Consulate Appointment

Today was our consulate appointment which means it was an early morning for us. The appointment was painless. Since it's in the US consulate, they won't allow you take phones or cameras inside. So there is no recording or pics of the brief oath ceremony. They started with the group oath and then moved to checking individual paperwork. We were the first family to get there and thus first in line, so we were in and out. After lunch we ran into a couple that adopted two children on this trip. They are an amazing couple from Idaho with 7 biological children. As we got to talking with them, we found out that their little guy was from Shanghai, which is where we just got Sam from. The boys did not know each other unfortunately. The coolest part however was that their little girl was from Lanzhou, which is where Claire is from. I was telling them about Claire's condition when we got her and how Leslie and a couple of other mom's had raised enough static to get that horrible orphanage director fired. They were telling us that their guide was explaining that the orphanage had gone through major changes a year or so ago, which paved the way for their daughter to get the care she needed from foster parents. They were aware of Love Without Borders being in the orphanage and helping them establish schooling, training, fostering etc...another result of the old director being fired. Then they put it together that Leslie was directly responsible for the current well being of their daughter and the mom gave Grace a hug and asked her to pass it on to Leslie as a token of their thanks. We exchanged names and e-mails and took family pictures together.  It was an exciting and emotional experience. Leslie and I always talk about how Claire's 4 years of hell were not in vain as she helped pave the way for change in that orphanage which affected 800 kids at the time and countless more as time passes.Today, God gave us the chance to meet living proof of the successful change that Claire's little life helped bring to fruition. I only wish Leslie could have been here to share the experience. I was able to Skype with her before she went to bed to relay the story to her. Hopefully, there will be future opportunities to visit with this incredible family and track the progress of their little ones.

 

Shamian Island

It was a free day here, so after breakfast we went to Shamian Island to do some souvenir shopping. This is the Island that we stayed on when we came to get Jack. We did pretty good shopping. Grace loves to barter and she had a grand time. We got Sam his traditional Chinese outfit and then found some good American style food. Then a little time on the playground before heading back to the hotel. It will be and early morning as we have our consulate appointment at 8:30.

 

Anniversary

Normally, if a man were to celebrate his wife's anniversary on a different day then her, you would say "and that's how the fight started". However, when you are over 7,000 miles apart and there is 14 hours difference, I think celebrating a day earlier is acceptable since we are celebrating the same date. So, happy anniversary to my beautiful, wonderful wife! I sure love doing life with you! I wish you were here on this trip with me and I can't wait to get home. I love you babe!

 

First time swimming

No business today. We practiced writing this morning while killing time. Our guide took us to a large park. It was beautiful and they had a big kids area. One of the features was a wading pool that they fill with goldfish. You pay 20 yuan and your get a little net and a bowl then when you return their equipment, they give you 10 yuan back. The kids are allowed to catch as many fish as they want and they can even keep them. They will bag them up for you. He was having fun catching by walking around the outside, but there were several kids in the water, so we rolled up his jeans and took of his shoes and socks and let him get in. He had the best time. He did fall once. But he must have caught at least 20. He had a blast and even asked later if we could go back. On the way back to the hotel, I had our guide ask him if he had ever been swimming. He said no but that he wanted to. So I told him we could go after lunch. He asked if it was  going to be at 1:00. He runs a tight ship and needs to know exactly when things are going to happen. We looked for a while for a place to eat and places were pretty busy. So we decided on McDonalds yet again. On our way through the hotel, we ran into some people and started talking and we were way past his lunch time, but we eventually made it to eat and then headed up to change so we could swim. He was very excited until go time. I got in first and he was apprehensive. So, then Grace had to get in and she wasn't really planning on it. Then he relinquished and got in and giggled the whole time. He was very tentative but had fun with it. We then hit the hotel playground which he enjoyed. For dinner, we ordered a Papa John's pizza and had it delivered. Sam loved it. I think he will do just fine back home. He keeps picking western restaurants to eat in.

