tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11307884871660245112024-03-12T22:25:01.967-07:00Adoption? Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-26633887300582708962016-02-14T20:26:00.005-08:002016-02-14T20:27:21.971-08:00Hard to Believe We've Been Home for 2 Weeks!!!Well, this is my last blog for a while. It's so hard to believe that 2 weeks ago tonight, Lucee was sleeping in her bed, in her home for the first time ever. A lot has happened over the past 2 weeks. It's so hard to recap everything in one little blog post. I'll try to do my best.<br />
The first week we were basically in survival mode. Thankfully Ben, was able to be off of work for the first 4 days. Ben, Lucee and I were still dealing with jet lag. The first night Lucee slept through the night was Friday night (8 days after coming to America). We were so thankful for our church family providing meals for most of that first week and the care packages that were sent from friends afar, especially in that first week. Lucee loved playing with the toys and going through multiple outfits a day along with her sister (it about drove me crazy, I told Ben I needed a lock on their closet ;) Thankfully the excitement of changing clothes throughout the day has subsided.)<br />
The weather was pretty nice that first week back, so we were able to play in the yard and we took her to a nearby park one day. She LOVED the swings- But what kid of mine doesn't? She learned to ride a tricycle in 5 minutes on our front sidewalk, even though her feet couldn't quite reach the pedals like they should. she learned to use momentum by pushing backwards first and then pushing forwards after it had rocked for her. We continue to be amazed at how smart this little girl is. The first couple days we catered to her meals, but after that we served her what the rest of the family ate. Thankfully, she watched the other kids and peer pressure seemed to work positively in the eating department. We have introduced 2-3 Chinese style meals a week to our menu and even started a tradition of once a week we, as a family, can only use chopsticks. Noah and Lilee picked up on it fairly quickly. Gavin reverts to stabbing his food with one chopstick or using them like a post-hole digger (if you know what one of those are ;) ) to grab his food. Either way, it's good for Lucee to see us including her heritage in the home. There have been times that it seems like she doesn't want to do things because she thinks they are bad in America. For example, at a Doctor visit in Cincinnati, the Occupational therapist wanted her to answer what color blocks were or what a picture of an animal was (in English or Mandarin as she had an interpreter) and Lucee seemed to only want to answer if she knew the answer in English. We had to remind her that it was okay to answer in Mandarin.<br />
Speaking of keeping her heritage fresh in our family, the first Saturday we were back, we were invited to a Chinese family's home (who we met at Apex -our church a few months back) for their Chinese New Year celebration. We were hesitant to go, but figured it would be a good way to let her talk with and hear people who speak her language and grow in relationship with this family. We got to their house and there were about 35 other Chinese people there. We were the only Americans. We were shocked and thankful at the same time that Lucee was extremely clingy to us! In her poor little mind, she probably thought we had brought her back to China to take her back. We felt awful at first until she started warming up to them and gradually began to realize we weren't leaving her there. We love it how God provided this family and group of people who love Him and are willing to come along side us so that Lucee will have positive role models of her ethnicity in her life.<br />
After that first week, we began to feel like life was becoming more normal and not just survival. Lucee's meltdowns had lessened tremendously and she seems to be able to understand and communicate more and more each day. Thankfully, I figured out how to get the google translate to work on my phone and I can communicate issues that she doesn't seem to understand that way. Unfortunately, it doesn't recognize her Mandarin yet, but she has been picking up basic sign language quickly and nonverbal communication works wonders, so we are managing.<br />
Three more things before I go that I want to share...<br />
1) This little girl has a personality that is beyond adorable. Her giggles and smiles are super contagious! Her biggest struggle is learning to share with her sister and vice versa. Her rough and tough brother, Gavin, becomes the most sweet little boy when around her and would do anything for her. Noah loves introducing her to all of his friends. Lucee loves her daddy and has a great bond with him and I'm so thankful that she seems to be bonding with me more and more each day.<br />
2) If you think all of this adoption and bonding and thankfulness, and joy is because Ben and I are such wonderful people, you are completely wrong. We have never relied on God more than during this whole process!! He has changed our idea of what we thought was best and has given us what He knew was best all along. He has provided more than what we needed- emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually, relation-ally, etc. For us to think we know what we are doing and we've got this under control is foolish and false. He has heard our cries, seen our failures, and given us grace. So, if you find yourself wanting to say that we are such good people, please take that praise and give it to God who first adopted us and first loved us and who is the only One that deserves it. :)<br />
3) What's on the horizon? We have decided to cocoon for about another month (Cocooning refers to the time you keep your schedule as clear as possible and keep the contact of people with the adopted child to a minimum in order to establish what a "family" is.) We will gradually expand the contact with people over the next month or so as long as she seems to be attaching as well as she has thus far. I'm thankful for this period of time for many reasons, but one of the main ones is all of the appointments that she has had already with doctors and will continue to have. For starters, she will have an MRI in a month to see how much of her brain is affected by the Cerebral Palsy. She has already visited our dentist but has been referred out to a specialist to help with all of her major cavity repair. She will visit an Ophthalmologist to discuss her vision issues (more than likely a surgery involved). She will begin physical therapy to help with her muscle tightness in her ankle/calf area to help her walk with more stability (hopefully surgery won't be necessary and wearing braces at night and during the day will be all that is necessary? We shall see.) Oh, and we also have more paperwork to do with her social security, insurance, post adoption paperwork, and post adoption home study's ... So, as you can see with a "cleared" up schedule, this allows all of these other required things to not feel as hectic as they would if we had a lot of stuff going on. <br />
Thanks for coming alongside our adoption journey! If you have ANY questions or comments feel free to email or message Ben or me. Brandeez@gmail.com (believe me, there's no dumb or offensive question to us)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Chinese New Year 2016 Year of the Monkey :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating traditional Chinese meals at the party</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Yu and the Chen Family</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm pretty sure this picture was taken in the wee hours of the morning during that first week ;) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gavin and Lucee sword fighting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dance parties happen often in this family!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Lucee in a Cinderella costume and rain boots :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They were playing a hand game that they made up :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We may be in survival mode, but at least we're surviving together...</td></tr>
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<br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-25165517846845064302016-02-09T18:31:00.002-08:002016-02-09T19:41:54.603-08:00Jan 28- Jan 31 Flight Back and Reunion with the kiddosWe made it to the airport just in time to get checked in and immediately had to board the plane. All thanks to our new van driver who would press on the gas and then almost slam on the brakes even though nothing was in front of him and then press on the gas, then brakes, etc. I've never seen Ben so uncomfortable being a backseat driver ;) . We got in the plane and had to sit on the tarmac for about an hour, which at the time seemed like forever, but we later heard of some friends who were traveling back later in the day who had their flight delayed for over 24 hrs! 1 hour isn't that bad. The almost 15 hour flight was good for the most part. Lucee slept for about 4 1/2 hours and the rest of the time, she listened to her Chinese kid songs, drew, snacked and watched American cartoons. As soon as we landed on American soil, Lucee officially became a US Citizen. We went through immigration and met Ben's uncle, Miguel, who had graciously offered to drive down to get us from Chicago to bring us back up to Milwaukee. <br />
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Back at Ben's parents house, we enjoyed having a relaxing night with Ben's parents. My parents would be bringing the other kids down tomorrow from Orr, so we had about 24 hours to rest up for them. It was great how Lucee really enjoyed being around Mamaw and Gumpa. She liked helping them bake and having all the toys to herself. <br />
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The next day (Jan 29) I'll never forget the moment that the kids arrived! Noah walked in the door first and gave the biggest hug ever, his face buried in me. When I looked at his face, he had sweet tears in his eyes. Next, came Gavin who charged at me and gave a quick big hug and then went on to tell me about something that happened in the car. Then Lilee slowly walks in and with her head down walks up to give a hug. She says, "I really missed you, Momma". Oh, melts my heart. <br />
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It was so great being able to all be together under one roof. Our family of 6, Mamaw and Gumpa, and Nana and Papa from Friday night till Sunday morning. It also was wonderful not having to worry about anything other than loving on the kids. Both nights there, the kids wanted us all to sleep in the same room. So, we did.<br />
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Noah, Gavin, and Lilee were so happy to finally have their sister with them. Lucee seemed excited to be around them as well. She obviously had a bit of issue with sharing, but what kid doesn't :)<br />
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Sunday morning we headed south to Dayton, while Papa and Nana headed north. We are so thankful for Mamaw and Gumpa's hospitality. Also, for the love that both sets of grandparents shared with the 3 kiddos while we were apart from them for the longest we've ever been apart. <br />
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The 7 hour drive wasn't too hateful, even with the traffic jams due to accidents. Lucee did great sitting in her carseat and we were all so happy to get back to our home, which we'd been gone from for 3 full weeks! <br />
