversation about some of the families I know through the yahoo group. We also told them that our travel group gets together every year and nine of those children are from Yangjiang. Two families from our group gave money to get something for the orphanage. We were encouraged to not get anything to large, so we simply purchased a lot of fresh fruit, fruit candies and an assorment of other snack foods. We gave those to the Director prior to taking a photo with them.

We then made our way to Lily's finding location.....where the gate would have been about a month ago! I took a few photos down the alley each way. We jumped in the van and headed to KFC for lunch. We were quite the attraction there! After lunch we headed to a local store to purchase an assorment of cutting tools made in the city; two sets of kitchen knives for the girls, a few daggers, pocket knives, nail clippers. I also bought a tea pot for my sister Karen...for her 50th birthday...a little late!

We then returned to Shamian Island where we had dinner at Lucy's. Lucy's is one of the few places still open on the island. There are only a handful of shops open right now, which is strange. We then returned to our hotel where we found three Barbie "Going Home" dolls in our rooms! I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not, but everyone was pretty psyched. These Barbie's are unique to the White Swan. It's your typical blonde, skinny Barbie holding an Asian baby. Each of the girls have one from their adoption trips. Now we have three more. We are going to donate one to raise money for Tim and Tara Williams as they are raising funds for the adoption of their third child. We were in the same travel group when we adopted Lily. I'm not sure how I will sell it...either give it directly to them or put it on ebay. I know, in better economic times, they sold on ebay for $200.00. Anyone want to offer that price now? It's yours if you do!

So, today was a good day. Sad in some ways, but still very good! We are so grateful that God put Lily in our family! She's been a blessing to many...and I'd like to think that the emotions I had that day in the Yangjiang SWI in 2004 is what challenged me to join with others in our church to start and adoption/orphan care ministry. I'm thrilled to be part of a church that recognized the importance of caring for orphaned children across the street and around the world. So, the Pahls' have started the paperwork to adopt from China. Who's next?

Tomorrow we take a break from things and will attend church on the island and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! We are so looking forward to that! No, the Easter Bunny did not travel to China with us, but the real meaning for Easter did! We celebrate Him tomorrow! Hope you celebrate Him, too! God bless.

Lily's Story

2010-04-02T08:07:00.002-04:00

Lily's second referral photo

Lily with her blanket

Lily and I waiting on her passport

The attempted Red Couch Photos for the 12 girls from our travel group.

The first photo of us with Lily on "Gotcha Day."

Today we arrived in Ghuangzhou, the city where we spent most of our time when we travelled to pick up Lily. We were with 11 other families that got girls from this province; nine were from the same orphanage as Lily....Yangjiang Social Welfare Institute.

Adoption from China was much different back then. It took me about 10 weeks to process our dossier. We logged it in on March 30, 2004. We requested as young as possible, healthy girl. Our referral followed in just a few months...September. Right now I believe families are waiting almost 4 years for as young as possible. We travelled in late October and toured Beijing with our travel group. It was on November 1st of 2004 that we got Lily!

She was 11 1/2 months on that day. She had a cold and we could tell that she was delayed developmentally since she couldn't sit up, roll over or hold her head up very well. We also found out that night that she had not eaten food other than the rice/cereal mixture and she couldn't eat without throwing up. It was on the second day that we had her that she started to get pretty sick and we had to take her to the local clinic. As for the orphanage visit, we decided to have Tom keep Lily at the hotel while I went to visit the orphanage. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive. Plus, I needed a break. She was so connected to me that I barely had a free moment. The time alone with Tom was good. And my time with Teresa on the bus to Yangjiang was good! We had Lily for about five days when we made that visit. The referral photo had become flesh and I held her in my arms and sang over her for several days. Visiting the orphanage was an overwhelming experience for me. As for as orphanage standards go, it was a good place. It was clean. I believe she got a bath most days. She wasn't tiny by any means so I know she was fed. Her development told me that she probably spent a lot of time in bed. I don't have the pictures of the bed with me, although you could find it on the family blog somewhere. There wasn't a mattress, just te wood planks. Anyway, it was an emotional time for me to see the orphanage. My only regret is that I didn't take Tom. Lily would have been fine. It's okay now, because he gets to see it tomorrow! We leave bright and early at 7:30 a.m. We'll visit the orphanage, have lunch and then stop and purchase some things famous from Yangjiang....kites and cutting tools of different sorts.

The White Swan looks the same, but the island does not. :( It once was bustling with activity, but is now under construction to prepare for the Asian Games. There are just a few shops open so we'll hit them in the next few days. We did go to an Italian place on the island for dinner....it was really good!

Many of you who know me know that Lily really changed my life...in big and small ways. First, my color preferences were always earthtones and Lily brought pinks and purples into my life! I NEVER have my hair up and I've had to learn to do hair! In more profound ways, she's just made me a better person. What started out as "me wanting a daughter" turned into being so much more. Yes, she has probably made me a bit softer, a bit more emotional, a bit more loving. Tomorrow we'll visit Yangjiang.....Lily's first home.

Lily was found on the sidewalk at the front gate of the orphanage on November 17, 2003. They believed that this was also the day she was born. I am posting a picture of Lily with her blanket when we first got her. We have that blanket with us today as she has not slept one night without it since November 1, 2004! It is well loved! (That's the kind way of saying, "It's really gross!") Her red thread runs from Yangjiang to our home. Like Sarah, she was known to be part of our family before the beginning of time! We are so thankful that what started with my selfish desire to have a daughter has become one of the biggest blessings in our life!

Dinner with Foster Family

2010-04-01T09:27:00.002-04:00

Girls swimming..had to wear caps

Sarah

Lily

Food from dinner...yikes

The two families together. The foster parents have one son who is married with one son. The grandson is peaking through his grandfathers jacket.

Two sets of parents

Girls dresses

This will be short because quite frankly, Tom and I are not feeling the greatest. We didn't feel well this morning so we took the day rather slow.

We allowed the girls to swim a bit this morning since it was the warmest day. I think it got up to 80, but I just can't take the time to figure out the switch from celsius!

We went to McDonald's for lunch. We then went to Walmart because I wanted to purchase a few things for a girl that lives at the Yangjiang Social Welfare Institute that will be adopted by an American couple. Please pray that the door will be open to meet her so I can give her this small gift from her family. In turn, I want to give the family a gift through pictures and information.

After our trip downtown, we went back to the People's Park. We promised Sarah that she could ride a few rides. I was a bit anxious about that, but we did it. We then went on ANOTHER boat ride. I was on park overload so I returned to the hotel for a nap while Tom fed the fish with the girls....AGAIN!!!!

This evening we had dinner with the foster family. I'm not sure how much I said yesterday, but this is a wonderful family. They have been so sweet to all of us and have loved on the girls equally. Dinner was their treat and we did our best to be grateful guests. We had rice, duck, crab, shrimp, goose, lamb, chicken, fish (in it's entire bodily form) and peanuts. The boys tried everything. Lily ate peanuts and Sarah ate peanuts and rice. Tom and I tried everything as well, and I think we are paying for it now.

We talked more about our life in the states. They had a hard time grasping what Tom does for a job and why people would pay him to do that job! Too funny.

At the end of the dinner she presented us with many gifts. The girls received two dresses, leggings and hair thingy's. The boys each got an outfit, too. I doubt anyone will see them wear them though. I got a beautiful jade bracelet, but I might have to grease my wrist to get it on and off! Lol! It is absolutely beautiful! We also got several boxes of unknown dried fruit and a huge bag of unknown fresh fruit. We are grateful, but will likely bless the hotel staff with the food. We finished the evening with pictures and a long good-bye.

We welcome prayers as we travel to Ghaungzhou late in the morning. First, Tom and I need to feel better. We are looking forward to getting to our final destination as a family!