 

First full day in Guangzhou

It was an early morning after getting in so late last night. Grace and Sam were not ready to get up. But they got moving, we got breakfast and then it was off to the clinic for Sam's medical exam. He did really good. He is so ticklish that he laughed through most of the exam even laying there buck naked in front of two doctors. Then they take him into a room and draw blood and bring him back out to us. He came out smiling...not a tear was shed. What a brave little guy! Between breakfast and the clinic, we finally started meeting some other adopted families. Your time in province can be so lonely if you there are not other families adopting from that orphanage (thank God for the Pellegrino's and Ellis' when we got Claire). Then we went back to the room with our guide and got all the necessary paperwork together. After that, it was off to McDonald's for lunch and then a little souvenir shopping. That made Grace's day. She has been chomping at the bit to do a little bartering. Sam was really sweet. He got a few things today. As he was picking out a new yo-yo, I asked if he wanted to get one for Jack too. From then on, he picked out everything in 2's (can't wait to get them together). Then I ruined Grace's day after I encouraged her to go with us to the park. All the kids equipment was tore up and being reworked, so it turned into a really long walk thru a beautiful park...she was wearing flip flops...and...it is a little hot here. 

I let Sam call his foster family today to tell them that he made it safely and talk about his first flight. He continues to be affectionate towards us and today we noticed that he started calling me Boby (?spelling)...I asked about this and was told it means daddy. He seems to get more and more comfortable with us. He is very shy around new people and on Skype, but otherwise, he is a fun and ornery little guy. He really cracks himself up too. This evening, we hit McDonalds again...Sam's choice and talked to two very nice families. The one family form Georgia just got a daughter who sounds very similar to Claire.

All in all, it was a good day. The last time that we were in Guangzhou, they were gearing up for the Asian games and everything was on point. This time, it all looks pretty trashy. Our hotel is VERY busy. It makes me wish we were back staying at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island.

 

 

Travel day to Guangzhou

Yesterday was bitter sweet! For Grace and I it was one step closer to being home. For Sam, it was good and bad all mixed up in one. An abundance of differing emotions that took its toll on our boy. Most of the morning, he was pretty good. We know from previous conversations that he was/is excited to get home to the U.S. and to fly on airplane. We went to lunch at our favorite Cantonese place and as he finished eating, the reality of going farther away from his foster family set in. He just sat in that booth and tears began to quietly run down his face. We paid and got out of there and headed back to the room. There he began to cry and the knowledge of what this little guy was going through was very emotional for Grace and I too. We all 3 sat there and cried and I do believe he found comfort and then humor in the fact that we were crying with him. We let him make his phone calls to his foster family and finished packing. At 2, our guide picked us up to go get our last bit of paperwork and then they took us to the airport. In the van, Sam curled up in the seat and fell asleep...very uncharacteristic of our little guy. We woke him at the airport and he was excited to wheel his own little bag. We got checked in, got our tickets and found our gate. At this point, we were a couple of hours early...then...you guessed it, our flight was delayed. He handled it pretty well. He had his first Subway sandwich (I think). We tried to keep him entertained secretly hoping that the emotion of it all wouldn't cause him to melt down. We were finally able to board and he was very excited. We had 3 seats all together and Grace got in first. He quickly motioned her to the middle seat asking if he could sit by the window. Of course she let him. He sat and watched intently out the window. Unfortunately it was already dark. Just after we got of the ground, we hit some turbulence or they pulled up hard...it gives you the funny feeling in you stomach...and he went "ohhh" and started giggling. He loved it! And of course they won his heart when they served dinner. No troubles what-so-ever with him flying which is a huge blessing with a 15.5 hr flight coming up. Anyway, it made for a late night as we didn't even get to the hotel until 11:30ish.

 

out on a ledge

Sam worked his way out onto a window ledge today.