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It's been a long, wonderful trip. We are thankful it's over and look forward to the whole family coming with if we get to travel to China again! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 1/2 hour Van ride to Hong Kong Airport</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the Plane :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYneA3sdGchrVQH1XIVNDp9p1X3hDsnldq0fYYv0J5svynQfkqRLtJ3uPSZ_eXhEonyi7wOj_W2nmw8cga5nLxYzDXUH3bYrPnPT0Z2lDMmU-aT9HYDT77iJwuRTVJeLcWtLG8PEaBBw0/s1600/DSCN0698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYneA3sdGchrVQH1XIVNDp9p1X3hDsnldq0fYYv0J5svynQfkqRLtJ3uPSZ_eXhEonyi7wOj_W2nmw8cga5nLxYzDXUH3bYrPnPT0Z2lDMmU-aT9HYDT77iJwuRTVJeLcWtLG8PEaBBw0/s320/DSCN0698.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee's first plane ride...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUc_6Fqok5dxzXHIqzEV2qbGhdhkc48F-0C9e6WquHIS6HqzSTe4RhW6efhSbetHfWwfXc-37rxVxKOtrMVUpsiEAk0P-yXyfLd-roH5rG0uPV-YzrOXY3IjVs2GS8ttMDoObS8gQVing/s1600/DSCN0706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUc_6Fqok5dxzXHIqzEV2qbGhdhkc48F-0C9e6WquHIS6HqzSTe4RhW6efhSbetHfWwfXc-37rxVxKOtrMVUpsiEAk0P-yXyfLd-roH5rG0uPV-YzrOXY3IjVs2GS8ttMDoObS8gQVing/s320/DSCN0706.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So far, so good</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlW3TvuarfwPtUmATq_jCXwG39dd2rboHdJjM14r_-Ugzb8nLZ-_dFpa4Zt-YdVnYjbxuMn_uH33NV_N2di9o-a1Rk0L-UDVlSL8SzeXTqixTbLkjo-oJfYoiqitWhEKCS2FhcbopUtj4/s1600/DSCN0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlW3TvuarfwPtUmATq_jCXwG39dd2rboHdJjM14r_-Ugzb8nLZ-_dFpa4Zt-YdVnYjbxuMn_uH33NV_N2di9o-a1Rk0L-UDVlSL8SzeXTqixTbLkjo-oJfYoiqitWhEKCS2FhcbopUtj4/s320/DSCN0725.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben and his brother Jake (His family came over Friday night to hang out before the other kids came the next day.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2QMDvL2zpdLrzEwAlnFK56jTZlSXNe9W78kTsJZTTsLsR7UzT4nry-yOhU7QQyTYzGXCG_hj2VNaQi5Reo9_qwu2D_NmSiBGkvArFJbOBQ2n4vnvftPwU9xE1OmNN5WlK4Pg5DZQcFk/s1600/DSCN0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2QMDvL2zpdLrzEwAlnFK56jTZlSXNe9W78kTsJZTTsLsR7UzT4nry-yOhU7QQyTYzGXCG_hj2VNaQi5Reo9_qwu2D_NmSiBGkvArFJbOBQ2n4vnvftPwU9xE1OmNN5WlK4Pg5DZQcFk/s320/DSCN0734.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa and Lilee meeting Lucee after she woke up from her nap.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDurLBAlbOmOlN6Cbz4TBEAJ7rcNuth3URIRfB1mBINmpoqDp6xbr94aBMO6zE8JMT2FTLyujnPRWSQ_GeqpFDxP_imPCu8I6_iXq_ejCFQqxgjQfJB5yHgkPOuXUQD_vIi5shQIWXx8/s1600/DSCN0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDurLBAlbOmOlN6Cbz4TBEAJ7rcNuth3URIRfB1mBINmpoqDp6xbr94aBMO6zE8JMT2FTLyujnPRWSQ_GeqpFDxP_imPCu8I6_iXq_ejCFQqxgjQfJB5yHgkPOuXUQD_vIi5shQIWXx8/s320/DSCN0745.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Photo of our family of 6!!!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEBxBxJd4159hE4fdSh_73qy4YQlMCNmLqmbP0HaZXzLHMSC9BLm868wTsRFn63_le4EqmyVxAm8aBNVP9eW-GQwEDE9-DVaAuQOUSCOWo6WETG4kKlIVlg5EF8H08HmPOJcjUsyLQ3w/s1600/DSCN0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEBxBxJd4159hE4fdSh_73qy4YQlMCNmLqmbP0HaZXzLHMSC9BLm868wTsRFn63_le4EqmyVxAm8aBNVP9eW-GQwEDE9-DVaAuQOUSCOWo6WETG4kKlIVlg5EF8H08HmPOJcjUsyLQ3w/s320/DSCN0751.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee sewing with Gumpa</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_blaY615jmibxAXavaqA0UTPkUepimQ-TaXUhRjeXHDE8qDl1gEyAuWSb7O-0WnozobqAARKEkIefEp_QrfW2w0eRCMWuigsdmTXY1zWMS_A4df__Y8OQOQitjNW0myA8u17neQ3xcvA/s1600/DSCN0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_blaY615jmibxAXavaqA0UTPkUepimQ-TaXUhRjeXHDE8qDl1gEyAuWSb7O-0WnozobqAARKEkIefEp_QrfW2w0eRCMWuigsdmTXY1zWMS_A4df__Y8OQOQitjNW0myA8u17neQ3xcvA/s320/DSCN0753.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sisters!!! ( Thanks Mamaw for the dresses)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8hgoHqJ44NWDpkmVNaUfXuxawZqwiQue_FVuj0Ih09waI3m9mRL1GIdWLNOFhLy3ONfUFFXOh0HTPYmvDJUs2iedh9N90JnAOHGDZhMYaqhrv4fLpZfTEedinFxef-OUPnUOTsZ6jAo/s1600/DSCN0792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8hgoHqJ44NWDpkmVNaUfXuxawZqwiQue_FVuj0Ih09waI3m9mRL1GIdWLNOFhLy3ONfUFFXOh0HTPYmvDJUs2iedh9N90JnAOHGDZhMYaqhrv4fLpZfTEedinFxef-OUPnUOTsZ6jAo/s320/DSCN0792.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy's girls.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREA0iURMvjce9uM7821a6GVTTHCA1L9Y-alkvya0NpxpOWG5LpEcX_9Rb9ChSBamObAVQ21VcvrUHfFYgBz3I3sA4p7eYfTrNpVhYMvwWsPKXBks8XntgLcDXTrDBrnbxt-9I2NdEEAM/s1600/DSCN0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREA0iURMvjce9uM7821a6GVTTHCA1L9Y-alkvya0NpxpOWG5LpEcX_9Rb9ChSBamObAVQ21VcvrUHfFYgBz3I3sA4p7eYfTrNpVhYMvwWsPKXBks8XntgLcDXTrDBrnbxt-9I2NdEEAM/s320/DSCN0814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa and Nana with kiddos</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHr3-GlkdOLXPlA5YAhwQaGJdHql4RMnc9RoHCpsxyXzyBH7ZE6UZWj02aZMBnmaC_Wd_Cgwct89JsSTAxOmjIMkzN7lyu6gdOBnQAXwype__HxHCJsHbGOygQDVph1yxpUI1xAHvlKJs/s1600/DSCN0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHr3-GlkdOLXPlA5YAhwQaGJdHql4RMnc9RoHCpsxyXzyBH7ZE6UZWj02aZMBnmaC_Wd_Cgwct89JsSTAxOmjIMkzN7lyu6gdOBnQAXwype__HxHCJsHbGOygQDVph1yxpUI1xAHvlKJs/s320/DSCN0822.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gumpa and Mamaw with the kiddos</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UJoDWsXsKxewhm-8hyphenhyphenvY-A2KWzCLk_4hC5CkB7x7E41rAL51lNmX8XR4pjezJxdH3qOUl61_bub39XIKVSBoDLpMhF06DKNi39ZUo1HHCDJMTqjQT2i08k_808OM7nL3GdpysiCPnPk/s1600/DSCN0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UJoDWsXsKxewhm-8hyphenhyphenvY-A2KWzCLk_4hC5CkB7x7E41rAL51lNmX8XR4pjezJxdH3qOUl61_bub39XIKVSBoDLpMhF06DKNi39ZUo1HHCDJMTqjQT2i08k_808OM7nL3GdpysiCPnPk/s320/DSCN0831.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely Welcome home sign waiting for us when we got home (Thanks Sara and Evie!!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPmtIut0Z0ORKDq_Rsj8opThDzzqwAvFasrCbh0jGEyfb9VgxNbBDU5bLOkf91qBoAsrKktYqpiSh79shxWoDcaaq86ddwg1qpx9xxYOF52LQ2m1dQusUkjET3EcPzB_iBqmM2jLzqi8/s1600/DSCN0804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPmtIut0Z0ORKDq_Rsj8opThDzzqwAvFasrCbh0jGEyfb9VgxNbBDU5bLOkf91qBoAsrKktYqpiSh79shxWoDcaaq86ddwg1qpx9xxYOF52LQ2m1dQusUkjET3EcPzB_iBqmM2jLzqi8/s320/DSCN0804.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of all 6 of us in our room at Mamaw and Gumpas. We slept pretty much just like this, all snuggled together. The things you do for your kids... There was an empty room down the hall, but it felt so nice to sleep next to them. Due to jet lag, I vividly remember laying there listening to them breathe for at least an hour. Usually, I would've been frustrated, but after being away from them for over 2 weeks, it was like a sweet song. :)</td></tr>
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<br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-37246661670445238112016-02-07T16:32:00.004-08:002016-02-07T16:32:42.599-08:00Jan 27, 2016 - Last Full Day in China<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday, January 27, 2016</div>
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This is our last full day in China.
Hard to believe it's coming to an end! Our last breakfast, lunch,
dinner. Our last views of the city we have come to become familiar
with. For the past 2 ½ weeks we have lived in a hotel, haven't had
to make our bed, had most of our meals prepared and cleaned up after,
haven't driven a vehicle, haven't had to clean or go to work, and
have been in cities with 5, 10, and 15 million people in them! We
are getting ready to go back to life in a suburb area, with 4 kids,
work, school, and daily chores, grocery shopping, and all the other
good things that come with regular life. Hopefully it's not too much
of a wake up call. :)</div>
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Today we let Lucee sleep in as long as
she wanted (9am) and got ready for the day. Ben had learned
yesterday in that group that they serve the same breakfast on the
30<sup>th</sup> floor that they do on the 1<sup>st</sup> floor. Both
have a great view, but since we've never been on the 30<sup>th</sup>
floor, we decided to go there today. The first floor breakfast area
looks out to a garden with a tall waterfall and huge goldfish (close
to 50-75!) swimming in a pool. The 30<sup>th</sup> floor is a
circular room with the walls being windows that overlook the city.
We were thankful to have found out before it was too late to take
advantage of it.
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We decided to venture out by taxi today
and went back to the Shamian Island. Yesterday Ben got to see the
cafe called Lucy's Place that we were told about to come get American
food at. So today we decided to go eat lunch there and walk around
the Island since it was a warmer day (in the mid 40's).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This place has a special meaning to
us... A guy that Ben worked with adopted a girl about 10 or so years
ago from China. When Ben had told him about us adopting (about a
year ago- we hadn't completely decided on naming our daughter Lucee,
but we were in the stage where we were jokingly referring to her as
Lucy) the guy said, “Oh, when you go there, you've gotta go to this
little cafe called Lucy's Place, it's got great American food!” we
went there and Lucy enjoyed something like Chicken Noodle Soup, Ben
had a double cheeseburger, and I had a grilled Cheese sandwich.
Great food and service and of course we had to take pictures :)</div>
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Thankfully, we didn't have any issues
with the taxi drivers. We did make sure to write the license numbers
down before getting in and we gave exact change. We had spent the
entire afternoon there walking around that by the time we got back to
the room, it was time for dinner. Ben went out and got more noodles
for Lucee and a pizza for us. Lucee ate some of the pizza and
enjoyed tomatoes tonight. It'll be interesting to see how quickly
she ventures out with new foods back home. I don't think I'll be
making noodles for every meal... hopefully she'll copy the other kids
and eat what she sees them eating.
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When Ben left to get the food, Lucee
began to cry and whine for about 10-15 minutes before I was able to
get her to laugh by helping me wash daddy's “stinky socks and
shorts”. This girl is going to flip out when daddy has to leave to
go to work for 24 hours at a time! Hopefully she'll have so much fun
playing with her brothers and sister that the time will go by quickly
for her, and me ;) .
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<br />
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After eating, we packed a little and
decided we'd show her a picture of a plane and talk about us all
getting on it to go bye bye. She seemed a little nervous and we
prayed that God would give her peace and not be afraid. She's
really starting to understand what we are saying now and repeating
some of the words with meaning and not just copying us like before.
Tonight when Ben read her a story, she was repeating him as he read
it and used some sign language in the right context. We are so
amazed at how quickly she is catching on, especially with her
diagnosis of “moderate retardation”. Tonight while eating dinner, I told
Ben that when I look at her, I don't even see a disability, I see a
sweet, smart little girl who seems to be connecting very well. He
said, “their loss, our gain.” So true. We are so thankful for
this little girl, we can't express that enough! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVhwLtzc7k9RWTjvMrblfT4dCdOG2ShWTMLEuJ2nJsJovkZ-Rv070ZOsDBy8m3fLgUUWeuC078OPe1vHyzN7G2VZVTFDGTqUbKsk6biYpHeYJVAM3Sew2JJiiS1kyAib_9LBjA0Mgk_4/s1600/DSCN0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVhwLtzc7k9RWTjvMrblfT4dCdOG2ShWTMLEuJ2nJsJovkZ-Rv070ZOsDBy8m3fLgUUWeuC078OPe1vHyzN7G2VZVTFDGTqUbKsk6biYpHeYJVAM3Sew2JJiiS1kyAib_9LBjA0Mgk_4/s320/DSCN0668.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">30th Floor Breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTmnts1HIDFFEAJ-0Q8qckiVVEjagbFVJawCWThPOO6KFjyKAmD0R3NFchtd0qQ8Ifxjjt5OkSbPXOe6Cnr0ByiiFvN4eIUuCWZHtGvCH8mQHuPqsu0gyw_2mNvGF0lWPGkqGiJFHdLY/s1600/DSCN0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTmnts1HIDFFEAJ-0Q8qckiVVEjagbFVJawCWThPOO6KFjyKAmD0R3NFchtd0qQ8Ifxjjt5OkSbPXOe6Cnr0ByiiFvN4eIUuCWZHtGvCH8mQHuPqsu0gyw_2mNvGF0lWPGkqGiJFHdLY/s320/DSCN0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy's Bar & Grill</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3EbQ9bBIKE6WpuhrCj6jUIyTJttf_uUEtBxcOBvGS5IEAHOnFCKLdnadq2MPEpwOgWrnTymtoi37-T5b3553UUdDcVmfUupYkb1uYCUd8LQjO61WWIywbOybf6HYYLSEz5Z6Af7C8pI/s1600/DSCN0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3EbQ9bBIKE6WpuhrCj6jUIyTJttf_uUEtBxcOBvGS5IEAHOnFCKLdnadq2MPEpwOgWrnTymtoi37-T5b3553UUdDcVmfUupYkb1uYCUd8LQjO61WWIywbOybf6HYYLSEz5Z6Af7C8pI/s320/DSCN0677.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy's with our Lucee</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzsj0GSyZcgKqLjvGZ1_0H6QDrTnd8sWZjQeqQAmd1w_NYDKTWy8ciPAz65j5cIQ2XnJYlju6Y4s5lo6burQYgbeijb79qUjLf_ygGrrU4wzfumnU4pv3OHvdTjALzVyn_Xnd05LjnEE/s1600/DSCN0681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzsj0GSyZcgKqLjvGZ1_0H6QDrTnd8sWZjQeqQAmd1w_NYDKTWy8ciPAz65j5cIQ2XnJYlju6Y4s5lo6burQYgbeijb79qUjLf_ygGrrU4wzfumnU4pv3OHvdTjALzVyn_Xnd05LjnEE/s320/DSCN0681.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last dinner in China - Silly Lucee (spoon in her mouth)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-18470651534542417952016-02-05T17:30:00.002-08:002016-02-05T17:30:51.626-08:00Jan 26 - US Embassy Appointment and other stuff
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday, January 26, 2016</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning we had to wake up early in
order to leave for the US Consulate by 845am. We skyped with the
kids as they were finishing up their Monday which was the 100<sup>th</sup>
day of school back home, so they were celebrating it up at Nana and
Papa's house. They were just finishing up trying to sled down the
hill in the backyard for the 100<sup>th</sup> time. They also made
t-shirts and ate their ginger bread cookies. Noah and Ezra had a
date with Nana at Pattenn's Cafe in Orr, MN to have a giant cinnamon
roll. As exciting as it is to be counting down to the day that they
see us, they will be a bit sad too as they have really enjoyed
spending so much time with their cousins Ezra, Zek and Ike. Noah and
Gavin have slept next to Ezra and Zek for all of the nights except
for 2 of them. (8 out of 10) and they are each like 2 peas in pod.
Lilee had fun painting her nails and soaking her feet with Aunt
Simie. They have all had so much fun and life will be different when
they head back to Dayton. I'm so glad they have gotten this good
time with cousins and grand parents at both my parents and Ben's
parents. I just wish we all lived closer together :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lucee was hard to wake up this morning,
we have learned that she enjoys being woken up to her Chinese kid
songs being played on the computer. We put this on and she didn't
even move. Not even with it turned up loud and the curtains opened
and lights turned on. It wasn't until I gently roller her over and
said good morning that she began to stir. Thankfully, once she got
up she was pretty cooperative with getting dressed and ready for the
day. She was excited to head down to breakfast.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When down at breakfast we saw our guide
and he let us know that we weren't going to leave until 9am now,
because we are riding with 2 other families together in a big van.
