Letters from China Pt. 3

Hey all!

 

Thank you for your encouragement! It has been a whirlwind couple of days laced with bittersweet moments and fatigue. 

 

Monday night he slept and slept, solidly through the night. We woke up Tuesday morning and hit the ground running. We visited the notary for documents then headed back to the registrars office, where the hand-off was on Monday. Cairo definitely was aware of the fact that this was the place he was given to us and was not happy. We calmed him down just in time to be shoved before the judge and take our parental "vows". All in all the process took 30 seconds. 

 

 

 

After receiving our documentation we rushed back to the hotel for a little lunch and then boarded a van with another couple for Cairo's hometown, 2.5 hrs away. Mercifully, he slept the whole way.

 

Once we arrived we waited an hour in line at the cold "DMV" to apply for his passport, which again took about 5 minutes by the time we reached the counter. We waited another 30 minutes while our translator dropped off our "gifts" to the police chief. We then boarded the bus again for a short drive to the orphanage to take pictures outside the gate. 

 

Little did we know, when we arrived at the orphanage they invited us in! (We really had to go to the bathroom and the other dad on the trip pushed pretty hard to get us to one). We were NOT supposed to be able to go inside the orphanage (everyone is stunned they allowed us in). 

 

 

Not only this, but the director of the orphanage came out immediately and scooped up Cairo, holding him in her arms nearly the entire time we were there. This was extremely emotional for me, as we realized prayers for loving kindness were answered in this woman. It was clear that Cairo was her special pet. She talked freely with him, hugged him, carried him, instructed him and preened him. She clearly loved him. She dusted off his coat and one caregiver noted his lack of shoes (I had just changed his diaper in the van and left his shoes off to take the quick picture, ha!) They all thought that both boys were under dressed and their hands were too cold. If only we'd known we were going to see everyone! We would have had them dressed and cleaned. As it was we had been traveling and attending meetings for 8 hours already. We were not in the best shape to say the least.

 

 

 

The way home from his city he was very quiet and cuddly. It was clear he had been told not to take the paci we'd given him and he spit it out several times. He also took wipes and cleaned his coat thoroughly. He pretended to "take care" of an imaginary hurt on my arm and eventually accepted the paci and fell asleep.

 

That night's sleep was difficult, he slept with me most of the night, clinging to me whenever he woke up. Obviously the trip to the orphanage signaled to him that his life was changing forever. 

 

Lack of sleep and an intense schedule left us all cranky and tired yesterday. He is firey and knows what he wants and our lack of communication ability frustrates him terribly. We are also adjusting to having a big kid who cannot walk and becomes rigid when carried. While he'll often relax into us, his muscles are very tense from the waist down and makes carrying a 30lb toddler feel like we are carrying a 50lb big kid.

 

He slept very well last night from 5pm until 5am. We also slept a lot better and have been able to translate several phrases to communicate more readily, though keeping Mandarin in our heads is nearly impossible!

 

Please pray for our emotional and physical well-being as we are all adjusting. We are falling into a rhythm of relationship which is encouraging, but it is clear Cairo doesn't fully understand he is staying with us forever.

 

We leave his city today and fly (yikes) 2.5 hours to another city for his medical exam tomorrow and then our visa appointment on Monday. Please pray for these appointments and all of our stamina.

 

Pray also that the Holy Spirit will flood us with the ability to understand each other especially when his legs hurt or he needs comforting. I am praying often for the gift of tongues!

 

We miss you guys and can't wait to get back to our regular rhythm. Pray that our hearts would be content here while we wait. We are getting a little bit of "claustrophobia" knowing we have a week left before we can get home and be together as a family.

We'll try to update again soon!

Letters From China Pt. 2

WE GOT HIM!

We're back in the hotel playing and loving Cairo!