TJ, missed you more tonight than ever! We did get to talk about you a lot with the foster family. Know that we love you tons! Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Meeting the Foster Family

2010-03-31T07:53:00.004-04:00

Girls swinging at the Peoples Park

Outside of the apartment building of the foster family

Foster Mom (Ah-Moo) with the kids and the fruit basket we brought for them

On couch with foster mom...and the small fruit we ate..yikes

Sarah with her foster father

Sarah in her old bedroom

small plant on the porch...we have several photos of Sarah in front of the plant...both were much smaller

foster mom with the girls

boys with foster mom

sarah with her old bear and the picture of her with it

foster mom with kids as we were leaving

girls in front of wedding poster

We had a slow start today as we didn't have anything scheduled until our meeting with the foster family at 3:00. The kids loved the park so much so we went back. It is a rather large park so Tom, the girls and I explored a different part of the park and found a playground. The girls enjoyed swinging and playing on the equipment. The boys took off on their own and went on the boat again. Of course, we had to feed those fish again at 3:00 p.m. we headed over to a fruit market to purchase a basket of fruit as a gift for the foster family. We also stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some cough medicine for Lily. She has been coughing a lot so I was concerned. Well, the Chinese cough syrup didn't go over well and ended up all over me.

We arrived at the apartment complex at 3:30. It is a large complex and is much like the typical apartment in China. I've included a picture of the building that has the apartment in it. We waiting downstairs for the foster parents to come greet us. It was just like I had imagined....Ah-moo (that is what Sarah called her when she lived with them and is a term of endearment for an older lady in one's life) ran to us and first wrapped her arms around me and kissed me and then did the same with everyone else! Then the foster dad scooped Sarah up and carried her up to the apartment..on the sixth floor. He told us that he always carried her up the stairs since it was so high. The apartment was just as I had imagined, only smaller. There were two small bedrooms, big enough for a full-sized bed. The kitchen was very small. The living room had a couch, a few chairs, a television and a table. We spent about two hours together talking, laughing and crying. They insisted on us eating fruit with them. We ate two new fruits that were rather good. I'm a little concerned that the girls ate grapes. We were told not to eat fruit that isn't peeled. I hope we don't regret allowing them to eat it.

Our visit was a lot of fun as we shared stories of Sarah both when she was with them and now that she is with us. You'll notice a monkey in one of the pictures. When we heard that the foster brother had his first baby, the girls went to Build-A-Bear and made the monkey for him. We also got a wooden train set from Amish country. I took pictures of the girls making the monkey and sent them along with the monkey and the train. It was great to see both the monkey and the train. There was also this white bear. Sarah said, "That was my bear." When Sarah would look at her pictures from China she would always ask me, "Where is my white bear? Why don't I have it?" I would just explain that the foster family could not send it. They gave Sarah that bear. I added a picture of her holding the bear and the photo album with her and the bear in it. It was fun to look at all of the photo albums. Two were from us and there were others of other foster children. They had fostered six children; Sarah being the last.

We all just love the foster mom....she is very loving.....and talked so much. The foster dad was very quiet. We knew that he had spent some time working in Africa as an engineer. We were surprised to hear that he was still working there and had come home the week before to meet us. He will be home for one month. We also got to spend time with the foster brother who is a security officer for a bank. We did not meet his wife as she was working at the bank. We did get to meet the granson, but he was pretty shy. I was so impressed with how well they treated all of the kids. They even gave Lily a stuffed animal. And the foster mother kept hugging on the boys throughout our visit.

After our visit we all walked down to the courtyard where the foster mom would tell everyone something where we only understood "xiao ning." I'm sure she was telling everyone that this was Xiao Ning who used to live with them. We made arrangements to meet for dinner tomorrow evening near our hotel. I'll do better at getting pictures of all of us together.

Again, Sarah lived with them for 18 months! What a blessing to have met them and to have speak to them in Mandarin, "Thank you for taking care of and loving our daughter until we could bring her home." What a special time we had today. Sarah was so happy the entire time although she said she did not have any memory of the apartment. She was bold enough to ask to see her room, which we did. She shared a room with the foster parents.

Another good day for "Sarah's Story."

After our visit, Tom and I decided to eat Chinese for dinner. The boys didn't want anything to do with it, so we gave them money for McDonald's and a taxi....gave them the necessary hotel information for their return and sent them on their way! You should have seen their eyes when they realized we were allowing them to take off on their own. Not to worry.....they are now safe in the hotel! I added a photo of their girls in front of a wedding banner. There have been six weddings in this hotel since we have been here. All of them have these banners made. The bride and groom greet everyone at the banner in their wedding clothes and give them a small gift and/or snack. It has made for conversations with the girls about their weddings...too funny!

Tomorrow we are free most of the day. We'll have dinner with the foster family. We leave for Ghanzhou on Friday morning. We are looking forward to the White Swan hotel...a familiar place for most Americans who adopt from China. It is where the final in-country swearing ceremony is at the US Consulate. The medical exams take place there as well. Since Lily was a Guangdong baby, we stayed at the White Swan the entire time. We will also enjoy Shamian Island, where the hotel is located. I understand it is under construction, but will still be a great place to finish up our trip. We have great memories with our travel group from our Lily adoption trip in 2004...hope we get rooms on the seventh floor! The girls have such different stories. Sarah has a connection with her foster parents. Lily has a connection with the other girls that were adopted at the same time. If Lily's "China Sisters" are following.....stay tuned.....Ghangzhou here we come!

After AML.....

2010-03-30T09:08:00.006-04:00

Black couch photo of Nanning

The girls in the lobby of the hotel

Girls feeding fish

Dane and girls feeding the fish

Tom and I in the boat with the girls

View of the park from the boat

Boys in the boat

(This is the second post today. The first post was about AML.)

After we got back to the hotel we decided to head downtown to eat lunch and go to Walmart. There are too many of us to fit into one taxi so we went in two. Ty and Lily went with me and Sarah and Dane went with Tom. We each had the same destination written on a card, "McDonald's by Walmart." We arrived first and waited outside for ten minutes. They didn't come. Ty and I decided that the best thing to do would be practical....eat lunch, shop at Walmart and meet up with the other three at the hotel when we were done. That is what we did. When we returned to the hotel, the three of them were waiting on the front steps all worried. They decided to visit all of the McDonald's in town and return to the hotel without eating because they thought that would be the nicest, more concerned thing a person would do. Sorry, not practical! I figured we were at the right McDonald's because it was right next to Walmart. I figured they would find us or do what we did...eat, shop, return.

When they got back from their lunch, we headed over to the People's Park. We have a lot of photos of Sarah at this park with her foster family. It was also a place we enjoyed visiting several times when we travelled her to get Sarah in 2006. In many ways, it is a beautiful park. There is a small zoo, a small amusement park and a lake. We first stopped and fed the fish. The boys saw that they rented out boats to ride on the lake. I wasn't too thrilled about it, but i went along with it. The boats just didn't look that safe. We aren't certain if the boats ran on gasoline or electric. We simply turned a know and off we went. The boys had their own boat. After the boat ride we walked for a while in the park. The rides were closed for the day....whew, I wasn't so sure allowing them to ride them would be a good idea. Tom thinks otherwise and promised the girls we would go tomorrow or the next day. Yikes!

Tomorrow we are free most of the day. At 3 p.m. we will leave to visit the home of Sarah's foster family. I'm excited about seeing the home. We did not get to see it on our last trip. Sarah's foster family no longer fosters. They care for their grandson who was born not long after we adopted Sarah. Sarah was her sixth and final foster child. It is very common in China for the grandparents to care for their grandchild while the parents work. After a visit with them, we are taking them out to dinner.

Ty and Dane might not like me sharing this, but they are swimming right now. They only swim in the dark! Lol. The hotel has a policy that if you swim, you have to wear swim caps and speedo-like trunks. I promised that I would not take their pictures, but it is oh so tempting!

A Mother's Love....a wonderful orphanage...part of Sarah's story

2010-03-30T08:49:00.003-04:00

The last time we were at A Mother's Love Orphanage it was one of the most heartbreaking times ever! We had Sarah for several days and decided to meet the foster family at the orphanage. We felt pretty good about how Sarah was doing and thought it was an opportunity that we should not miss. Our visit in 2006 was good, but the visit came to an abrupt end. We had no idea why the director ended our visit without a warning. She pulled Sarah from the arms of her foster father and put her in our arms. Sarah was so upset that she screamed and kicked most of the way back to the hotel. She was screaming and crying. I was attempting to comfort her while I cried. It was one of the most heart-wrenching times ever.

Today, the circumstances were so different! We pulled into the street where AML is located. We first stopped at the original location of AML. The building is extremely run down and obviously is not cared for. Sadly, it sits empty. The orphanage could no longer afford the rent so they moved across the street into an apartment building. I think they have several apartments in the building. The old building is dirty beyond imagination and the courtyard which was once neatly landscaped was full of weeds. The old statue was still there as well.