This was the first time we had done anything with other families. It
was definitely different, but okay. It made us appreciate the one on
one time and chauffeuring that we have had on the other 2 weeks in
china. When you are the only family, you don't have to wait for
anyone, you just go and do what you want to do with your guide. Now
we were needing to wait on them, which again, was fine, just
different.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got to the US Embassy and went
inside while our guide stayed outside. He gave us the heads up on
what to do and where to go once we were inside. Unfortunately we
weren't allowed any cameras, cell phones, or mp3 players inside
otherwise we'd have taken lots of pictures. Our appointment was at
10, we got there at 930 and didn't get to leave until 1140. usually
it only takes an hour, but today they were having issues with their
computers and so the 20+families that were there took what seemed
like forever! We left and went back to meet with Jack, but still had
to wait another 30 minutes for the other families.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Despite being there for over 2 hours,
Lucee did amazing! She enjoyed sitting on Ben's lap or being in my
arms. The toys I brought to occupy her time didn't really get used,
cause she mainly just liked being with us and watching the other
families. Ben and I kind of feel like she was nervous because the
last time we were with a bunch of adoption families was when she got
her blood drawn and we think she might have been worried that
something painful would happen again. Thankfully, nothing painful
happened, other than just being patient for our turn to turn in
paperwork, give an oath that the paperwork was correct, and have an
interview with a lady about Lucee and our adoption. Now that this
appointment is done, we just have to wait and pray that all goes well
and we get her passport with her visa on it by tomorrow afternoon so
that we can bring her home on Thursday. If something is wrong or
delayed than our flight will have to be delayed as well.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We had planned on going back to Shamian
Island to finish up buying souvenirs (this will be the last place to
buy them before coming back to the US) after the Consulate
appointment, but with it taking much longer than anticipated and
since we were with a group, we decided to go back to the hotel first
and get Lucee lunch and a nap. The other group was leaving to go to
the Island in about 45 minutes, so we decided I'd stay with Lucee
while she napped and Ben would go with the group to finish up any
shopping.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was a little nervous since the last
time I put her to nap by myself, there was a battle, but I said a
prayer for God to bless our time and laid down with her and she was
asleep in 20 minutes without a peep. I got up and was able to catch
up on the journaling while Ben is out at Shamian Island and I have a
quiet hotel room to myself. It's crazy to think we have 1 more full
day here and then we will be on a 14 hour flight back to America.
Can't wait to get everyone back under the same roof and start living
life together as a family of 6! Until then, I'll soak up this quiet
time :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She ended up napping for about 3 hours!
Hopefully she'll sleep good tonight, but the good news is tomorrow we
don't have to do anything until 415 pm. So, if she stays up late
tonight, we can at least all sleep in tomorrow morning.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well after Lucee woke up, we watched
some Chinese cartoons and ate a snack. At about 5pm I began to
wonder where Ben was and decided I'd call our guide to contact the
group he went with to see when they'd be back if he wasn't back at
530pm... At 515pm I started to get nervous that the group had left
without him and he was stranded somewhere with no contact
information, so I called Jack. He was surprised that Ben wasn't back
yet and called the other guide from that group. Just as he was
calling me back, Ben walked in the door. Ha Ha. Everything went
great for him and he was able to walk around the Island more since
the weather wasn't as wet and cold as when we went the other day. He
also met a family from Dayton who knows our friends, Russ and Camy
Nelson. They are adopting for the second time. Ben really enjoyed
meeting them and we can't wait to all get together when we all get
settled back in at home. Russ and Camy travel to China 2 weeks after
we get back to bring their daughter home. We are so thankful for the
network of other families that we are meeting so that the kids can
get together and play with other kids from their same country.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Even though it began raining, we
decided to venture out to a Chinese restaurant not far from the hotel
that we heard had amazing food. The food was great, even though our
waitress seemed to find it comical with how much food we ordered. We
went back to the hotel and let Lucee play again in a long bubble bath
(the pool at this hotel is outdoor, so we don't get to enjoy it:( ,
the tub is the next best thing to her though). Then we all went to
bed at about 930-10pm. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZl4qfqjkHExlT9NJbIlZV0hiqsNd9PBycighXFnGtY0zV8Ecn01cLyknAeir_ZIHXQcSocgYGYFboFAKYF1Xeryb13GN6wniKQQgQHfTmxbrTCf_M8ua8ElGwSH_yazbPF-fio1CFVfo/s1600/DSCN0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZl4qfqjkHExlT9NJbIlZV0hiqsNd9PBycighXFnGtY0zV8Ecn01cLyknAeir_ZIHXQcSocgYGYFboFAKYF1Xeryb13GN6wniKQQgQHfTmxbrTCf_M8ua8ElGwSH_yazbPF-fio1CFVfo/s320/DSCN0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not many pictures taken today... Ben holding Lucee while eating dinner...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-8187609339451963552016-02-05T17:25:00.002-08:002016-02-05T17:25:50.540-08:00Jan 25 - Guangzhou Zoo and Playing with other newly adopted kiddos...
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday, January 25, 2016</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we didn't have to meet the guide
until 1030am to go to the Guangzhou zoo. We wanted to let the
sunshine warm up the day a bit before heading outside. Today is the
only day it's supposed to be sunny while we are in Guangzhou... it's
also been a week since we've seen the sunshine, and a week since
getting Lucee! Hard to believe it's been a week already. In a way
it feels like much longer.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It seems like each day we meet the
guide a bit later, and each day we sleep in longer. We ended up
getting down to the breakfast area at 10am and only had a half hour
to eat. We got Lucee her usual yogurt, banana, lemon muffin, and
this time she wanted a boiled egg. She wanted it in Changsha too,
but didn't eat it, so I was doubtful that she would today, but she
ate everything!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met Jack, our guide, in the lobby
and went in the van to the Guangzhou Zoo. The weather was still
sunny and in the 40's. It felt great and Lucee loved seeing the
animals. It was great bonding time, as she would say the animal name
in Chinese and we'd say it in English. Then she'd repeat it in
English and make the animal sound. She really seemed to love the
monkeys and liked the Elephant. We were a little disappointed that
the Panda bears were inside their hut and the glass around them was
kind of foggy so we couldn't get a very good view of them. We stayed
there for about an hour and a half and then left. We wished we
could've stayed longer to see all of the zoo, but I think the guide
didn't want to push it with the weather being colder and it almost
lunch time.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We ate lunch in the room and laid down
for a nap. This time, Ben and I laid down with her, but she never
fell asleep, she just laid there quietly for an hour. After an hour
the door bell rang from a worker at the hotel who needed to change
out the beverages in the little fridge. Oops guess we forgot to put
the do not disturb light on. Oh well, it worked out to our advantage
as she was still happy, but will end up falling asleep quicker
tonight for us to hang out after she goes to bed.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ben had a test online that he had to
finish today, so I took Lucee to the playroom while he worked on it.
In the play room, we met 2 other families adopting. One from Montana
and another from New Hampshire. It's so easy to think that the way
Lucee acts is how all children adopted from China act, but just like
all kids, each one is so different. Lucee wanted nothing to do with
the clothes she got from the orphanage, but one of the girls we met
in the play room didn't want to go anywhere without at least one
layer of her orphanage clothing on. Also the other 2 kids wanted to
eat constantly and their parents were dealing with having to limit
the food for them, where as we haven't heard Lucee tell us that she's
hungry ever and until recently barely eats anything.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After about an hour and a half, we went
back to the room to check on Ben. When he was done with the test, we
all walked around to go to the Thai restaurant (it ended up not being
far at all, just across the street on the 5<sup>th</sup> floor of a
shopping mall we never went into). We were a little apprehensive
with going since Lucee didn't have a nap and wasn't quite acting as
happy as she has been. We were worried she would have a meltdown in
the restaurant. As long as she was sitting with Ben, she was fine
and we were able to find her a noodle and veggie dish that she loved.
Ben had a green curry chicken dish, and I had a chicken and garlic
dish. Mine was good except the chicken had lots of bones and fat in
it... I really miss the boneless skinless chicken chunks that are
served with the meals back home. Ben's curry was delicious (a little
too spicy for me, but still great!) and we had these little flat
tortilla like sweet bread things that we all super enjoyed!!! On the
way home, we stopped at a Turkish dessert shop and each picked out a
dessert. Lucee seems to be understanding us more and more. She
wanted to eat the cake right away, but we told her that we were going
to eat it in the room and she seemed to get it and didn't throw a fit
(like she would've in the earlier days). She really enjoys riding on
Ben's shoulders and this was the way she went home. The weather was
still pleasant and we really wished the weather was like this or even
warmer while we were here.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got back to the hotel and enjoyed
eating the desserts. Then we put Lucee to bed (she fell asleep
within 10 minutes) and we got up and spent time together, which was
the first real quality time in a week! That night we didn't get our
usual 10 hours of sleep, but the time spent together was well worth
it. Lucee seemed to toss and turn a lot in the middle of the night
as well. But all in all, it was a good nights sleep. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcJU2QzWmdVWunC4aFZX_sbjfMk9G8naX3aMh7XHnyzPRVFCKkWebGkdh_KJ0gc8e1kWxHtJhHWtDb5BejKvNUg5gpDevV-AxJNEs_CdnYIPe0zGJU2rfP9FIxQOX-j5KjtL9dK_V8Cs/s1600/DSCN0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcJU2QzWmdVWunC4aFZX_sbjfMk9G8naX3aMh7XHnyzPRVFCKkWebGkdh_KJ0gc8e1kWxHtJhHWtDb5BejKvNUg5gpDevV-AxJNEs_CdnYIPe0zGJU2rfP9FIxQOX-j5KjtL9dK_V8Cs/s320/DSCN0491.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the Zoo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_yNU-YgtWm-K8fNYM1h0_DDiK8bycNNdX2OgqVOUIuFgGD4L9F3EB4J8K-XEMeNI6rFwEb0EITcoG91UEgH7tW4VvooeDZQ4OVfqDj-NrfVR4PcxC7Bn61equO80viXbDXybH04PENA/s1600/DSCN0493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_yNU-YgtWm-K8fNYM1h0_DDiK8bycNNdX2OgqVOUIuFgGD4L9F3EB4J8K-XEMeNI6rFwEb0EITcoG91UEgH7tW4VvooeDZQ4OVfqDj-NrfVR4PcxC7Bn61equO80viXbDXybH04PENA/s320/DSCN0493.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loved the monkeys!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLRojMEEa-LEWUgD_qOUOKNFZMm7xxQ3PE0isP9OwEeMAOTi4wjV6YHI444S8Jlv9NQQCYFtov3G0-WG6kvQfsP9roTGCRYmE7QjrIluJA7RTFF4HB7iiayPV_-T_i8y3wx1WKc6NkBU/s1600/DSCN0514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLRojMEEa-LEWUgD_qOUOKNFZMm7xxQ3PE0isP9OwEeMAOTi4wjV6YHI444S8Jlv9NQQCYFtov3G0-WG6kvQfsP9roTGCRYmE7QjrIluJA7RTFF4HB7iiayPV_-T_i8y3wx1WKc6NkBU/s320/DSCN0514.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the elephants!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMfn3f2WKNW5uImxDgxuHfy-qKxRxtfu6cXQ7p0hBO7tablpVJTOUE89-b5IW6LJxCSu1neuB9d-i6yND-4kQ1RL6hXiueXOj2YB-SlH0O9r5YlZy9WYsLW8ryGlqTKAcWQ6B7rQustQ/s1600/DSCN0519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMfn3f2WKNW5uImxDgxuHfy-qKxRxtfu6cXQ7p0hBO7tablpVJTOUE89-b5IW6LJxCSu1neuB9d-i6yND-4kQ1RL6hXiueXOj2YB-SlH0O9r5YlZy9WYsLW8ryGlqTKAcWQ6B7rQustQ/s320/DSCN0519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pandas were in the Panda House so we couldn't see them that well. :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8NWAHLaNNvTHJG-6j1wE-vopbpOuI_rkyQNgKXoo9oGYS4Pb-Om_woNXxqNAZsKTSqTqp9DZYjI9ozTXViGnQpf8HDiIthR-VinUXNPd70O-vdg7pobUDC_fgDUVdsMRdEkQQaohyjI/s1600/DSCN0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8NWAHLaNNvTHJG-6j1wE-vopbpOuI_rkyQNgKXoo9oGYS4Pb-Om_woNXxqNAZsKTSqTqp9DZYjI9ozTXViGnQpf8HDiIthR-VinUXNPd70O-vdg7pobUDC_fgDUVdsMRdEkQQaohyjI/s320/DSCN0557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snuggling with Daddy</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghKKnK0fepsgho4vFTnjAZSfA6CfjB54zjaD-QMKIcZcE8HJuRjuJDVEK2GsDhb5EatRlm31DsPOTnSbPECzZ6HtAq0KHI2xpVL0Y7Clv3UK9C8-80i2gNcTuCLHhd5TV9B43bDnAlnQ/s1600/DSCN0560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghKKnK0fepsgho4vFTnjAZSfA6CfjB54zjaD-QMKIcZcE8HJuRjuJDVEK2GsDhb5EatRlm31DsPOTnSbPECzZ6HtAq0KHI2xpVL0Y7Clv3UK9C8-80i2gNcTuCLHhd5TV9B43bDnAlnQ/s320/DSCN0560.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our room.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQjzynUg2QeCptRAP6-KR29IVPOqapQdAtF4bHliTRqX0f01QlIWUFZ2tT0LnGoKOXBTpIn5a-mihW39uyV3sQKssxS8d5UhhjltrUpAqbPebjY7NG6r6Rz8318Nhqac_zRA6fVktbq8/s1600/DSCN0565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQjzynUg2QeCptRAP6-KR29IVPOqapQdAtF4bHliTRqX0f01QlIWUFZ2tT0LnGoKOXBTpIn5a-mihW39uyV3sQKssxS8d5UhhjltrUpAqbPebjY7NG6r6Rz8318Nhqac_zRA6fVktbq8/s320/DSCN0565.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish in our hotel garden area.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo3TV9ITWujKX1m7ZQmKKpjLlN1EHE90p-0qQaSJRkq8xITjDEf-E6ehGXybI7PzJ8oOievd1kdK7Fks-juQKCH7aiOXUY2VCjrG-O7XEgD04dtZUyqOtnF79jKJaEdZTC62KlaABH6o/s1600/DSCN0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo3TV9ITWujKX1m7ZQmKKpjLlN1EHE90p-0qQaSJRkq8xITjDEf-E6ehGXybI7PzJ8oOievd1kdK7Fks-juQKCH7aiOXUY2VCjrG-O7XEgD04dtZUyqOtnF79jKJaEdZTC62KlaABH6o/s320/DSCN0573.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy girl with her dessert!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQU3sCMOgo6ToauQiJalwM0QuCIVnA9fAd3DtHy-QxbIKVV_AZ7pt8_bZjJpr-PC41jVQN0oApOY7n_3-o6aRtU_9Inzi6hP-rTcYcL7jy3Rf955X9UDAKMmbGU_XVG5MuzbhJMKVZhk/s1600/DSCN0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQU3sCMOgo6ToauQiJalwM0QuCIVnA9fAd3DtHy-QxbIKVV_AZ7pt8_bZjJpr-PC41jVQN0oApOY7n_3-o6aRtU_9Inzi6hP-rTcYcL7jy3Rf955X9UDAKMmbGU_XVG5MuzbhJMKVZhk/s320/DSCN0612.JPG" width="240" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben's tiramisu, I had a blueberry cheesecake :)</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-90983083141141162722016-02-05T17:10:00.000-08:002016-02-05T17:11:22.882-08:00Jan 24 - Sightseeing Shamian Island<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sunday, January 24, 2016</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, Ben and I got about 11 hours of
sleep last night and Lucee over 12. What are we gonna do when
reality hits and we can't sleep this long??!! We got to Skype with
the kids this morning before heading down for breakfast. The boys
got to go ice fishing with papa and Lilee had a date with Nana. They
are so cute and we miss them sooooooooooooooooooooo (there aren't
enough O's to show how much we miss them) much! It seems like the
end is in sight, only 5 more days till we see them!!!