 

Thank you so much for your prayers this morning! Our group of 5 families left the hotel at 9:30AM to pick up our kids. We watched as group after group picked up children and loved on them. Others in our group received their children, the whole room was filled with couples holding their children, except for us and one other couple from our group. Our kids were 30min behind the rest of the groups. The entire room cleared out and we were left. Honestly, it was the best case scenario, because we didn't have to fight the crowds as Cairo entered the door at 11:45AM. We could see him and we knew him right away!

 

He is doing very well. He was upset to leave his orphanage worker and wouldn't come to me, but attached to Tony within 15 minutes. He calmed down pretty quickly once we got out some food and really enjoyed opening and closing the water bottle and drenching himself as he drank, and drank, and drank. He warmed up to me and let me hold him on my lap on the way home from the registration office. 

 

He is incredibly talkative and laughs very easily. He is loud and curious and very mobile. He already is playing and parroting our words very well, one of the women working in the hotel asked Tony if he spoke Mandarin and English. He has taken interest in some flashcards we brought and is currently quizzing Tony on the names of everything.

 

He uses his hands very well and pulls himself up to standing easily. He is not walking, but that doesn't stop him from moving around and getting where he pleases.

 

He's AWESOME!

 

We finalize registration tomorrow and have visa appointments, medical checks, and other meetings this week. We will visit his orphanage tomorrow as well.

 

Thanks again for all your love and support! We'll update again soon!

Letters From China Pt. 1

Over the next few days I will be posting emails I sent during our time in China. This will give you some unique insight into our process and hopefully connect you to our hearts!

CHINA UPDATE

Hey All

 

Things are going well here! We had a very eventful trip from the get-go with our DSM to Chicago flight being cancelled. Luckily our travel agencies rerouted us immediately and we were able to make our connection in Chicago without a problem. As a result of our switch-a-roo, when we arrived in China we were one bag lighter. Cairo's bag and our toiletries were lost and we made our tour group wait about 45 minutes while we filed our paperwork. After two nights without it, our bag showed up late last night, just in time to take with us tomorrow morning to Cairo's province. We are so grateful for all your prayers, as we believe it is because of them and God's great mercy we have been able to stay calm and see the bigger perspective! We have enjoyed every second of our trip without worry!

 

Yesterday and today we toured a huge list of attractions. Every one making us fall deeper and deeper in love with this country which is rich with tradition and history and also incredibly modern and futuristic. We LOVE the people, the city and the creativity of this amazing land!

 

Yesterday we had the opportunity to tour two factories dedicated to beautiful tradition art, Cloisonne Vases and Jade carvings. The Cloisonne factory introduced us to the incredible process of making copper and enamel vases and the Jade carvings exposed us to this precious stone that master craftsmen turn into incredible works of art. 

 

Yesterday we also visited the Great Wall which was INSANELY amazing!!!

 

Today we toured Ti'Anamen Square and the Forbidden City (The Imperial Palace). The Imperial Palace is unlike anything I have ever seen and Tony and I were in awe of the workmanship and beauty.

We were also able to tour the neighboring village by rickshaw and eat at a local family home. We also saw a fun acrobatic show.

 

By far, my favorite event today was a trip to a local Tea House, where we took part in a tea ceremony. It was beautiful and fun!

Of course I am devouring all the food I can. It is better than I could have ever imagined!

We are enjoying the other families and learning about the other children. We are excited to meet all the kids! 

 

Tomorrow we travel to Cairo's province and Monday morning we will meet Cairo and take him home! 

 

It is incredible and surreal to be in this incredible land! We covet your prayers and want you to know we can receive texts, so feel free to send texts if you'd like!

 

I miss you terribly! Love you all!

 

Everyone - when you see my babies, hug them, love them, and tell them they are incredible and we love them too much to say!

 

Hopefully, we'll be able to send pictures soon, but it's possible we may not be able to get on gmail again. If you receive a yahoo mail from me, open it. I'm trying to get mail out that way too!

 

Love you guys!