We walked up towards what looked like a typical old apartment building in China. It was probably five stories high and was simply grey concrete. We were greeted by the Director, the same woman that handed Sarah to me in May of 2006. Her first words were, "Xiao Ning looks exactly the same!" We had a great conversation about Sarah and some of the things that interest her. We also talked about the orphanage. AML once used to take special needs children from around Guangxi Province. Not all orphanages were able to process international adoptions so many children were transferred to AML to be adopted. As time has gone on, the other orphanages began to process their own adoptions and the focus of AML changed. AML currently cares for 11-13 children with developmental disabilities. As many of you may know, this population of people have become near and dear to my heart as I serve on staff with Community Employment Services, a branch of Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Most of the children currently at AML have several disabilities, cerebral palsy being one of the main disabilities. Sadly, all were abandoned by their families because of their special needs. These children will never know the love of a forever family, but are loved and cared for by the staff of AML. AML is associated with A Mother's Love out of Hong Kong; a Catholic charity. We took a tour of the facility and found the kids getting ready for lunch. This lunch was slightly different as they were preparing it themselves as part of their training to learn skills to one day live on their own. I have one picture of them preparing lunch, but have decided to not post pictures of the children besides this one photo. I told the Director about my work as a Job Developer for adults with developmental disabilities and she jokingly said I could return to help them look for work in the future. We then went into another room where there were jewelry hanging on the wall underneath the photo of the child that made the jewelry. I was blown away with this, because it was their workshop. It was small room, but much good takes place in this little room. It was a touching experience for me because I love to visit the workshop of Fairfield Industries when I am at work. I have included some of the pictures from this little room, a picture of the jewelry I purchased (most will be going to the women I work with because I know it will have so much meaning to them as it does to me), and a picture of the mission statement of the workshop. Here is what the statements says, "Mother's Love Xin Xiang Workshop. We are the children who living and growing up at Mather's Love. The artware in our workshop are finished with our own hands, it is a stage for us to learn how to be self-supporting, and to find ourselves a new field. When we find ourselves finished a work with a deep concentration, we feel so much love and satisfaction, meanwhile our concentration and functional coordination between eyes and hands can be trained too. We expect more supports and applauds for our beginning. The earning from our sales of work would be helpful for replenishing the materials of the handicrafts and useful for our lives. Welcome to our workshop. Thank you so much for your generous supports and participation and we also hope you can enjoy our handicrafts." I have purchased a lot of things in my three trips to China. I've purchased pearls, jade, artwork, silk, etc. The ten bracelets I purchased today are probably the most valuable of purchases I have ever made from China….no doubt! I am proud of AML and the fact that my little girl has a connection to a place that is doing much good!

After the tour of the facility we went into the director's office where we were given the opportunity to view Sarah's file. We found out MORE information to "her story." Sarah actually came to AML on July 19, 2004 when she was only 12 days old! She stayed in the old facility until she was four months old. It was at that time that she was placed in the home of her foster family. We got to look at a few more pictures and even saw pictures of Tom and I in her file. At this time the director presented both Lily and Sarah with a doll representing one of the minority people groups of Guangxi Province. At the end of our visit we got to talk with one of the newer staff members who is originally from Fujian Province, but lived in New York City for 25 years. I would like to write more about our conversation, but this isn't the time or place. Let's just say that we have MUCH in common with this man!

We ended our visit talking more about Sarah and expressed our gratitude for AML for caring for her until we were able to get her. We then let them know that we will continue to pray for AML and the chilren that make their home there. We then left A Mother's Love. In 2006 it was with kicking and screaming. Today, she skipped down the walkway holding a precious doll.

Old AML

New AML

Sarah in front of the sign on AML

Sarah and the Director

Orphanage Kids cooking

Workshop Jewelry

Workshop Mission Statement

Jewelry

Sarah with her doll

Sarah with a photo of her in her younger days.

Quinzhou (Cheen-joe)

2010-03-29T05:08:00.005-04:00

Building which the fifth floor housed Sarah for two months.

Sarah with the head nanny.

A view of the backside of the original building of the current facility for the orphanage.

Family with head Nanny and medical lady. Sarah has her love ball.

Sarah in front of the sign forever good wishes bridge...Note: this is the same shot I posted last night

View into what was formly the countryside

View from the bridge into the city

Sarah on the bridge

Sarah and the photo of the police officier

Sarah with her french fries, fork, ketchup and coke.

Sarah sleeping on the return trip with her Love Ball.

Today we visited Quinzhou, the city where Sarah was first found and then lived in that Social Welfare Institute for two months. Qhinzhou has a population of about 600,000....a small city in China's standards. The city is known for the water ports, dolphins and pearls. It is located about 62 miles north of Vietnam. The name of the city comes from the Qin Dynasty and means, "A city entitled by emporer."

Sarah was found on July 8, 2004 with a note on her saying she was born the day before. She was found on the Number 2 bridge, also known as "The Forever Wishes Bridge." A local policeman found her and transported her to the local orphanage on that day. They gave her the name, "Min Xiao Ning." "Min" is the surname given to every baby that first his his/her home in the Quinzhou SWI. "Xiao" means "morning" and "Ning" means "Peaceful." Xiao Ning lived for two months at the local orphanage before they transported her to Nanning to be part of the foster parenting program of A Mother's Love. It was at that time Sarah was placed in the home of her foster parents.

Our first stop today was at the SWI. I can't recall the position of the first woman we met, but Tom believes she is the doctor. We then got to meet the Head Nanny. The babies of the orphanage used to live in the fifth floor of a building over a car dealership. From what I understand, they no longer use that floor and have moved all aspects of the orphanage to the facility behind this building. Like most orphanages, they also house the elderly and the sick. We were told there are about 100 children still associated with the orphanage, but that many of them are now in foster homes through two sponsorship programs overseas. I know that one of them is "Grace and Hope." Prior to leaving, they presented Sarah with her own Love Ball and gave Lily a purse.

After the orphanage we headed to the finding location on the bridge. We aren't certain where on the bridge she was found so we took several pictures. As I mentioned already, when we last visited this bridge is was the day before we received Sarah. We took plenty of pictures then. That was May 14, 2006. Sidenote, we got Sarah on Mother's Day 2006! When we visited the bridge in 2006 it looked much different than it does today. In fact, the way the bridge looked then gives us a better idea of some of Sarah's story. Then, when standing on the bridge facing the city, there were building upon buildings. When you turned around facing away from the city, it was all countryside. There were small farming plots everywhere you looked and several water buffalo. Because of the surroundings of this bridge and the fact that Sarah was born the day before, we believe Sarah came from the countryside where her biological family were probably rural farmers. They probably travelled into the city and left her on the bridge which was then the edge of the city. Tom and I were shocked how much things have changed since our last visit. The countryside is no longer in view from the bridge as there are many buildings and streets. We were blown away!

After the visit to the bridge we headed over to the police station where the officer works that had found Sarah. He was out of town for training. There is a large billboard with the officers names and pictures so we took a picture of Sarah in front of it.

After the visit to the police station we headed to what we were told was a western cafe. Sarah, being the westerner that she has become, ate french fries with a fork, dipped in ketchup. She drank a coke! After lunch we headed back to Nanning.

What was Sarah's response to all of this? The only thing I can note at this time is that she was beaming. As one of five, I could tell that she was feeling something special like, "This is my city, this is my story." I'm thrilled that we captured some pictures for her so as she grows up and processes "her story" she'll have a better understanding of things.

I have some thoughts that I think are hard to put words to explain them completely. Maybe som AP will understand. I've known three of my children since their births. TJ, who was adopted, came to us straight from the hospital. As a mom, it's somewhat hard to grasp that this child that I love so very much had 22 months without me. She was placed on a bridge alone to be found. She was taken to an orphanage where she lived for two months. She was then transferred to another orphanage where she was placed into a wonderful foster family. She lived with them for 20 months. Her world was probably tore up as she was placed in our arms in May of 2006 as all she knew was gone. The adjustment was a challenging one for her as she was attached to my hip and for months would cry if ever I left her. It was nearly a year that she would wake up and scream if I were not in sight. A huge turning point for me was when we had Sarah for 22 months. It was then that I could say, "We've had her longer than the time we didn't have her." That was huge for me. "The Red Thread" is a common term for thos of us who have adopted from China. Sarah's red thread runs from an unknown farmers home, to a bridge, to two orphanages to a foster home to her home with us. We are grateful to China for allowing us to adopt Sarah! Moreso, I have to say that bigger than China is a big God who had great plans for a little baby. His plan was from the beginning of time! It was then that he knew about this red thread...His thread... and how a little baby named "Min Xiao Ning" would become "Sarah Jo Xiaoning Alexander." To Him we give glory and praise for His plan!