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning, Lucee seems to be more
attached to Ben than me. It's kind of hard, to love someone so much
but they don't want to interact with you. I know this will pass and
in bit she'll want me again, but for now, it's difficult. Anytime I
try helping her or ask her something she says 'no' to me.
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We go down to breakfast and I was able
to talk with a family from Kentucky who is here for their second
adoption of a girl who turns 2 years old in 7 days. Their first girl
they adopted when she was 9 months old and she is now 6 years old.
It was nice to see there is hope for the future, she will eventually
feel a part of our family and feel safe with us.
</div>
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After breakfast, we met our guide to go
to Shamian Island to do some shopping for souvenirs. He took us to
an area that had been built by the British when they invaded over a
hundred years ago. It is called an island because it is a bunch of
buildings together with a waterway built around it like an island.
The buildings are beautiful and there are statues throughout that are
famous. We went into 2 shops where we found most of our souvenirs
for our kids back home. We wished the weather was better, because we
would've loved to walk around and explore it more. However, it began
sleeting so we decided to head back to the hotel. On the drive home
it began snowing a few big snowflakes. Our driver who is almost 60
years old and has lived in Guangzhou his whole life has never seen it
snow here. We saw people come out of buildings and take pictures of
the “snow”. I say “snow” because it didn't even stick, but
just a few sparse flakes here and there. But to them, they may have
never seen it at all. So it was a big deal.</div>
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We got back to the hotel and Ben went
to get our lunch to bring back to the hotel for us all to eat. He
got chicken and rice and a Big Mac from McDonald's. This was the
first time Lucee ate most of her meal, which was encouraging cause
she hasn't eaten much the past couple days besides yogurt and
bananas. After lunch, it was Ben's turn to attempt to put her down
for a nap. Shockingly there was no struggle at all. She just laid
down next to him and she fell asleep without any crying or screaming.
She slept for about an hour and a half and then woke up in a great
mood where everything is fun and she laughs at everything.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We heard there was a great Thai
restaurant nearby so after playing in the hotel room, we decided to
brave the windy, cold night and walk around to find the Thai
restaurant. After walking around for about a half an hour, with no
Thai place in site, we decided to go with the good ole' trusty Beef
and Noodle place we've come to rely on. We got beef noodles for Ben
and I, and tried a different dish of noodles and chicken broth with
veggies for Lucee. We got back to the hotel and she ate about half
of her dish (again, a huge improvement and we were thankful that she
is eating more.) and we enjoyed our beef and noodles. Tomorrow we
will ask our guide where this famous Thai restaurant is... Tonight,
Lucee enjoyed another long bubble bath while I washed as many clothes
as I could in the bathroom sink.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tonight we were planning on spending
some time together after she fell asleep, so we acted like we were
going to sleep with her, but since she ended up taking over an hour
to fall asleep, we all fell asleep at basically the same time
tonight. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV18sExDEytgRG1_PYcBeyMzNjLx5nYcCVKojGnmJAmyjZS1hjmo7kREOgS4prstZKRZtYzZqKyi9tisF1iVDtkLJumoP5i38njwQWnkRpMJbSNqI-BG7YbCKsxRhrWFm2fMrPXlpmK7M/s1600/DSCN0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV18sExDEytgRG1_PYcBeyMzNjLx5nYcCVKojGnmJAmyjZS1hjmo7kREOgS4prstZKRZtYzZqKyi9tisF1iVDtkLJumoP5i38njwQWnkRpMJbSNqI-BG7YbCKsxRhrWFm2fMrPXlpmK7M/s320/DSCN0443.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy car in our hotel lobby... Ben would remember what kind it is, I have no clue :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTGsMAfSs0QdUrmLrIWwGumSVHZ1FhmFTRy6mO5rgMNASc7rS5UPsx-M35PQxi5AjOcw7uX_a7pvPeH0wK2CT8Cs8fe-Li-CES33Amxpb-HEqhOFIhsFao6DoSxcE1hFw1OBmiaqHKcs/s1600/DSCN0452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTGsMAfSs0QdUrmLrIWwGumSVHZ1FhmFTRy6mO5rgMNASc7rS5UPsx-M35PQxi5AjOcw7uX_a7pvPeH0wK2CT8Cs8fe-Li-CES33Amxpb-HEqhOFIhsFao6DoSxcE1hFw1OBmiaqHKcs/s320/DSCN0452.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shamian Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NhMcrgN4mbKVqnL2NadR57oloQUndEECD4Ip098k7PpUXVQtfk7jC2bev07xaXysOz8amqU4RLaqrEuoXk_lkCnD2spvV4uTyZSIJjr1yEaVs3mzmUj4w7SQvE9z0pVkVQrxux9Aoco/s1600/DSCN0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NhMcrgN4mbKVqnL2NadR57oloQUndEECD4Ip098k7PpUXVQtfk7jC2bev07xaXysOz8amqU4RLaqrEuoXk_lkCnD2spvV4uTyZSIJjr1yEaVs3mzmUj4w7SQvE9z0pVkVQrxux9Aoco/s320/DSCN0461.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are lots of statues here!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kBYPY8o_vhyphenhyphen-FDp36BOZe19CfaUj0clO-Cc3TJ-ccIuZs_tt76uvVeXWoVtnWxBQ1VuKpgtMNRxgU-N1sLQ7NwrcFZMtenAhLp5Z2eywPBljLqd4aMqJWz_nBAKjkSHDTUYuvWL6_cQ/s1600/DSCN0465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kBYPY8o_vhyphenhyphen-FDp36BOZe19CfaUj0clO-Cc3TJ-ccIuZs_tt76uvVeXWoVtnWxBQ1VuKpgtMNRxgU-N1sLQ7NwrcFZMtenAhLp5Z2eywPBljLqd4aMqJWz_nBAKjkSHDTUYuvWL6_cQ/s320/DSCN0465.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shamian Island - beautiful building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBprflKUhowFhpkRPR_GetwsrdGgRYs13pw0txwv54Sb5X_3C06o9_naz95es52luMVYEaIgMmbVxbZMU5ujgs1pxMAVtjgl2Yf4Ub7e3zzJUWS-HoXS-Dz-RRmgc8c6hnAAm7FsE00Xs/s1600/DSCN0467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBprflKUhowFhpkRPR_GetwsrdGgRYs13pw0txwv54Sb5X_3C06o9_naz95es52luMVYEaIgMmbVxbZMU5ujgs1pxMAVtjgl2Yf4Ub7e3zzJUWS-HoXS-Dz-RRmgc8c6hnAAm7FsE00Xs/s320/DSCN0467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TrWA0dqaC53lg1FzfBf-Kcesv-0SnDtlLCN2KyQVOIrH-oRX51gAg2b64Oavm1u8n3H4fStS4Y_S_XJshyphenhyphengrKbSYJ7VDhr1AzP707gzkJMM9cO2FTlTSyLYmWP2fHE4P0FsmFDBDHhQ/s1600/DSCN0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TrWA0dqaC53lg1FzfBf-Kcesv-0SnDtlLCN2KyQVOIrH-oRX51gAg2b64Oavm1u8n3H4fStS4Y_S_XJshyphenhyphengrKbSYJ7VDhr1AzP707gzkJMM9cO2FTlTSyLYmWP2fHE4P0FsmFDBDHhQ/s320/DSCN0471.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The baby whisperer... and his baby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G-V5_NZkZ_CXiWJtcxKrSsTNcoQ9rSeHfnyBN0bfYRcRjo4LFu8I6rBhfkjDSB47OsKHYOB_3sUXnrEA490reeIxKqMmHSuCz0jN10tJl33bTFOn_rZrvCzVZX5KhyphenhyphenpQQTkakmBsfIc/s1600/DSCN0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G-V5_NZkZ_CXiWJtcxKrSsTNcoQ9rSeHfnyBN0bfYRcRjo4LFu8I6rBhfkjDSB47OsKHYOB_3sUXnrEA490reeIxKqMmHSuCz0jN10tJl33bTFOn_rZrvCzVZX5KhyphenhyphenpQQTkakmBsfIc/s320/DSCN0481.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her favorite transportation :) Daddy's shoulders.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9oL2NrVJoiSWeySgR0ia51q7uWAJOzYhBMhS3U2RzNMMVkeK_UxYjdtcSuNPUEEX7roNqeA9VHqn4_9JHLmvkOPOSKgRYtrYwJhQw3Seu-7bHmKUk2olXqqvov5-TWtYKCA_v9N7s2k/s1600/DSCN0488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9oL2NrVJoiSWeySgR0ia51q7uWAJOzYhBMhS3U2RzNMMVkeK_UxYjdtcSuNPUEEX7roNqeA9VHqn4_9JHLmvkOPOSKgRYtrYwJhQw3Seu-7bHmKUk2olXqqvov5-TWtYKCA_v9N7s2k/s320/DSCN0488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating dinner in our room...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifYV3N6V3kW1_7OlZcUDo_wlCfCrgEwpn6iZisahvulH-MwmGjL0REdEsaz8nx0RdbizMAydgcflshXBcmru8te6d5Pjyk27oNt-lqLkOYRY1Fl9hVliSzx8m6njtVBzFuG_8-PlVuRI/s1600/DSCN0490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifYV3N6V3kW1_7OlZcUDo_wlCfCrgEwpn6iZisahvulH-MwmGjL0REdEsaz8nx0RdbizMAydgcflshXBcmru8te6d5Pjyk27oNt-lqLkOYRY1Fl9hVliSzx8m6njtVBzFuG_8-PlVuRI/s320/DSCN0490.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves noodles!!!!</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-2834764858540778092016-02-04T07:40:00.002-08:002016-02-04T07:40:27.638-08:00Jan 23 - Health Exam and First Day in Guangzhou
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
*** FYI - All families who adopt from China have to go to Guangzhou to complete the adoption process. Also, you pronounce it like Gwong Joe :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saturday, January 23, 2016</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we got up and got ready for the
heath exam. I made sure to pack a sucker (for after her TB blood
draw – they do a blood draw to test for TB rather than the usual
test of giving a shot and checking 2 days later for a reaction... the
blood draw is generally more accurate than the shot.) and toys to
occupy her time as it could take up to 2 hours being there on a busy
Saturday morning. We went down for breakfast and were shocked to
see tons of American families with adopted children! We had to of
seen at least 14 families sitting and eating breakfast with their
kids. It was comforting, but also we wanted to talk with each one of
them and hear their stories. We found out later that there were 2
large groups of families ( one group of ten families and another
group of seven families) that were traveling together. We saw the
family that we met at the jade factory in Beijing and talked with
them to see how things were going. They were surprised by the fact
that their 18month boy that they adopted seemed to have never left
his crib while in the orphanage. He would go stiff when held at
first and didn't make eye contact. She said that after a few days,
they have seen progress in his interaction with them.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After breakfast, we met Jack in the
lobby. We drove to the clinic and had Lucee's photo taken for the
visa and then went upstairs to a packed waiting room. People were
waiting in lines with their children. There were 4 rooms that each
child had to go into. It seemed like our guide knew just what to do,
because other families had been there for over an hour and we only
ended up being there for about 20-30 minutes. We had her hearing
tested, her temperature/weight/height taken, a doctor checked her
body to make sure all was healthy. He seemed shocked that she could
walk on her own without any device to help her. Then the last room
was the blood draw. They thankfully don't let the parents go in. We
waited outside and she emerged screaming and crying. I held her till
she calmed down and then we left. Jack came up to our room to get
all the paperwork that we brought from Changsha. He would be
organizing it and looking over it to prepare everything for the
interview on Tuesday at the Embassy. He noticed that the documents
had a gap in them. They said that she was found at the hospital 6
days after her birth, but that she didn't go to the orphanage until 5
months later. He said that the Embassy might not be okay with that
information gap and that he would find out where she was for those 5
months. Come to find out, she was in the hospital during those 5
months because it was better for her to be there with her condition
as a small infant than at the orphanage. After 5 months, they moved
her to the orphanage where she could be cared for until we picked her
up 4 years later.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We ate lunch in the room and decided
today was the day we'd try for a nap. We began by praying for her
and asking God to help us have patience and her to understand we love
her. I took her potty and laid in bed with her, telling her in
Chinese as best as I could, we are going to sleep. She began
screaming and trying to get out of bed. I just kept holding her and
saying, “It's okay, we're going to rest.” over and over. After
about 30 minutes of her resisting, she finally calmed down and fell
asleep. After she was asleep for 5-10 minutes I turned on the tv and
watched '50 First Dates' with Ben while she laid in my arms fast
asleep. It was like a mini date for us and we soaked it up. She
slept for the entire movie and then woke up in a wonderful mood ,
laughing a lot and giggling with us. I took her to the play room in
the hotel (MUCH better than the one in Changsha!!!) while Ben worked
on homework in the room.