2006

2010-03-28T08:39:00.002-04:00

Decided to go back into my old yahoo group from when we travelled to get Sarah. The photos are: one of the early photos of Sarah that came with her file...the first we saw her face. One is of her at A Mother's Love....before we got her. One is on Gotcha Day! Love that photo. The other is the bridge location where Sarah was found.

Arrived in Nanning!

2010-03-28T07:32:00.002-04:00

(sorry, no pictures today)
We survived the hotel in Yangshou!

We have now conquered several forms of transportation in China...planes, trains, taxi's, van's, motorbike (Tom), a boat and a bus. The bus was another one of those experiences that you just have to have had in China. The bus was packed with over fifty people! It was non-stop from Guilin to Naning....five hours. We did have a brief stop to use the WC...wash closet, I think. The girls and I have conquered the squattie potty! I was a little anxious after our stop when the driver kept honking the horn. Several passengers were still not on the bus, Ty and Dane being two of them! They were two of the last three that made it back....with oreos in their hands. It's funny, but we really don't eat Oreos much at home, but they are the cookie of choice for us in China! Now to more important things.

We are in the Majestic Hotel in Nanning! Our guide is Glenn and the first thing he said was, "Sarah, welcome home!" Any mom knows that when you revisit "the firsts" it is a fun ride! We rode past the Lottery Hotel, the building that houses the government offices. This was where we first met Sarah! We then pulled into the Majestic Hotel. Just like the first trip here, there was a wedding taking place so the lobby was decked out. Sarah is just grinning like crazy because this is her placen and no one elses! I gave the girls a bath and remembered Sarah's first bath in the same place. It's a wild time!

Tomorrow we are headed to Qinzhou City, south of Nanning about two hours. We will visit Sarah's finding location. I will share more about that tomorrow. When we travelled here in 2006 to get Sarah, we visisted this spot as well. The difference is that when we visited it, we had not received Sarah yet. I'm thinking it will be a brand new experience for all of us now that Sarah has been an Alexander for several years now. One of the things we will do is pray together on that very spot and show God our gratitude for the red thread that runs from that spot to our house on Autumn Dr. in Lancaster, Ohio! Amazing! I look forward to holding Sarah on that very spot. After the finding spot we are headed to the local police station. We have the name of the officer that found Sarah that day and are hoping to find him tomorrow. How cool would that be? He was the one that transported her from the finding location to the orphanage. Here is some really wild news. Glenn told us that the Qinzhou SWI is allowing us to visit tomorrow! For some reason I thought they never allowed visitors. I am looking forward to the visit. I really don't know how long Sarah was there though...might have been just a few days.

We have also connected with Sarah's foster family and will be joining them later in the week. I think we are having lunch in their home. We'll also visit A Mother's Love....the second orphanage that was home for Sarah and the orphanage that operated the foster parenting program.

I know our church family at Fairfield Christian Church will be having services in about an hour and a half. We are so grateful to our church to allow Tom to have this experience with us! Thank you to the elders who supported us in the grant proposal! Our family is so very blessed! We will miss worshipping with you today!

Yangshou (Young-show)

2010-03-27T08:58:00.002-04:00

Again, are reasons for coming to Yangshou was because the boat ride was supposed to end here. It is a tourist town....only about 60,000 people live here....small in the way of Chinese cities. The biggest draw here is the bike-riding in the country, the night life and the shopping. Well, we couldn't ride bikes in the country because of the girls. We aren't much into night-life activities. As for shopping? Typically we are not shoppers, but we managed to buy a few things. I first have to share information about our hotel. We were told that the New Century Hotel was a four-star hotel. Yes, it is one of the better hotels in Yangshou, but....oh, oh....first impression was not good! I'd give it a two or three-star. Somehow the condoms on the bedside table was part of the not-so-good first impression. They are 10 yuan each, about $1.50 USD!!!! Oh, and next to that was a big sign on why condoms should be used! The girls room smelled pretty bad so I went through a bottle of "Febreeze To Go" on the curtains and the chairs. The housekeeper came up to help and insisted that leaving the windows open would help. I opened them while we were out to air out the room, but open windows on the sixth floor doesn't set well with me so they are now closed. Plus, a sign in the room says to keep the windows closed and locked so people won't come in!

Western Street in Yangshou is closed to cars and motor bikes. I would say it is similar to Gatlinburg, minus the Putt Putt Golf and Go Karts! Of course, you have to bargain with the shop owners as they always ask an extremely high price. Our guide will whisper in my ear how much is reasonable and then I tell Tom. When the shop owner refuses to bring the price down, we say "Tie gwala." That means "too high." We walk away and then they come after us and say, "ok, ok." The girls got a couple of fans and a new purse with some "happy goat" on it. The Happy Goat is a cartoon they have been watching...they love it. Ty bought a t-shirt. Dane bought a musical flute of sorts. It is actually some type of vegetable. Tom was able to play it rather quickly and several stopped to watch him play "Amazing Grace." Too funny! I also bout a few "love balls." Love balls are these silk balls with embroidery on them. The Zhuang people of Ghangxi used to use these silk balls for courting. The girls would make their own silk balls and form a line. The boys would line up in front of them. The girls would sing out a question one at at time and then toss their silk ball to a particular boy. He would catch the ball and then sing back his answer. At the end of the game the girl would decide who she wanted to court and toss it to the boy of her choosing. If he caught it, he was interested. If he let it drop to the ground, he wasn't interested. This was a custom from a long time ago. Since then, the silk balls are now given from one person to another to show their genuine love and/or appreciation to them.....no longer used for courting.

We are now back at our luxurious hotel! I've also attached the "Tan Leather Couch Photo of Yangshou."

Tomorrow morning we head back to Guilin where we will catch a bus to Nanning. I'm looking forward to Nanning and staying at the Majestic Hotel. This is where we stayed when we travelled to adopt Sarah. These next few days will be mostly about Sarah. We will visit Qinzhou City (Cheen-joe) where Sarah was found on a bridge. We'll visit the bridge where she was found by a police officer. I am hoping to also make contact with the officer while we are there. We'll stop at the first orphanage, but Sarah was not there very long and they do not allow visitors. Since Sarah was found to have a congenital heart defect, she was moved to A Mother's Love Orphanage in Nanning and immediately placed in a foster home. We will get a few pictures of the first orphanage...Qinzhou City Social Welfare Institute. While in Nanning we will also visit A Mother's Love. AML is actually an orphanage affiliated with the Catholic church out of Hong Kong. We will also spend some time with Sarah's foster family in Nanning. They did a great job caring for Sarah for the 22 months she lived in China prior to the adoption. It will be good to spend time with them.

We are enjoying the comments and the emails. Thank you! TJ, the girls saw the moon early this evening and Lily said, "I am thinking of TJ." TJ, the girls love you so much! You have a special connection with them because the three of you have all been adopted. I know that you and Lily especially have a special bond. I thank God for that! You know there is nothing that brings a smile to her face more than being scooped up by her TJ! Thank you for being so special to both of them!

Good night from Yangshou!

Li River

2010-03-27T08:10:00.002-04:00

The Li River boat ride was one of the things I was looking forwrd to on this trip! I got a little concerned when our guide told us there would be a slight change because of the drought in Guilin. The river was pretty low so we couldn't take the boat clear down to Yangshou. We took it about 1/3 of the way and turned around and came back. Had I known this in advance, I would have cancelled the hotel in Yangshou and stayed in Guilin, but we had to stick with the itinerary.

There were many boats on the river, but that didn't take away from the beauty. Aren't the mountains amazing?! The sun came out a bit more towards the end of the trip which made it even more beautiful. With the boat ride came lunch. Now, I could see the kitchens and the activity in them in other boats and I wasn't sso sure it was a good idea to eat the lunch. I was hungry so we went for it...so far so good! They boys shared a table with a guy from Cincinatti. Ty enjoyed talking Ohio sports with him. The guy from Ohio and his guide enjoyed getting to drink the free bottle of beer that came with the boys' lunch. For some reason most meals come with free beer, but you have to pay for pop.