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then we went to the Mexican restaurant,
which was very yummy. The only disappointing thing about it was they
didn't serve chips and salsa like most do back in the states. :(
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got back to the room and I gave
Lucee a long bath while I washed clothes in the sink. She enjoyed
playing with an empty water bottle and the rubber ducky that the
hotel gave her. Our other kids would love this bathtub! It's in an
enclosed area that they could splash all they want and the water just
runs down the drain. A kids splashing heaven. :) Lucee enjoyed it
too! Then we all went to bed around 8pm with no battles or
meltdowns... yes, the nap is something we need to make sure she gets
most days from now on. :) </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFC2YynoEQh97jOcdK65owhLK8fIM45YN3YMh-SKf82WfLuhzC3cgWXI-7ZBtYXsf0vXVj_3t7vMdHGt9lvw6YCjd6sIwOfIdWoZ6VGRv-heObj8U3zNATf7iu6Z4Hg2HMmwhX7Mr-Jok/s1600/DSCN0414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFC2YynoEQh97jOcdK65owhLK8fIM45YN3YMh-SKf82WfLuhzC3cgWXI-7ZBtYXsf0vXVj_3t7vMdHGt9lvw6YCjd6sIwOfIdWoZ6VGRv-heObj8U3zNATf7iu6Z4Hg2HMmwhX7Mr-Jok/s320/DSCN0414.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Health Exam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbh_LGvpHCBlat0XhYNGLMa5QHJ8OpfzA8cGFPz-CGKhmbp5iTp90JDFWWqdpWZX0cFyyYAOAh9V2WmEVj_41inCKnY12-lFwGmTCqnTZdymsBMfGQ1r1NGS4q4m8C5svkrv2IgMELRw/s1600/DSCN0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbh_LGvpHCBlat0XhYNGLMa5QHJ8OpfzA8cGFPz-CGKhmbp5iTp90JDFWWqdpWZX0cFyyYAOAh9V2WmEVj_41inCKnY12-lFwGmTCqnTZdymsBMfGQ1r1NGS4q4m8C5svkrv2IgMELRw/s320/DSCN0417.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting weighed and measured.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUiBtJu13DvwKqgIZzxw3W7QYVgntiGjv1Z6_CfvWYz70Z1NIsjfO-vSsTEFgs1MLsOAXx9oEhwzx1uf7LoiplaRlb0_J-U4JJoUc6U_pZiAv7TiAKJI3ZETX5l2MNBY99bKXjHUmLK8/s1600/DSCN0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUiBtJu13DvwKqgIZzxw3W7QYVgntiGjv1Z6_CfvWYz70Z1NIsjfO-vSsTEFgs1MLsOAXx9oEhwzx1uf7LoiplaRlb0_J-U4JJoUc6U_pZiAv7TiAKJI3ZETX5l2MNBY99bKXjHUmLK8/s320/DSCN0419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting her hearing tested. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZFhf8fHDFhJrTz59eAsYS-Qr7kY4khgwSIhZeQVX2CMQeDp2ljMfLEw4dbKLc8yxRGThnMnI8riok2ZHk5bZUHoQd1DTxsW1tkggSSFdotZ36ww0naCn0O7v6wLb4DJCE5iYIlDyKiA/s1600/DSCN0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZFhf8fHDFhJrTz59eAsYS-Qr7kY4khgwSIhZeQVX2CMQeDp2ljMfLEw4dbKLc8yxRGThnMnI8riok2ZHk5bZUHoQd1DTxsW1tkggSSFdotZ36ww0naCn0O7v6wLb4DJCE5iYIlDyKiA/s320/DSCN0421.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real orange trees they had everywhere in the lobby of our hotel for Chinese New Year decorations.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsftAcMSMkwcO3rDU6b8pU93ZGMYvbBGeqc_vV8W5avYhAel91qJtdwggA5iy-9DDOi_a2Sar8NquhQdiM63LAOE-BUHJ6lvgo_ak6Eto4N5OBv0gL9l7q3SSFe-jX0pG60sMZfilJW0/s1600/DSCN0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsftAcMSMkwcO3rDU6b8pU93ZGMYvbBGeqc_vV8W5avYhAel91qJtdwggA5iy-9DDOi_a2Sar8NquhQdiM63LAOE-BUHJ6lvgo_ak6Eto4N5OBv0gL9l7q3SSFe-jX0pG60sMZfilJW0/s320/DSCN0422.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack looking over all the paperwork, making sure everything looks good for our Consulate appointment on Tuesday.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO00YabmeEr6NjS4CC50J7msDWxX8uy5XMQE38FYbPO6E1pYmalw31LqtAv7gNz16aW7fXoTktVo8JO8BtGL02iudprFx9Yj411AYJIbtaSeOHajmqJOAfYkzk0Deyk6C_XWUxtJ6tH0/s1600/DSCN0431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO00YabmeEr6NjS4CC50J7msDWxX8uy5XMQE38FYbPO6E1pYmalw31LqtAv7gNz16aW7fXoTktVo8JO8BtGL02iudprFx9Yj411AYJIbtaSeOHajmqJOAfYkzk0Deyk6C_XWUxtJ6tH0/s320/DSCN0431.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paperwork, Paperwork...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN8R_I1ykF94fAjhtwqS2FrHdXkGjXbCWz4nIPGFYirpbTPHJGL_ksB97D3Cu4JZKlxF6lbBINGv7Ede-878RtgKHDyUgcXqHnqnbbXVdf6Ra8ZpEVHpxz5M99_G4DKPS9g-c99o1zPw/s1600/DSCN0437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN8R_I1ykF94fAjhtwqS2FrHdXkGjXbCWz4nIPGFYirpbTPHJGL_ksB97D3Cu4JZKlxF6lbBINGv7Ede-878RtgKHDyUgcXqHnqnbbXVdf6Ra8ZpEVHpxz5M99_G4DKPS9g-c99o1zPw/s320/DSCN0437.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican food made by Chinese servers... love it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga5kOUU1x8aNvbMRt4Hhj18DDKk8LaxjQUCKUm5hokb3fq9PS7aUQ1ExwpCMNIU3mNw9gn7k3VJ2DSpWaV8nk2ggTxKktpZftD5L6NLZuGBvTh7RxPPPS4houkwBh0nacMTs85oFOYHI/s1600/DSCN0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga5kOUU1x8aNvbMRt4Hhj18DDKk8LaxjQUCKUm5hokb3fq9PS7aUQ1ExwpCMNIU3mNw9gn7k3VJ2DSpWaV8nk2ggTxKktpZftD5L6NLZuGBvTh7RxPPPS4houkwBh0nacMTs85oFOYHI/s320/DSCN0439.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImlztN9sAmvo0A4sEKAXdv8d3fqJb08M8NF3EFxeVUc93hUHhZZP1_7Lu9zkDocU4VVNfq6CFjdjjlRg-xAL51-oXgfE2TBVfGKWNDSisVGpS5Hjai80AQqb5be_op7-xenztuZJCtf8/s1600/DSCN0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImlztN9sAmvo0A4sEKAXdv8d3fqJb08M8NF3EFxeVUc93hUHhZZP1_7Lu9zkDocU4VVNfq6CFjdjjlRg-xAL51-oXgfE2TBVfGKWNDSisVGpS5Hjai80AQqb5be_op7-xenztuZJCtf8/s320/DSCN0440.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing bathroom...</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-88167422378044836122016-02-03T10:43:00.002-08:002016-02-03T10:59:15.930-08:00Jan 22 - 5th Day with Lucee and Bullet Train Ride to Guangzhou<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday, January 22, 2016</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today is the day we take the high speed
bullet train from Changsha to Guangzhou. However, we don't leave the
hotel until 2pm. Our guide, Ashley, is getting all the paperwork
picked up and ready for us to take with us, so we don't have a guide
till 2pm. We slept in and Skyped with the kids and by the time we
got down to the breakfast area, there were only 20 minutes left.
So, I took her around to the different foods and asked her which ones
she liked. We have discovered she loves yogurt and these clear cube
looking fruits. She also likes warm soy milk and bacon. The first
day we had to bring the bacon in a napkin because we were late with
getting to our guide and from then on, she thinks bacon belongs in a
napkin and that we bring it with us. Ha ha...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went back to our room to kill time.
As I said yesterday, she is very curious about every thing and wants
to find out how things work. At first, we were saying no to items
that normally we wouldn't let the kids play with like fingernail
clippers and routers, etc. but when we realized she just wanted to
find out how they work, we began teaching her instead of just saying
no and taking them away. The fingernail clippers she learned how to
open and pinched them open and closed. She wanted to open up the
sewing kit in our hotel with needle and thread. Our instinct was to
tell her no and take it away, but Ben opened it up for her and was
shocked to find out she knew how to sew!!! She began sewing her
shirt with a needle and pink thread. She knew what to do at the end
to tie it off and didn't prick her self at all!!! We were amazed and
decided we would bring this on the plane to occupy part of the 14
hour plane ride home! We definitely want to continue this when we
get back home and are looking forward to getting sewing kits for kids
from the craft stores. It's either in her blood (coming from a
province where silk embroidery is so popular), she's brilliant ( we
already believe this to be true regardless) and learned by watching
the ladies at the silk factory the other day), or the orphanage
taught her to do this while she was there (a possibility, as they had
an art teacher come in to teach them art, so maybe a seamstress came
in to teach them how to sew?).
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We ate lunch and spent the last hour
playing chase in our room and 'ride the suitcase'. It's amazing what
you can do in a small space with few items. Then it came time to
meet our guide and say goodbye to Changsha. We drove to the train
station and said goodbye to Ashley. We then had to manhandle all of
our luggage (3 big suitcases, 2 duffle bags, a lap top bag and a
backpack!) and a 4 ½ year old girl through the ticket line,
security, up the escalator and to the 13<sup>th</sup> gate. We
waited about 30 minutes until it was time to go through the gate. We
got into line and as Ben handed the tickets to the lady at the gate,
she shook her head and handed them back saying something in Chinese.
We were so confused and I barely heard her say, “wait!” so we
waited while a bunch of other people went through. We weren't sure
what was wrong, was it full? Was there something wrong with our
tickets? Our guide couldn't come in past security and no one spoke
English. Other people were in line with us and they weren't allowed
to come through either. I looked up and saw that another train B12
was boarding now and B 13 still had 6 minutes left on it. Sure
enough, they weren't boarding for 13 yet, only 12 and once the 12
train left, then we were able to manhandle all the luggage and Lucee
through the gate with the crowd pushing all around us, and down the
escalator to the train platform. Right before going down the
escalator, an Asian man came up and said, “you need help?” we
were thankful for the offer but declined. I made sure to memorize
what he looked like in case we needed a translator on the train, ha
ha. Even though, those may have been the only English words he knew,
it was a breath of fresh air to know someone could speak a little
English.
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got on our train and Lucee wanted to
sit on my lap, so our 3<sup>rd</sup> seat sat empty for the 2hr 40
minute trip. I”m sure the man next to it was happy to have the
extra space. Even though we were pleasantly surprised by how spacious
the train seats were! It was very comfortable! The train got up to
307km/hour. I'll have to figure out how many mph that is equal to.
When it went through tunnels, my ears popped. We were very nervous
with how Lucee would handle the train ride. She doesn't like to be
confined to one spot for very long and definitely doesn't like to be
told no. We made sure to pack lots of snacks and she ended up doing
really well. In the van ride over to the train station, she got
really sad looking and wanted to take off her coat. After she did
that, she threw up a little, indicating she might be motion sick...
hopefully the train and plane rides won't affect her.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The train ride went great, even with it
taking 20 minutes longer than scheduled. It was amazing to see the
countryside and the old buildings out in the middle of no where.
Several times other trains would pass next to us going the opposite
direction. It was crazy how fast we were going. We got to Guangzhou
and grabbed all the luggage again to make it off and to the gates
where we met our next guide, Jack. Instantly he reminded me of an
Asian version of my Uncle Richard. He was very nice and spoke
English well. He told us we'd meet tomorrow morning at 930 am to
head to the clinic for Lucee's health exam and TB test which are
required for her to get her US Visa. He walked us up to our room
which was different than the other guides. He played with Lucee and
spoke Chinese with her. Again, reminding me of how my Uncle Richard
interacts with our other kids. Then he said good night and left. We
unpacked a bit and then Lucee and I finished unpacking while Ben went
out to get dinner. Lucee got beef noodles and Ben and I got a veggie
pizza from Pizza Hut. The pizza tasted just like the Pizza Hut back
home, with the tiny exception that they put corn and eggplant on the
veggie pizza. Guangzhou is very westernized and it is very
international as well. We have already seen almost as many
foreigners as we've seen people from China. People from Africa,
India, Europe, etc. and a lot of the people at our hotel speak
English. We've heard from other families who have adopted from
China that Guangzhou is a breath of fresh air. There's a Starbucks,
KFC McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Mexican and Thai restaurant all near our
hotel within walking distance. We definitely don't feel like we are
in the minority as much here.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Guangzhou is a tropical place normally.
We see palm trees and tropical flowers everywhere. However, we are
here on the coldest weeks of the year. In fact, it's supposed to be
the coldest tomorrow than it's been in over 20 years!
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I forgot to mention that in the van
ride from the train station to our hotel in Guangzhou, Lucee fell
asleep in Ben's lap (yes, they don't use seat-belts much here and
anytime we are in a vehicle, Lucee sits on one of our laps... pray
for us as she gets back to America and is confined to a car seat!!).
She woke up in a great mood and was very pleasant the rest of the
night. This was her first “nap” she's had since she's been with
us. It gave us hope that even if it's a battle, it would be good for
her to have a nap (like she did in the orphanage) because there are
less meltdowns the rest of the day when she napped. She also had no
trouble going to sleep. Tomorrow we will attempt to have her take a
nap. She slept great the whole night. One time, I woke up to her
giggling in her sleep. We are so thankful that God placed this
little girl in our family!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n0b7ZQgiOVs4FQVSmfNsNy_Wbma-XZnzbHTc_v_9XDvmeK6_Qp3peDX0RKJspTf-8Tw1kJJWdPLlksKYgg9R3IdhAxxTM3NE-STixoTD8Y-z_Joa-owBKlbqQARks7xth_kzH7fHFjQ/s1600/DSCN0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n0b7ZQgiOVs4FQVSmfNsNy_Wbma-XZnzbHTc_v_9XDvmeK6_Qp3peDX0RKJspTf-8Tw1kJJWdPLlksKYgg9R3IdhAxxTM3NE-STixoTD8Y-z_Joa-owBKlbqQARks7xth_kzH7fHFjQ/s320/DSCN0363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working intently on sewing her shirt. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9tPii1_nFO3L1aVMZgaGmj7-uKiaIAQA82265cHZVtnp5uQOOqz4ihF4jTtIrYefauX5GqYL1-ug-CP4RwQWva6UjVfth-nwjk7lGW3QvUDFvgW_pycY7mGn0p_xmjTFqfZGD0_9OWk/s1600/DSCN0376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9tPii1_nFO3L1aVMZgaGmj7-uKiaIAQA82265cHZVtnp5uQOOqz4ihF4jTtIrYefauX5GqYL1-ug-CP4RwQWva6UjVfth-nwjk7lGW3QvUDFvgW_pycY7mGn0p_xmjTFqfZGD0_9OWk/s320/DSCN0376.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding the suitcase!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJc8JcKHRRiAkoUdj0cuxLZEaLurwkExEFeA7qY4wSUH5RBMEFcmLEH-uYC93-6V8QhaEeN5WATjF0oRNMMU2ctcLimTZUSzbVPtY7WGx1Su-j5BP7WtHzihqg2wLJdIm-RAqZHVVtqIU/s1600/DSCN0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJc8JcKHRRiAkoUdj0cuxLZEaLurwkExEFeA7qY4wSUH5RBMEFcmLEH-uYC93-6V8QhaEeN5WATjF0oRNMMU2ctcLimTZUSzbVPtY7WGx1Su-j5BP7WtHzihqg2wLJdIm-RAqZHVVtqIU/s320/DSCN0378.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed and ready to go to the final destination!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTIXIp7EfxyNGd5HoiRvWWYDIkQxPkoTKCPwUG5vBI8_P_cxeJnHrtVZ6GojBcinPQk2PonynhdBQsbFoGWpnQul3Rf4EFXTZRilNsR_25Kakdc6D6h7yFYgd3Ewq4J_tVoSmOpwP-AI/s1600/DSCN0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTIXIp7EfxyNGd5HoiRvWWYDIkQxPkoTKCPwUG5vBI8_P_cxeJnHrtVZ6GojBcinPQk2PonynhdBQsbFoGWpnQul3Rf4EFXTZRilNsR_25Kakdc6D6h7yFYgd3Ewq4J_tVoSmOpwP-AI/s320/DSCN0387.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Train Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIfXWDrvw0OlFmidKKjYmi20iwXskB3Y2WHd1hnw_I76U7eTiT3JYJkBtrcMqthjhKGl4Np9cR99WS3mk2asIj8tv3GliDKR-yw-ShBYlZf_ZnxAISRFbesamrw6scXGeXM0UfUz9jCs/s1600/DSCN0395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIfXWDrvw0OlFmidKKjYmi20iwXskB3Y2WHd1hnw_I76U7eTiT3JYJkBtrcMqthjhKGl4Np9cR99WS3mk2asIj8tv3GliDKR-yw-ShBYlZf_ZnxAISRFbesamrw6scXGeXM0UfUz9jCs/s320/DSCN0395.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the train...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxIeYT4qBaWCsrYSYiFD_bArIMC4NZCZc58h_6S2BmW2ZT4vMglVzj2-mbdbnjVHGJqTG_wq_WOprq7okD8frDIZ4gJjpbOAa4JKXGP_jeNGeCzBKH4PjhyphenhyphenA1Sx-O-80_q-nWzkhu1d4/s1600/DSCN0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxIeYT4qBaWCsrYSYiFD_bArIMC4NZCZc58h_6S2BmW2ZT4vMglVzj2-mbdbnjVHGJqTG_wq_WOprq7okD8frDIZ4gJjpbOAa4JKXGP_jeNGeCzBKH4PjhyphenhyphenA1Sx-O-80_q-nWzkhu1d4/s320/DSCN0402.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding on the bullet train! </td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-39066685857112261592016-02-03T10:39:00.000-08:002016-02-03T10:39:00.249-08:00Jan 21 - Visiting the Orphanage and Other Things...
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Thursday January 21, 2016</div>
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This morning,Ben and I woke up earlier
than Lucee and got ready before she woke up. She woke up on her own
at 715am, probably because the lights were semi on and we were
skyping with the kids who had made it safely to nana and papa's and
she had wet the bed. I gave her a bath and got her dressed for the
day. She seemed to be in a better mood, but wasn't acting very good
toward Ben for some reason. We've noticed that she'll seem to be
close to one of us and then be close with the other one at a later
time. However, most of the time she seems to be in a good mood with
both of us. It's at least reassuring that if she seems to not like
Ben for a bit, we know it won't take long and she'll be buddy buddy
with him, and vice versa with Brandee.
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Today is the day we have the option to
go visit the orphanage and take pictures. However, with the last day
or so, we've decided not to take Lucee back, but for one of us to go
take pictures while the other one stays with Lucee. We had asked
Ashley for his advice since he has seen many, many adoptions take
place, what his opinion was to take the kids back to the orphanage to
visit. He said it's completely up to us, but that he seems to think
that kids who are Lucee's age, seem to get sad and act like they
wonder why they are coming back. Are they being left again? And then
they go with the parents again and it's like a roller coaster of
emotions, they are in an orphanage, they are not, then they are
again, and then not. If we had taken her yesterday, we would've
blamed ourselves that that was the reason for her shift in behavior
after the 2<sup>nd</sup> day. We were thankful that we confidently
knew that that was not the reason for her shift and didn't want to
chance her reverting back anymore behaviorally. With her being a
little more standoffish with Ben this morning, we decided that he
would go take pictures while I stayed with her in the van.
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Ben's visit with the orphanage was very
special as he got to take videos and photos of where Lucee has spent
the past 4 years of her life. We are thankful that the orphanage
seems to have been a clean, safe place for her to grow and develop.
We heard that since she is from an orphanage in the capital city of
her province that it is usually a bigger orphanage and they have more
resources and staff. This definitely seems to have been true as she
is a very social, engaging, smart child already. As Ben was taking a
tour, he realized that Lucee was in a “wing” of the building
specifically for kids with Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome. She
even had a room for her to do physical therapy and hydrotherapy! He
got to meet the nannies that had cared for her and see pictures of
her from when she was younger. What a blessing to have been able to
capture these memories for her. Although she didn't go back to visit
with him, these pictures and videos will hopefully one day be able to
help her through the processing of adoption. When Ben was there,
there was a boy (about 7 years old) who kept following him around
saying, “Baba? Baba? Baba?” and pointing to the door. Baba means
Dad in Chinese. Adam and Missy, we found your boy ;) Wish we
could've brought him back to a family in the US. Pray for him to
find his forever family, please.
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Afterwards, we went to Walmart to find
a suitcase and other items before our bullet train ride to Guangzhou
tomorrow. Ben has been craving a regular bag of Lay's potato chips
the past couple days and we found a big bag at Walmart. Apparently,
Lucee likes them too. Funny thing is, we rarely ever buy them in the
US, but in China they tasted great! After Walmart, we went back to
the hotel for lunch and a long afternoon... We have kind of come to
dread the afternoons in Changsha, because there isn't much to do, and
she hasn't take a nap for us, so we just hang out in the room. But
after 4 days of this, the few toys we brought are becoming old and
she is bored with them. We are finding it's the simple, odd things
she is interested in (but just once and then she moves on) for
example, this afternoon she played a while with a deck of playing
cards. She likes to take things out of packages and put them back
in. We also took a walk outside (it's been very cold and dreary here
the entire time we've been here). One last walk in Changsha, where we
feel a bit like aliens. As we walk down the street we can see out of
the corner of our eye, the people turning to stare at us as we pass
each other. We also got to see a man in the underground tunnel, that
people walk through to cross the busy streets, singing for money. He
was an albino Asian man. He had a special walking stick laying next
to him as he sat on the ground, indicating that he was blind. On the
other end of the tunnel was another man laying in a bed like mat of
blankets as though he was homeless. It made us think about the many
children in the Chinese orphanages that age out of the system and
many of them turn to the streets for survival. We learned that some
of them are able to stay and work in the orphanage, but many do not.
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We went back to the hotel to rest and
play what has become one of Lucee's favorite games, PU Stinky! This
time it was with Ben's shoes. She will smell them and then put them
down and wave her hand in front of her nose and say in pretty clear
English, “PU Stinky!” She has picked up on a lot of English
words since we have gotten her. She only knew “hello” when we
got her. Now she tries to copy the words we say. We have also
started teaching her basic sign language, which she seems to pick up
on quickly as well. For a girl who was given such a low IQ score on
her adoption file, she is showing that that was definitely an error
of scoring. She is very smart and picks up on things quickly. She
loves to see how things work, as you'll see a perfect example of this
tomorrow. We also watched the China's Got Talent show and a
Caucasian lady from Italy was on there putting sharks to sleep.
Lucee went up to the TV and pointed to the lady and said “momma....
something in Chinese.” Then she'd point to me and laugh and go back
and forth doing this. To me it seemed like she was saying, “momma,
she looks like you”. I'm curious what she'll think when we get
back to America and most people “look like momma”. :)
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Tonight we decided to take advantage of
the free pillow service we had read about on a sign in the room. You
could choose from seven different scented pillows to use for free or
to buy. I called the service desk like it said to on the sign and
asked for the free pillow service for Buckwheat and ginkgo. The lady
didn't understand English so she had another lady get on the phone.
This lady didn't understand me either because the next think I know,
a lady is knocking at our door with 2 fresh pillowcases to put on our
pillows. I tried explaining to her by gestures that we wanted a
scented pillow and I'm sure she thought I was a bit crazy. I ended
up telling her in Chinese, “no thank you, sorry” and she left.