Today was a great last day in Guilin! Even thought the river was low and the ride cut short, we were disappointed. Great day!

Elephant Trunk Hill, Seven Stars Park and Reed Flute Cave

2010-03-26T04:51:00.002-04:00

We started our day at the Elephant Trunk Hill. Some of my adoptive family friends may be familiar with "Big Bird in China." If you are, you know the rock formation that I am speaking. I've attached a photo of the rock. This rock is located on the Li River in Guilin.

After the Elephant Trunk Hill, we headed over to the Seven Stars Park. China takes great pride in her parks and they are often busy with people walking and doing excercises. We saw a panda again...and a red panda and a few monkeys. We even saw a monkey running lose in the park. It reminded me of my trip to Cambodia with Toby! There was a beutiful waterfall....attached a photo. There is also a rock formation that looks like a camel.

After the park we found our way to KFC.....AGAIN!!!!! Tom was to bring us all french fries with our chicken but came to the table without any saying, "they don't have french fries." The girls were disappointed. We were all surprised to see others eating french fries. Tom talked with an American couple who informed him that they are not "french fries here, they are chips." So, we ordered some chips!

After lunch we headed out to Reed Flute Cave. It was a nice enough cave, but when you've been to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, nothing compares. We are done early today and will venture out for Chinese food for dinner. We are sick of the Chinese KFC's!

The kids are all doing well. Tomorrow we will be going down the Li River to Yangshou. We will spend the night there. I'm not sure if we'll have access to internet there. We head back to Guilin on Sunday morning to catch a bus to Nanning...the city where Sarah lived most of her first 22 months.

Longsheng Minority Village

2010-03-26T04:40:00.002-04:00

Here are more photos from our day yesterday at the Longsheng Minority Village. They are:
a woman selling things on the side of the walkway. She has extremely long hair wrapped up on the top of her head; a view of the village on the way up; Family shot in the village; family shot from the top of the mountain; and a view from the top.

Guilin Day One

2010-03-26T04:35:00.002-04:00

Trying something new from the Business Center of the hotel. These pictures should be the views from both windows in our hotel room in Guilin. There is also the "Wood Couch Photo of Guilin," the third couch photo from three cities; three to go!

TJ, proud of you getting that job! After 21 days in China, I will look forward to a BMT from Subway! By the way, we have seen one Subway in Xi'an.

The village

2010-03-25T08:17:00.001-04:00

This is a view of the village on our way up the mountain.

Working on a special blog post titled, "Potty Options in China." Will highlight the five options for taking care of personal business while in China. I will even have pictures of the options! I know, you can't wait! Keep in mind that these pictures are pictures we have taken, not from others so we'll have first-hand knowledge of each! One will shock the heck out of you that Lily actually used....Sam, get ready....it's bad!

Longsheng Minority Village

2010-03-25T08:10:00.002-04:00

We are unable to get on Tom's laptop from Guilin so we can't access the program to decrease the size of pictures so I will only post one pic for today until we can figure somethng else out.

Our last day in Xi'an did not go as expected. The rain kept us from doing the scheduled events so we did what any good American would do on a rainy day...we went to the mall! We killed several hours in an arcade, ate lunch at a KFC (again). By the way, there are seven times as many KFC's in CHina than there are McDonald's. We hit a Dairy Queen on our way out of the mall before heading to the airport. The plane ride to Guilin was rough for a few reasons. First, the turbulence was absolutely terrible! Second, Sarah broke out in a major rash on her arms and trunk. She was miserable and I was anxious as I knew it was an allergic reaction to something, but had no clue what it was. The first thing I dug out of the suitcase when we claimed them was the Benedryl. She was fine within 20 minutes. She seems fine today.

We arrived last night and it was dark so we didn't see much. We were all either extremely tired or grumpy as we were greeted by our rather happy guide, Lee. We had a great day with her today, but last night I was concerned. She seemed to speak English rather well, but couldn't understand it. I got a little frustrated with something regarding our itinerary and she couldn't understand so I said, "I am not happy." Gosh, I was a bit too mean! Fortunately, I don't think she understood because she kept talking about other things.

But, His mercies are new every morning! Thank you, God! We all got a good nights sleep, Sarah's rash was gone and we ate fairly recognizable food for breakfast! After breakfast we met Lee and our driver out front of our hotel. Oh, by the way, the hotel is great. We have the most amazing views! Guilin is in the northern part of Guangxi Province, Sarah's birth province. It is known for it's mountains and water. If anyone is familiar with the not so famous DVD, "Big Bird in China" you would recognize this area by the unique mountains. The weather was supposed to be cloudy and rainy, but God knew we needed some sun...and He sent it! We drove 2 1/2 hours to the Longsheng Minority Village. I can't wait to post more pictures because it was an amazing day. The drive up the mountain was a bit frightening and having driven through the Smoky Mountains and White Mountains numerous times......neither compare to the wild ride of this mountain! The village can only be reached by foot once you get to a certain point. So, we got out of the van and started our hike. There were shops along the way and beautiful views. The women of this village do not cut their hair and have thier hair up in such a way that it looks like a black silk hat. One woman offered to comb out her hair for us for 10 RMB but we passed on it.

Hoping to figure out the laptop problem so we can blog from our room. Right now I am using the Business Center of the hotel and unfortunately, we don't have access to a program to make smaller pictures to send. Maybe tomorrow. We are going to a park and some caves tomorrow. THe following day is the ride down the Li River....looking forward to that.

TJ, still haven't heard from you regarding the good news. Email me through Ami's email address. If not, know that we all love you and miss you.

Guilin

2010-03-25T07:47:00.002-04:00

A view from our room in Guilin.

A View From the Middle Seat.......

2010-03-23T22:40:00.003-04:00

These were taken on our way from the Xi'an History Museum to the Terra Cotta Warrior Factory...too funny! Yes, we are wearing them all out!

See you in Guilin!

TJ, heard you have some good news.....waiting!

Long Day in Xi'an!

2010-03-23T11:12:00.002-04:00

Today was a crazy day as we crammed many things into it! We didn't have anything planned until 11 a.m. so we had the morning in the hotel. I found a few gifts nearby while I sent Tom out to find longer socks for the girls. He also found a Starbuck's while he was gone!

Our first stop late this morning was the Xi'an History Museum. I wish Tom wasn't sacked out right now because he would have much more to say than I will! I have already told you my idea of a tour of a museum. This museum had much to do about the Qin Dynasty and there were a lot of relics throughout. Quite honestly, I was more interested in finding the nearest bench or the nearest exit sign! After the museum we headed towards the Terra Cotta Warriors. We stopped first at the factory that makes the replicas of the warriors. We had a tour of the factory and made a few purchases of miniature warriors. We then went to the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. Our first stop at the museum was a KFC! Tyler was so bummed that they didn't have mac and cheese! I was bummed that they didn't have a western toilet! Oh, well.....when in Rome.

In all seriousness, I was really looking forward to seeing the excavation sight of the Terra Cotta Warriors. One of my regrets in having been to China twice was that I never got to go there. I was not disappointed! What an amazing find! In 1974 some farmers were digging a well when they came across the first finding of this treasure. They found the 2200 year old subterraneaun army of Emperor qin Shi Huang. There are three pits. Pit 1 has more than 6000 warrors, horses and wooden carriages. Pit 2 and has 350 chariots, 116 calvary horses and 900 soldiers. Pit 3 and is believed to represent the battlefield headquarters. Qin sure did want his mausoleum to be over the top! Amazing. I guess if immortality was impossible, the next best thing was to build a mausoleum like no other...and that is what Qin did!

After the museum we headed to a late dinner and show. The dinner was basically a dumping buffet of sorts. I can't say that I was that thrilled with it...neither were the girls. We had over ten different types of dumpling...in various shapes....walnuts, ducks, monkeys, etc.

After dinner we went to a local theater to watch a show. The girls loved it.....as did the rest of us. It was full of Xi'an folk music and dance. The girls loved the "White Sleeved Dance."