No pillow service for us tonight. But we did end up sleeping well
and with her going to bed around 8pm and us going to bed about the
same time, Ben and I are getting at least 10 hours of sleep. Wish we
could bottle this up and use when we get back home and have 4 kids :)</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7S_PBHVx80BiI6grsBwGNAWvextgxrrsNqcE6m2wWCGZf61IC9rUZVv1Dguc0NIqvNlr1a628USVUVKnnBQFs48Ozyr7SYXgdi79qloNTPhcWr1C6H9uM3u1cf86tpVNHJQADkopMFU/s1600/DSCN0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7S_PBHVx80BiI6grsBwGNAWvextgxrrsNqcE6m2wWCGZf61IC9rUZVv1Dguc0NIqvNlr1a628USVUVKnnBQFs48Ozyr7SYXgdi79qloNTPhcWr1C6H9uM3u1cf86tpVNHJQADkopMFU/s320/DSCN0231.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy who called Ben, "Baba"... He's looking for a home! :) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g49csg7mFYa5v2ngwd3TFx4axouiea0gqk9hcvj0kTFchsetAUL1RBsY3NTnJNgpXUS92tSfajv7D2mHpla1g8TXwRStC7cQZ5aX5Ls35i3__s1HvRzU_1tyiRHJitBwLS_G7_6ewCw/s1600/DSCN0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g49csg7mFYa5v2ngwd3TFx4axouiea0gqk9hcvj0kTFchsetAUL1RBsY3NTnJNgpXUS92tSfajv7D2mHpla1g8TXwRStC7cQZ5aX5Ls35i3__s1HvRzU_1tyiRHJitBwLS_G7_6ewCw/s320/DSCN0237.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of Lucee painting (she's the one in the front).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckzAgEiycgq-e9aKc0-nBvQ-tOEgS68eG54Nh0R2f6-9EyqeVy2LrWpuQTomOeC9otOCZaTxfFUSyinR7RrxxGuPLgbsJpwFtER-jwTE8dG5NSuD04NCGXz18yDbtUqWboJg3NCQHIr0/s1600/DSCN0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckzAgEiycgq-e9aKc0-nBvQ-tOEgS68eG54Nh0R2f6-9EyqeVy2LrWpuQTomOeC9otOCZaTxfFUSyinR7RrxxGuPLgbsJpwFtER-jwTE8dG5NSuD04NCGXz18yDbtUqWboJg3NCQHIr0/s320/DSCN0242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee's old bed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzuEzYybFjJTjsQ6w2_-v5LEKjTF9SQcPL8GCFHzXOX1BJvyY_kBrkEPdmIxE4BlU1h2CA-iqDyWfAvok0m08BQCGvmwzXwh61314Up3k3e6H6lizc7430eGUXr5uDADsAqqAQ7TFdpU/s1600/DSCN0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzuEzYybFjJTjsQ6w2_-v5LEKjTF9SQcPL8GCFHzXOX1BJvyY_kBrkEPdmIxE4BlU1h2CA-iqDyWfAvok0m08BQCGvmwzXwh61314Up3k3e6H6lizc7430eGUXr5uDADsAqqAQ7TFdpU/s320/DSCN0248.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben and one of Lucee's nannies, Wendy (I believe that was her name).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBN5KZYTZZ7yiGcC5etBkXyd1Lxx0E_u3Uuiz-7RXoUxq4BjxjbwPLeQvLJKx07Ud2q1QXDiWOazHxfbnPfne7zoJdv-Ti8AzhoiK9-3vfCNru-js18frler1ji0V_F1FkIwgZy7Xj3xs/s1600/DSCN0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBN5KZYTZZ7yiGcC5etBkXyd1Lxx0E_u3Uuiz-7RXoUxq4BjxjbwPLeQvLJKx07Ud2q1QXDiWOazHxfbnPfne7zoJdv-Ti8AzhoiK9-3vfCNru-js18frler1ji0V_F1FkIwgZy7Xj3xs/s320/DSCN0253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her hydrotherapy room.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAyJihTWxcJ21nNdBOG8Gy9vWy41Z2UMbodbB72u0u3bN4Shreeaq5ixK-H2Wa_yFcMgmQMtuTsev7frHwHOhK3hCqdorcic3Rnl3dX-kaBGFtPy_ePjM8gelDNFKSs-xxh-f6hbaBF4/s1600/DSCN0256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAyJihTWxcJ21nNdBOG8Gy9vWy41Z2UMbodbB72u0u3bN4Shreeaq5ixK-H2Wa_yFcMgmQMtuTsev7frHwHOhK3hCqdorcic3Rnl3dX-kaBGFtPy_ePjM8gelDNFKSs-xxh-f6hbaBF4/s320/DSCN0256.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her sensory motor therapy room.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMdbDGMpNXHVrg7CJQ-FgYpktOWAmBCCys7LUhlEWSdzsZqOvnqjZvBDPJvrMkhzgSRSRO6mVEfrXGLSidYO5_ZKiO8s0tMAVVapR6ZqAJ1X-VUV4kxLIVsb332MkgOlnqsvwIxMGnDQ/s1600/DSCN0260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMdbDGMpNXHVrg7CJQ-FgYpktOWAmBCCys7LUhlEWSdzsZqOvnqjZvBDPJvrMkhzgSRSRO6mVEfrXGLSidYO5_ZKiO8s0tMAVVapR6ZqAJ1X-VUV4kxLIVsb332MkgOlnqsvwIxMGnDQ/s320/DSCN0260.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xxT4tqiilkK0723CN_p0AzcQfbXATT3k4JB0aOaY2e5oMbB6JgqskJsBnsUv3jRzX1AVS1E_U7ya2ReQSar4U5LeuHnlMnls5sFyjmQmZpRWr05cxjIEvtJ1Cuvh9imodefyl2piWCw/s1600/DSCN0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xxT4tqiilkK0723CN_p0AzcQfbXATT3k4JB0aOaY2e5oMbB6JgqskJsBnsUv3jRzX1AVS1E_U7ya2ReQSar4U5LeuHnlMnls5sFyjmQmZpRWr05cxjIEvtJ1Cuvh9imodefyl2piWCw/s320/DSCN0265.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the way kids ride in China... sitting in their parents lap or in their own seatbelt... Thankfully we didn't go that fast, but still it was a so different than the laws in America. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikay0kmkQjVlPJb_tyVeP4FFxgOPruahiITBC0CBkSa2DylLqaFzKRqPUwuLtdcAVVGp1TNGf7yqvsXIRVJpAi8RZJbFP4AhEtpq3_WJDZufueQjPTtKDVQPxVnR06YhJHqonBWkQnzWY/s1600/DSCN0279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikay0kmkQjVlPJb_tyVeP4FFxgOPruahiITBC0CBkSa2DylLqaFzKRqPUwuLtdcAVVGp1TNGf7yqvsXIRVJpAi8RZJbFP4AhEtpq3_WJDZufueQjPTtKDVQPxVnR06YhJHqonBWkQnzWY/s320/DSCN0279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopping for a picture on our walk around the hotel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvbZTJugy8san9G5VpspTToTc9x-4h3dqjA1pDWckPw1w67mww7r573aHeTuiInK3wkldJkT5Uk1VpbyI0YHiwoDChn5YRCms3N0i7f0yEcmYjTO0oy_PYakot_fJ5m47aX8pfDcB_3s/s1600/DSCN0310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvbZTJugy8san9G5VpspTToTc9x-4h3dqjA1pDWckPw1w67mww7r573aHeTuiInK3wkldJkT5Uk1VpbyI0YHiwoDChn5YRCms3N0i7f0yEcmYjTO0oy_PYakot_fJ5m47aX8pfDcB_3s/s320/DSCN0310.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This smile is so contagious and heartwarming!!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklrzToxQ3eUlxnbpesXvGhmn3v0NtbkCo0drVTBjSh1Y4S0FygVgCWvWvi-i1OqbQ4SHGU3IhXz3u2auj3ZV8xzEpbh5EIYwDEVLneoiZDoM-g5TK1w5OGz2WMtYo5HAqmmopwLiKRPw/s1600/DSCN0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklrzToxQ3eUlxnbpesXvGhmn3v0NtbkCo0drVTBjSh1Y4S0FygVgCWvWvi-i1OqbQ4SHGU3IhXz3u2auj3ZV8xzEpbh5EIYwDEVLneoiZDoM-g5TK1w5OGz2WMtYo5HAqmmopwLiKRPw/s320/DSCN0330.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PU Stinky!!! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb_k6EZohoF2OgHSASIYCO4KOZ44Spi2YUtv6ETGtJKVg8BQ4NtNN4W6bLbEaI0lcFFIwzUUf-5maI3t_SpMpywxDx2ZOTowY6gNBr6IOakHGvUPQiGxj1F4QNMVyGVhvrFG9V6uOuSM/s1600/DSCN0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb_k6EZohoF2OgHSASIYCO4KOZ44Spi2YUtv6ETGtJKVg8BQ4NtNN4W6bLbEaI0lcFFIwzUUf-5maI3t_SpMpywxDx2ZOTowY6gNBr6IOakHGvUPQiGxj1F4QNMVyGVhvrFG9V6uOuSM/s320/DSCN0334.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loved riding on Ben's shoulders.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfghZgXy_6Dg1GgjVfWznOlioDrClY0ZkZXsnwodd5EuB47in9yJw0sz5j6jAl4PKPqYh2jYk3VEuklz5SqVnNtZkNyDyAIFkuOLKERPxflzFx2DwiBS_Z7jauaSZ9sVGM2ki5GejKfU8/s1600/DSCN0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfghZgXy_6Dg1GgjVfWznOlioDrClY0ZkZXsnwodd5EuB47in9yJw0sz5j6jAl4PKPqYh2jYk3VEuklz5SqVnNtZkNyDyAIFkuOLKERPxflzFx2DwiBS_Z7jauaSZ9sVGM2ki5GejKfU8/s320/DSCN0336.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kisses for Baba!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg274vIVpcJb0VYOkQnFlCYkseqojTSEdfKfEqnZ-OyZv3LVBgA461x2MPcTBkxHhuI-RS_yl8egfEgbFhgciUJPmTjjj-hXCOXzjOE6zrcNSWdAiEjW95ByB-bO3SynHVLVt4pUJASdx8/s1600/DSCN0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg274vIVpcJb0VYOkQnFlCYkseqojTSEdfKfEqnZ-OyZv3LVBgA461x2MPcTBkxHhuI-RS_yl8egfEgbFhgciUJPmTjjj-hXCOXzjOE6zrcNSWdAiEjW95ByB-bO3SynHVLVt4pUJASdx8/s320/DSCN0345.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking cards out and putting them back in... it's the simple things.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_V-aeZS0zrVrfKJmeBHHUH61i71o0C2TeX2XiPDDxJTxTOaDVf-6D_Rfr3PtJ_irsk64nUcPCUkTwNV9igFuaQQmuU-FlWqc_mN6eYKeWwjyTL0IpBf9tZjPUmm3d4ZAvI_2qPUZv3sc/s1600/DSCN0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_V-aeZS0zrVrfKJmeBHHUH61i71o0C2TeX2XiPDDxJTxTOaDVf-6D_Rfr3PtJ_irsk64nUcPCUkTwNV9igFuaQQmuU-FlWqc_mN6eYKeWwjyTL0IpBf9tZjPUmm3d4ZAvI_2qPUZv3sc/s320/DSCN0356.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our pillow service... fail.</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-82038686115610776392016-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:002016-02-01T20:11:00.126-08:00Jan 20th - The "Honeymoon's" Over... ;)
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday, January 20, 2016</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today, we woke up and got ready for the
day, and headed downstairs to eat breakfast before meeting our guide
at 930am. We were headed to a silk embroidery workshop. Changsha is
known for it's silk embroidery. We got to see the room where 40 or
so women were working near the windows (for natural light, they don't
work under the electric lights because it is harder on the eyes if
it's not natural light). Ashley told us that they all drink green
tea because it's supposed to be good for the eyesight. The artwork
was so intricate and beautiful!
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then we went downstairs to the
galleries where we got to see pieces as much as half a million US
dollars! I think there were more expensive pieces but I didn't see
their cost. There are 2 people at the workshop that are the only
ones that know the technique to make a design on both sides of the
silk. We saw 2 pieces like this in the galleries, one with a bald
eagle in different positions on each side of the material and the
other one was of a monkey on one side and a white crane on the other.
I wish we could've taken pictures, but that was prohibited in this
particular gallery. About half way through the tour, we noticed
Lucee beginning to act very different from her cheerful self. She
didn't want to be held and kept saying “booya!!” (which we were
told is a forceful No!) it got to the point where Ben had to take her
out of the building and I finished up in the gift shop area picking
out gifts for our moms. When I came out off the building, I met Ben
and Lucee (who was crying) ready to go. We weren't sure why she
switched so quickly, was it because she couldn't touch much at this
place, she was being told “no” when she tried touching the more
expensive things, or that she was being held too much and just wanted
to run around? We weren't sure. Ashley suggested that she might be
confused why he is always with us on outings. She probably remembers
him from the orphanage and perhaps feels like he might take her back?
Something we didn't think about. So, we called it an early day and
went back to the hotel at 11. We also found out that all of the kids
in the orphanage have nap time from 12-2pm. The past 2 days she
hadn't gotten or acted like she needed a nap... today might be a good
day to get back close to her normal schedule.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got into our room and ate lunch and
then got her ready to take a nap. She completely melted down and
didn't want to take a nap. She screamed and would push us away if we
came near her. After about 10-15 minutes of this, we decided to turn
on the lights, and let her just snuggle with us while watching TV in
bed. She calmed down and snuggled between us for about an hour and a
half. After getting up, we played and bonded some more. Then she
pointed to the thermostat like she wanted to play with the buttons.