I'm not sure what photos Tom attached. I am thinking there are several from the TC Museum. I think there might be two of Ty and Dan'es head on top of a TC warrior. I don't think they will like that we posted them! We included one of a woman working on miniature soldiers. There is one of Lily and Sarah in front of Pit 1....several other photos of Pit 1. You'll notice one photo of the girls in front of a large warrior and a girl. These are puppets and you might recall them from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olumpics in China. I asked Tom to add a picture of one of the dumplings....the duck. And finally, one of the dances from the show.

Tomorrow we are leaving Xi'an. We are going to visit the city wall before we leave. I think the boys will go bike-riding on the top of the wall. We will stop at a Muslim market before heading out to the airport. We arrive in Guilin tomorrow night. We are looking forward to the mountains, the rivers and the caves.

Thanks for following!

Xian

2010-03-22T19:05:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,
Ok, this is Tom...Kathy's a bum and asleep in bed. We're in Xian...this was the original capital of China during the Qin Dynasty way back in 200 BC...the "Big Wild Good Pagoda" that is pictured was built around 650 AD.

Our guide was very informative about different beliefs in China. Confucianism was the wisdom of the intellects…not really a religion as much as just a collection of wisdom and how to live for the ruling class. Buddhism was for many years the religion of the common man until the Cultural Revolution begun by Mao in 1949. We have also heard many stories of the influence of Christianity on emperors and parts of China through its history. Buddhism came to China, according to our guide, from India. I'm not entirely enlightened on it all (yes, pun intended). Pictured is one of the Buddha's (a rare female Buddha) with many hands, indicating the thought that she is busy all the time.

Today was really not a busy day…we enjoyed walking around the park and just taking in life. We included a picture of the girls running down a path together. We have enjoyed watching them just be "sisters." Kathy and I were discussing how after walking around the city, people would enjoy going to the parks to escape the cluttered city life. 1.3 Billion people is a lot of folks in about the same space as we put .3 Billion people…quite a difference. I understand there are 147 cities over 3 Million in China compared to 9 in the states.

Saw on the news that health care reform passed in the states. See what happens when I take my eyes off of you for just a short period of time? At least I can say, "Not on my watch!"

Today we'll go see the Terra Cotta Warriors…praying for all of you in the states, and I'm reminded of how grateful I am for my "Beautiful Country" as the Chinese call us.
(This is Kathy) Ok, so I have dragged myself out of bed! For some reason I was totally worn out last nght. I fell asleep at 8:30 a.m. and slept straight through until 4:30, but stayed in bed listtening to my ipod....great praise time! Yeah, well, Tom sure got a lot more out of yesterday than I did! Anyone that knows me that if you put me in a museum, I prefer to walk at my pace from the entrance to the exit. Sure, I look at things, but I speed read and speed walk! Lol. The temple was interesting, but I found myself more interested in watching my girls interact with each other. Dane is not the interest in Xi'an as he was in Beijing. The difference here is that groups of peoploe will stop and stare and lean into each other as they look at us and talk. Wish I knew what they were saying. I am assuming it has something to do with a white family with two Asian girls who are dressed alike. We must have had four groups at different points do this. I don't know why, but it was starting to bother me. I found myself feeling a bit heavy last night and couldn't put my finger on it. Quite honestly, I think it had something to do with visiting the temple. I have turned that burden into praise as I am grateful to serve the one true God! There is hope beyond what any other faith can offer! There is life more abundant and free in a life committed to Christ! So glad that I don't need a gold statue of a woman with many hands or a statue of gold of Buddha.

I've added a photo of Tom and I titled, "The Steel Couch Photo of Xi'an." I don't expect any of you to get that, but that's okay. It's just something I humoring myself with on this trip. Many of the adoptive families know the importance of the "red couch photo" of the White Swan. This is a spin off of that....so I am going to post six couch photos of Tom and I in six cities....stupid, but humoring me. Not much else to say, but I am wondering who is left on American Idol.....Lol! By the way, not sure if anyone knows, but we can not access blogger from China so we are not seeing the blog. I hope you are enjoying it and I look forward to seeing it in its entirety when we return. A "shout out" to Tina from TSOY for being such a blessing to us in setting up the blog! Last thing, Tara D.......email me through the email link on the blog. I don't have your email address here and want to email you. Good to be on this side of the world with you, Tara! One day we'll actually meet in person!

TJ, missing you more than you know! Love you!

Goodbye Biejing, Hello Xi'an

2010-03-21T23:22:00.005-04:00

Our last day in Beijing was very sunny! We joined L and J at the Beijing Baptist Church where J preached and J and Tom sang together a beautiful song, "The Lord Is." After church we said our good bye to L and headed on our own to McDonald's....crowded. We went back to the hotel where the kids swam a little bit. After dinner we met Susan and headed to the train station.

We scheduled an overnight sleeper train from Beijing to Xi'an. Would I recommend it? Yes, if you are travelling light without little children. Do I regret it? No. It was the experience that we wanted, but we will not do it again. The sleeping quarters was nice, but the guy smoking next door was really getting to me so I slept with one of my dirty shirts over my face. Strange, but me dirty smells better than that! The biggest challenge was the squattie potty. We've been fortunate that most places have western toilets so I hadn't had to use one up to this point. There is only one thing more challenging than an overweight woman in her forties using a squattie potty on a fast-moving train....it's a 46 year old overweight woman helping a five year old use a squattie potty on a fast-moving train! I just kept thinking to myself, "Well, at least it is the pee of my daughter on my pantlegs and not that of a stranger." Lol! Everyone slept pretty well, with the exception of me. I got through with the help of the new Passion CD...thanks, Libby...that I had on my ipod.....and the smelly shirt. Oh, imagine my surprise later that night when I realized the toilet across from the one I used early was a western toilet......bummer!

We are in our hotel in Xi'an. All I can say is that I feel dirty all of the time. Any of my travel mates remember that feeling? Xi'an is overcast and seems dirty to me. I just need to get over that. This hotel is nice, but they want to charge me 7 USD to clean a pair of jeans so we are going to find someone to do our laundry for us in the city. Our new guide is Jerry. I'm not sure who are driver is but he sure does look like he is a Jimmy Buffet fan!
We are headed out shortly and will post again in a few hours. I still feel like I am swaying back and forth. I am hoping it is an aftereffect of the train and not the hotel!!! You never know!

Our time in Beijing was wonderful! We so loved our time with Susan and seeing L and J. I have only had one brief moment where I asked myself, "What were you thinking about when agreeing to travel around China for 21 days with four children?!?!?" I can't camp out on that too long. Right now I am really happy. I have showered and washed my hair....even brushed my teeth! Time to hit the roads of Xi'an!

TJ, thinking of you every day and praying for you every time we pray! The Chinese have a saying, "If you sneeze, someone is thinking of you. If you sneeze twice, someone is saying bad things about you. If you sneeze three times, you are getting a cold." When Lily sneezes, she says, "TJ is thinking of me." You might want to call some evening around 7 p.m. We love you!

Summer Palace & Zoo

2010-03-20T10:20:00.003-04:00

Today was Saturday in Beijing. We started out our day at The Summer Palace. Things looked a bit different around the city on the way there. We realized that a dust/sand storm had made its way through the city during the night and there was this haze everywhere. Plus, the cars were coated with a layer of sand/dust. It was extremely windy so we moved through the palace grounds rather quickly. I remember this part of our trip in 2004. The thing I remember most is thinking how miserable our travel friend Dale looked as he carried his then 5 year old daughter around The Summer Palace as she was really tired. I remember thinking to myself, "Take note…children are extremely tired the first few days of the trip. Think twice about bringing little ones to China." We were fortunate that the girls were wired and didn't need to be carried at any point today! The boys made a purchase at the palace. They each had their name written on a grain of rice and then placed in some glass casing.

After the palace we headed over to the Beijing Zoo. Everyone was excited to see the Panda Bears. The rest of the zoo wasn't that interesting since most of the animals were not outside due to the weather. We did go to the aquarium…..it was a great aquarium and though I wouldn't recommend the zoo, I would recommend the aquarium. At the end of the aquarium visit, we got to see a dolphin show. It was done well, although it might have been more enjoyable if we knew what the MC was saying. I was really intrigued that one segment of tricks was done to the song, "Amazing Grace." Seriously, the entire song….lyrics and everything!

I am sure most of you are wondering about "Rockstar Dane" and wanting an update. His popularity has fallen slightly as he was only approached twice by strangers to have their photo taken with him. Towards the end of our trip we will have an entire posting of pictures of Dane and his Asian fan club!

After the zoo we headed back to the hotel where Sarah had a major meltdown because the cleaning staff folded Lily's blanket neatly on the bed but didn't do that with hers…..yes, a nap was needed! After the nap we met L and J in the lobby to head out for dinner. L was six years old when Tom and I got married….her mother sang, "We Are an Offering" at our wedding back in 1987. It is pretty wild to see her all grown up and married…and now about to have a baby! We went to a Tex Mex place not far from here. After dinner we came back to the room where Tom and J worked on a song that they are singing at church together in the morning. Yes, Libby, I will do a video recording of it to share when we get home!

I'm not sure what we are doing after church tomorrow. We have to move into one room for the rest of the day. We will be picked up at 7:30 by our driver and guide to be taken to the train station where we catch an overnight sleeper train to Xi'An.

(Pictures: A couple from The Summer Palace, a panda, four kids on turtles, girls on an elephant and Tom and J working on the song.)

Great Wall - We're tired!

2010-03-19T08:14:00.003-04:00

There are a few things I thought I'd never say in my life. One, "My bed in China is too soft." Anyone who has travelled to China knows that most beds are very hard….not ours. The other thing I never imagined saying was, "I got injured climbing the Great Wall of China."

We started out our morning enjoying another great buffet at the Renaissance Hotel. I can't believe how much the girls are eating in the morning! We had another good conversation with our waitress from Mexico. She has only been in Beijing for a few months and said, "I don't miss the big city and crazy traffic of Mexico City!" Again, if you have ever been in Beijing, you laugh along with us!

After breakfast we headed over to the Great Wall of China. Tom and I had been to a different part of the wall when we were here in 2004. It was a crazy climb! I had tweaked my knee yesterday while running across the street before the light turned green. I must have done something to it today as I climbed to. I don't think it is anything serious, but I welcome the prayers as it is much too early in our trip for me to be hobbling around. The kids did a great job climbing the wall….it was a tough climb. Lily would occasionally break into that Miley Cyrus song, "It's the climb." Sarah had absolutely no problem climbing the wall and had a good bit of energy when it was all said and done. Lily? Well, it was more of a challenge for her, but she made it. I was glad she struggled a little bit…..it gave me an excuse to look like I was taking it slow to help her! We decided to skip walking back down the few miles we climbed and opted for the cable car. Sadly, I kept my eyes closed most of the way down because the view was frightening…plus, there were seven of us crammed into this little car and I thought we were over the weight limit, but I didn't have the ability to convert in my head the conversion of our total weight into metric! When we got back down, we allowed the kids to buy a t-shirt that said, "I Climbed the Great Wall of China."

Again, "rockstar" Dane was a huge hit as he was approached four times on the wall to have his picture taken with someone! That just cracks me up!

After the wall, we headed over to the Olympic Village. We experienced McDonald's first….sorry, but it doesn't compare to our McD's on Memorial. We then took a walk around the Cube and the Bird's Nest.

After a brief rest in the hotel, we went over to watch the Acrobatic Show. The girls loved it!

Tom is out roaming around Beijing looking for food and a Starbuck's! What a guy! Just a few shout outs to people:

TJ, love you! We pray for you every day! Feel free to give us a call if you'd like. We can't call you, but you can call us.

Kathi Gilmore, Happy Birthday my friend!

Bess, I miss you!

KS, if you are following, I am doing okay moving around at the pace of an "s." I haven't poked anyone's eyes out with chopsticks…..yet!

Tomorrow we are headed to The Summer Palace and the Beijing Zoo.

(Pictures: You should be able to make out what was taken where. Get a kick out of Lily at one point in the climb of the wall!)

First Full Day In China...Dane's a Rock Star

2010-03-18T09:33:00.002-04:00

This has certainly seemed like one of the longest days ever! First, we need to share what happened with the boys last night. I told them to call me before they went to bed so I knew they would be down for the night. They didn't call, so I called them at 10:30 last night. They didn't answer. I called three times…three times no answer. Tom then went down and knocked on the door…no answer. I really found it hard to believe that they would have gone anywhere especially on our first night in China. We didn't get a key so Tom went to the manager on duty to let us in the room. There they were….sound asleep in bed. They were so exhausted they never heard the phone or the door!

We had a great breakfast at the hotel. For the first time ever in China, I was able to speak to a waitress and Tom wasn't. She was from Mexico so I used what little Spanish I knew and talked with her! Tom is having a great time talking to people in Mandarin. Most are surprised how well he speaks the language. So far it hasn't gotten on any of our nerves!

The first place we went to today was the Temple of Heaven. I'll have to let Tom write about the details of things. I am not the best at just taking my time and soaking things in. I prefer to keep moving while Tom enjoys talking and asking questions.

(This is Tom) Temple of Heaven was built in 1400's in response to a proud emperor who boasted and was struck dead. The emperor that followed decided to sacrifice to the "God of the Heavens." So they actually sacrificed animals there. I find it interesting that "righteous" in Chinese means "Lamb over Me" – wonder if that doesn't go back to our father Abraham? Anyway, everything is in "9's" – the Chinese believed that the number "10" represents perfection, so our time on earth is never perfect…so they reflected that by using multiples of 9's as they built the temple. No idols, just worship of the "God of the Heavens."

After the Temple of Heaven we headed over to Tiananmen Square. It is here that we encountered our first run-in with someone wanting their picture taken with one of us. Several people would approach us wanting to have their picture taken with Dane. We figured it must be the red hair and freckles since they didn't care to have their picture taken with anyone else. After the first three "attacks" we told Dane to keep his hood on to keep the paparazzi from running after him! After the square we headed on into The Forbidden City. Again, I am absolutely terrible when it comes to the details of these places. I was way too busy getting from point A to point B and not losing the girls in the process. Tom will have to fill you all in on that some other time. All I will say is that we did so much walking by this point that my knees and feet were killing me. I was exceptionally proud of the girls and Ty and Dane as they kept up pretty well.

(Tom again) Tiananmen Square means "Door of Heavenly Peace." It can hold ½ Million people in it, and is where Mao addressed the people at the revolution.

The Forbidden City was built in 1420 over 20 years by about 1 million people. It's called the "Forbidden City" because the people were forbidden to enter…only the emperor or those that worked for him in the govt. I think it's where the movie "The Last Emperor" was filmed. It has much history and bloodshed of the emperor's sons who positioned themselves against each other for power. I can only imagine how impressive this was hundreds of years ago to people in China.

After the Forbidden City, we headed over to the Hutong area of the city; the oldest part of the city. We had dinner in one of the homes there…..the food was cooked by the gentleman that lives in the home…..food was great! Ty and Dane were actually surprised that they liked much of what we were given. We have been asked so many times if the girls are twins! We thought that was common in the US because we have felt that most who have asked must assume all Asians looks alike. Well, we take that back from this day forward. When a dozen strangers in China ask the same thing, must be a legitimate question! After lunch we all jumped on a rickshaw and had a tour of the Hutongs. (yep, Tom again…) Hutongs were 4 small houses that all faced each other with a courtyard in the middle. These were the houses where people lived outside of the Forbidden City. I understand they are very expensive…maybe $500,000 US dollars.

It's a lot colder here than I had thought. I am glad I brought hats and gloves for the girls. After the Hutongs we headed over to a market where the guys bought gloves/hats. Dane bought one to hide his red hair from all of his fans. Ty was more practical and bought one to keep his head warm! I also made my first purchase….a Rolex watch…..well, a fake one anyway! After the market we came back to the hotel. The girls went swimming as I found myself dozing in the chair watching them….not good! Anyone that has travelled to China knows what it feels like at about 5 p.m. on the first few days. You hit this wall and you go into a complete zone and coming out of it is really hard! I decided that since I could barely stay awake, it might have been a good time to get them out of the pool!

Our guide today has been Susan. We all really like her! She is a believer so getting to talk to her about her life here as a believer has been more interesting to me than the history of the places we have been. I'm not sure how wise it is to share some of the things we talked about so I won't go into great detail. I am impressed that she meets the same group of people at 5 a.m. Monday through Friday to have an hour devotional with them prior to starting her day!

Tomorrow we are headed to The Great Wall in the morning. We then plan to go to an Acrobat Show in the evening.

(Pictures: Since I can't access blogger from China, I can't really tell what order the pics come up when I send them in an email. Some are from Temple of Heaven, Square and Forbidden City. I think there is one of Tom and I under the marriage timber/tree of The Forbidden City. I think we have that same photo from our trip in 2004. I also added a few from the Hutong Tour. No pictures of Dane's adoring fans, although I might post one of the group of Amway folks that had a hard time letting us get back to our tour! Too funny! No offense to Amway people, but you are all very much alike!)

Arrival in China

2010-03-17T10:19:00.003-04:00

Well, we arrived in Beijing safely, although three of us had the handy papersacks in hand as it was a bit of a rough landing! It was great to welcome Lily and Sarah back to China…..and the sun was shining! Our time has been rather uneventful as we are all tired and the day was coming to a close. Oh, we had complete daylight the entire way here so that has confused all of us. Everyone travelled well. I was surprised how well the girls did. They slept two hours on the front end and three prior to landing.

We were greeted by Alison, our guide and L, our friend. L lives here in China with her husband. L's mother sang in our wedding almost 23 years ago. It was good to see her….with the extra belly as she is expecting in June. We also gave L the three suitcases full of goodies from the cyber shower her mom and sister had for her. In the craziness I didn't even get a picture of her! We will see her again this week. We are planning to go to church with them this Sunday. Tom is singing and play the guitar as a duet thing….that will be fun. They could pass as brothers so that will be even more fun.

We walked to dinner with Allison. The boys were intrigued by the traffic and cars driving on sidewalks. The girls? They did what they normally do….hum and walk or sing and skip. They haven't even said a word about the fact that they are in the majority in a sea of Asian faces. Dinner was really good although we were too exhausted to live dangerously. We passed on the pigs ears, but Dane enjoyed a chicken foot! Tom prayed for our meal prior to eating….our guide didn't seem to think that was an issue.

I am fighting to stay awake so this will be short. It looks like great weather for us in Beijing! In fact, on the day we go to the Great Wall, it will be close to 70!

TJ, hope you enjoyed your wings at BW3's today! Yes, I have spies everywhere! I'm glad you got to meet Tish….she has been one of my favorite people at the office. Oh, that reminds me. At dinner, Allison asked me, "Kathy, what types of things do you cook for dinner?" Tom replies, "Yes, Kathy, what types of things do you cook for dinner?" Ty says, "Yeah, mom, what types of things do you cook for dinner?" The reality is that I haven't cooked much since I started working….pathetic….need to do better….got the message loud and clear.

Lily and Sarah say, "We love you, TJ."

More exciting stuff tomorrow…..Temple of Heaven, Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City. We close the day with a rickshaw ride through the Hutongs….the oldest streets of Biejing. I think we might even have dinner with a family that lives on one of the Hutong streets.

(Photos: Pics from the seats in the plane to Chicago, Dane eating a chicken foot, the girls on the beds in their room….they think they are royalty and Tom and I on the beige couch.)

On our way..

2010-03-16T11:25:00.001-04:00

'Twas the night before leaving.......

2010-03-15T22:11:00.001-04:00

We had a great night out as a family. The seven of us had dinner together at Texas Roadhouse. It was a great time with TJ as we knew we would be leaving him for 21 days. Plus, it was a great "last supper" with ole faithful American food! We had a nice time of prayer together and I was really proud of TJ as he prayed words of protection over his little sisters. Pray for TJ while we are away.

The bags are packed and I am a bit disappointed in myself. I really thought I could get by with only one (yes, one) checked luggage. I made it, but we were over the weight limit so I had to divide it into two pieces of luggage! We are also taking three pieces of luggage full of fun stuff for friends in Beijing......can't wait to give them all of the things for the new baby that will arrive this summer!

I did wake up this morning with an ear ache so I went to see the doctor. Yep, major ear infection. That should make for an interesting time in the sky.

The girls are extremely excited! I told them that the Easter Bunny does not go to China. I know....bad mommy! I did reassure them that the tooth fairy does go to China and I am thinking he/she could be making a drop off for Lily while we are there...we'll see! Now, before anyone gets all bent out of shape about this Easter Bunny thing, please know that good friends from church have made arrangements with the bunny and will have something for the girls when we return...whew! The great news is that we WILL celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ while in China! What an exciting Easter!

I hope to post a picture of us from either the Columbus airport or Chicago. It will be a long 15 hours from Chicago to Beijing....here's hoping it goes well!

"Father God. Thank you for this opportunity to experience this trip with Ty, Dane, Lily and Sarah. We ask your protection over all of us while we travel. We also pray for TJ while we are gone and hope that you keep your mighty hand on him and always let him know that we miss him and love him deeply. We anticipate great things through this trip. Father, please be with our church family while we are gone. Thank you that we can be part of a church family that loves us, but more importantly....loves You! Bless them for supporting us in this journey. Father, we also pray that you will use us in China to be a blessing to all those we come in contact with during our trip. May they see You in us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

Kathy

2010-01-30T11:26:00.003-05:00

We are grateful for the generosity of the Lily Endowment Fund that has made this trip of a lifetime possible for our family! The "Clergy Renewal Program" is part of the Lily Endowment Fund. The give many grants out every year to ministers encouraging them to take a step out of ministry to find a time of renewal. We are thankful to Fairfield Christian Church, the elders and members, that have supported us in applying for this grant. The Lily Endowment asks the minister this question, "What will make your sing?" As we talked (and dreamed) about the answer to this question, we were confident that the answer included, "God, our family and China." Our proposal focused on China because it has played such a role in the life of our family as our two youngest children were adopted from China. We were unable to take our children to China with us for the adoption trips and it was always a regret, yet we knew we could not afford to take them along financially. Our proposal was to allow us to take the entire family with us to explore the rich heritage of the birthplace of Lily and Sarah! We also included very detailed plans to visit the orphanages that were their first home, the finding spots where they were found on the day they were abandoned and the foster family that so lovingly took care of Sarah until she was 22 months old.

We welcome you to join us on this Journey Through China! It will certainly be a trip of a lifetime!

In Beijing we will visit the Dong Huan Men night market, Temple of Heaven, Tian En Men Square, Forbidden City, the Hutongs, the Great Wall of China, the Beijing Zoo, Summer Palace and take in the acrobat show. We'll take an overnight sleepper to train from Beijing to Xi'an.

In Xi'an we will visit the Shanxi History Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Furong Tang Dynasty and of course..........the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses. We'll enjoy a Tang Dynasty music and dance on our last evening in Xi'an.

We will then fly to Guilin. While in Guilin we will visit the Longsheng Minority Village, the Reed Flute Cave, the Elephant Trunk Hill (remembering that from the Big Bird in China movie!) and The Seven Star Park.

We will then take the Lijinag River Cruise to Yangshuo (again, a familiar scene from the Big Bird in China movie!) and visit West Street in Yangshuo. We will then take a bus to Nanning.

While in Nanning we will visit Qinzhou City. We will visit the Forever Wishes Bridge where Sarah was found when she was two days old. We'll try to visit her first orphanage in Qinzhou and visit a small village outside of town. While in Nanning, we will visit A Mother's Love orphanage that took care of Sarah through their foster parenting program. We'll be fortunate to spend a great deal of time with the foster family that loved and cared for Sarah for 20 months! Of course, we are also looking forward to a lot of time in People's Park and touring Nanning!

We'll continue from Nanning to Guangdong Provice, our final location as a family. While in Ghangzhou, we will stay on Shamian Island....even though I understand there is a great deal of construction. We wanted to stay in the White Swan since that is where we stayed with both girls on our trip to adopt them. While in Ghangzhou we will take a day trip to Yangjiang City to visit Lily's orphanage, the Yangjiang City Social Welfare Institute. We'll also tour the city and visit Lily's finding location which was right outside the gate of the orphanage.

Kathy and the kids will return to the US while Tom visits friends in Wuhan. After Wuhan he is headed to Vietnam to visit friends there as well.

The sad part in all of this is that TJ will not be able to travel with us on this trip. We are thrilled that he will be able to share in our journey through this blog. Please pray for him while we are gone. He brings so much joy to Lilly and Sarah and I know they are sad that he can not go with us.

Again, thank you to the Lily Endowment Fund and to Fairfield Christian Church for blessing us with an amazing opportunity! And to any of you who choose to follow our journey...hop on board....it will certainly be an amazing time!

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