I told her no and she melted down again. Full on yelling,
screaming... Ben held her in cradle position and rocked her while she
cried. Part of these meltdowns are because of the mourning process
and although it was sad to be told no, we've told her no previously
and this wasn't the response. We think this has more to do with the
mourning process of losing the relationships and surroundings that
she was so used to and being put into new surroundings with new
people who look, smell and talk differently. We are using these
moments to bond us closer together as we empathize with her. She
came out of this and we went out to a play area on our hotel floor to
get a change of scenery. We are all beginning to have a sense of
cabin fever here with not much to do or see.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tonight for dinner, we decided to go to
the western restaurant downstairs to order a pizza. Unfortunately,
we were ready to order at 430, but they didn't open up till 530. We
killed time by walking around the hotel on the different floors. We
are staying on the 30<sup>th</sup> floor, and there are many more
above us, so we had some area to explore. When it came time, Ben
put in an order for pizza, and when he got it back, only 2 of the 4
toppings were correct. It was still eatable though so we didn't
complain. With being away from the tourist city like Beijing, there
really aren't many people that speak English, and if they do, it's
usually just a very small amount. So, the fact that we got pizza
with 2 out of the 4 toppings correct is a bonus!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
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Well, with this day being different
than the other two, we weren't surprised that the night wasn't going
to go as smoothly as the other 2. she ended up screaming when we put
her in bed and would calm down a bit when we'd switch spots. I'd lay
next to her, and then Ben, and I'd lay next to her and then Ben.
Eventually she had calmed down all the way and fell asleep. We had
learned to scoot the bed over to the wall so she couldn't fall off
the bed. However, we didn't put her in a diaper (cause she didn't
want to and hadn't had an accident at all since being with us, so we
didn't want to fight another battle if we didn't think we needed to)
and that turned out to be a mistake. About 2 in the morning, I woke
up to the smell of urine. She had peed the bed :( But she was
sleeping so soundly, we decided to just deal with it in the morning.
What a day...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mjoBOrnZnRnGK3zBK2SSy2LXLBz_fZU-aNW-5pW57324TA0pr1FAaxSS1e06qeMlz2ISGFA99I4wbCXI2LiuIGsLD2D48s5L2aIW-HYrJxrM3fGmP-rzRddhPrRVid3mnSWkbccW6Xo/s1600/DSCN0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mjoBOrnZnRnGK3zBK2SSy2LXLBz_fZU-aNW-5pW57324TA0pr1FAaxSS1e06qeMlz2ISGFA99I4wbCXI2LiuIGsLD2D48s5L2aIW-HYrJxrM3fGmP-rzRddhPrRVid3mnSWkbccW6Xo/s320/DSCN0144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKif_NSLXip7vkAmIZGvecF8DrkSKL8v6wUs6EiWZsPWeOnEyJeY6ytvO-bVgEokwsV4gJKOV6N2to4_2LEzOsagClG8MCABLE1YqQiBoTCSJz-0-SCneuwNXZZj4mHty65cDJ_hCJ_Q/s1600/DSCN0147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKif_NSLXip7vkAmIZGvecF8DrkSKL8v6wUs6EiWZsPWeOnEyJeY6ytvO-bVgEokwsV4gJKOV6N2to4_2LEzOsagClG8MCABLE1YqQiBoTCSJz-0-SCneuwNXZZj4mHty65cDJ_hCJ_Q/s320/DSCN0147.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silk Embroidery Work Area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC2WxgUKog82DBQm0ciAAJZK_B1RndO9tMDmyCZsm41fBPhAUvdvq0edwWNPrRMSjn_iI-BFfFDrHRzP7AWN7T0nJK4TcxP8yrPEECzmvtmMmrOuPz5YhF_aHwEOgXVKqW_hFq4u_SQI/s1600/DSCN0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC2WxgUKog82DBQm0ciAAJZK_B1RndO9tMDmyCZsm41fBPhAUvdvq0edwWNPrRMSjn_iI-BFfFDrHRzP7AWN7T0nJK4TcxP8yrPEECzmvtmMmrOuPz5YhF_aHwEOgXVKqW_hFq4u_SQI/s320/DSCN0149.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They only work with the natural lights from the windows and drink green tea because they believe these two things help their eyes stay strong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzDPXm5Z9sOjqB-a4LJZfuyw7SEagRiW-3LGjeJNlGugAVHGsKy1p0HhtiAuto2b-mIIkD3g7OGSciAKZUvjCpQ1yPgWKGt-oKEHcbruS6yPcWWBMYAnTDqg8NWU4lSNhqVdB_WHgtso/s1600/DSCN0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzDPXm5Z9sOjqB-a4LJZfuyw7SEagRiW-3LGjeJNlGugAVHGsKy1p0HhtiAuto2b-mIIkD3g7OGSciAKZUvjCpQ1yPgWKGt-oKEHcbruS6yPcWWBMYAnTDqg8NWU4lSNhqVdB_WHgtso/s320/DSCN0151.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful artwork on the wall, unbelievably done by hand... takes months - a year to complete something of this size.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWxSIQND9qMZjzVCQb1pAUpj4RchgHoJtyYTrT27cYR0tzpL5Uno35cxBEC-yoLkYammAq3W3eMFm6wKL-5iqUOPchUBi7R_Hfdj5ZelhAQf7cDmwW_W4MM8viZRMvKsKhjRKhbsftfY/s1600/DSCN0164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWxSIQND9qMZjzVCQb1pAUpj4RchgHoJtyYTrT27cYR0tzpL5Uno35cxBEC-yoLkYammAq3W3eMFm6wKL-5iqUOPchUBi7R_Hfdj5ZelhAQf7cDmwW_W4MM8viZRMvKsKhjRKhbsftfY/s320/DSCN0164.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting on layers of clothes. Ha Ha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiMcdELu6LSQ9l8GOVDDHp1F0IVZky7zCIt4-jVSDJva3cWU9GmdyEKGQHxPm0ma95ZfTnXIvaobb7NzknfXa2DyaE4VlLjcMbUrhxoK1NEPGrcLHwGP2x9BmqNFaKuFY4u3-zkjhThc/s1600/DSCN0172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiMcdELu6LSQ9l8GOVDDHp1F0IVZky7zCIt4-jVSDJva3cWU9GmdyEKGQHxPm0ma95ZfTnXIvaobb7NzknfXa2DyaE4VlLjcMbUrhxoK1NEPGrcLHwGP2x9BmqNFaKuFY4u3-zkjhThc/s320/DSCN0172.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirt, Swimtop, 2 pairs of underwear and pants so far...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Oh6CCQvTKjqkPfyNMpdruvWZPnSlE0cBcv8ghDfBpJVNvYtOuSvDjOep79eSDFQouTiK8knIOf0Xr0OzejduHVFve9xGzyHv2xKCsffY9itcNRCBFoZC9gYS_mD2iD-2T4i9-TYY-4I/s1600/DSCN0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Oh6CCQvTKjqkPfyNMpdruvWZPnSlE0cBcv8ghDfBpJVNvYtOuSvDjOep79eSDFQouTiK8knIOf0Xr0OzejduHVFve9xGzyHv2xKCsffY9itcNRCBFoZC9gYS_mD2iD-2T4i9-TYY-4I/s320/DSCN0180.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q3GFk2k4yVYH9Jlmillh0kxdptyPT35K-ogoY9c41ZzDD_3SSNE_OfDpj4fSZJSt8a-ROHlObT4Pv3l-MEZ9oeB9eP84m3USkbq2amKNOjVTIrdIYJIAfplQyPTnxU3i9FUS28mFInw/s1600/DSCN0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q3GFk2k4yVYH9Jlmillh0kxdptyPT35K-ogoY9c41ZzDD_3SSNE_OfDpj4fSZJSt8a-ROHlObT4Pv3l-MEZ9oeB9eP84m3USkbq2amKNOjVTIrdIYJIAfplQyPTnxU3i9FUS28mFInw/s320/DSCN0188.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben consoling her through one of her meltdowns.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinajR7xdaIXEjPHbL9DZfWh_OnRITiMdbZVSv4ZcwpltakdNqL8A_qzIW81yYr7_otXL-Va39IVAn-KTbIS0Wuj_CmYXX9NOUF9fyieGfaikbAW7riFYjIj-UwkwjYiBYNzzXdK2SlHCk/s1600/DSCN0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinajR7xdaIXEjPHbL9DZfWh_OnRITiMdbZVSv4ZcwpltakdNqL8A_qzIW81yYr7_otXL-Va39IVAn-KTbIS0Wuj_CmYXX9NOUF9fyieGfaikbAW7riFYjIj-UwkwjYiBYNzzXdK2SlHCk/s320/DSCN0189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55G9wsGi0emZmHfF8HnJuCoNRI7nc2s_lFs351auMXJNGsYzreqHJvybo6YvAgDPraW7RJOhX2ghtJCYgw_8nSHYEzuSi7rtnaBVgSQIgLMVn3Wqu3M6gnY24io7uZnrOwjc2PaqOsC0/s1600/DSCN0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55G9wsGi0emZmHfF8HnJuCoNRI7nc2s_lFs351auMXJNGsYzreqHJvybo6YvAgDPraW7RJOhX2ghtJCYgw_8nSHYEzuSi7rtnaBVgSQIgLMVn3Wqu3M6gnY24io7uZnrOwjc2PaqOsC0/s320/DSCN0191.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having fun blowing up this world ball</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzLFyvD_N6MJ2RZd90bFjnqWXOnRbakeQG9SlepJ5ZgTb9OqtDFKFTrpcPHaYHAJ0vNZep6VDQLwTi_a_bw0-qoAu-E2ySTEAaossNzRvdtxnKx_qcTDDMYNFsA7CmXTEMFhUDQkB_vU/s1600/DSCN0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzLFyvD_N6MJ2RZd90bFjnqWXOnRbakeQG9SlepJ5ZgTb9OqtDFKFTrpcPHaYHAJ0vNZep6VDQLwTi_a_bw0-qoAu-E2ySTEAaossNzRvdtxnKx_qcTDDMYNFsA7CmXTEMFhUDQkB_vU/s320/DSCN0201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy taught her how to eat pizza with chopsticks:)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxN8KFXZST63jWOuymZbbh46V5azll4-THI0haRTEdGkUy8UBMH-GzViNcrQgn37Z9lUgpGtyt8SH_YMCALWru9y3Gq0WQ1qxZlU9P0Q1krVl_SK32Qs5TFl4kagV0xycZ0Rv4HZUlsY/s1600/DSCN0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxN8KFXZST63jWOuymZbbh46V5azll4-THI0haRTEdGkUy8UBMH-GzViNcrQgn37Z9lUgpGtyt8SH_YMCALWru9y3Gq0WQ1qxZlU9P0Q1krVl_SK32Qs5TFl4kagV0xycZ0Rv4HZUlsY/s320/DSCN0207.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loved the blowdryer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-90650918350820691562016-02-01T19:47:00.001-08:002016-02-01T19:47:33.852-08:00Jan 19th - signing the papers, she's officially ours!!!!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday January 19, 2016</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning after waking up Lucee from
her 13 hour night of sleep, we skyped with the kids and mamaw and
Gumpa. Lilee and Lucee seemed to hit it off well. Lilee was eating a
sucker and Lucee had a container of cookies. They were trying to
share with each other through the computer screen. It was so cute to
seem them smile and interact with each other. Noah and Gavin were
trying to speak chinese to her and Mamaw and Gumpa seemed amazed to
see Lucee sitting with us. Their 9<sup>th</sup> grand child.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We realized we were running out of time
and quickly went downstairs to eat breakfast before meeting our guide
at 930am. Lucee really liked the yogurt and noodles. She also
really liked the bacon, but we didn't have much time to eat it, so I
wrapped it in a napkin to bring with in the van. We went back to the
social building that we met Lucee at yesterday to finish the
paperwork, getting things notarized, her passport picture taken, and
finalizing the adoption. During the notarization, Ben and I both had
to stamp our thumbs on a piece of paper in red ink. Lucee had to
stamp her hand on it in red ink. What a memorable moment that we are
officially, forever becoming family in that moment. It's official,
Lucee Shan You Zacharias is ours!!!
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I stayed upstairs with Lucee, while Ben
and Ashley went downstairs to pay the orphanage donation and other
paperwork fees. (FYI:They call it a donation, but it's really a
required payment to the orphanage. Rather than saying we “paid”
for our child, it is viewed as a donation to the orphanage to care
for the orphans that are still there and will be in the future.)
Lucee and I walked up and down the halls and played in the play area
while waiting. It was so cute because also while we were waiting,
Lucee would wander around saying, “Baba!! Baba?! Baba...” She
was looking for him, wondering where he went. This was great for
attachment reasons, as well as just super adorable! When he came up,
she ran to him and gave him a hug. When we got in the van to drive
out of the parking lot, Lucee spoke some Chinese. Our guide, quickly
turned around and said, “She very clearly just spoke, 'We are
leaving, we are leaving'!!! She spoke it so clearly!” He was very
surprised, but it just proved again, how smart she really is. We had
already seen glimpses of this yesterday, as anything we did, she
would copy us exactly. She also was beginning to copy some English
words and repeating the little sign language we were teaching her.
This is such good news as before we were matched, the international
doctor in Cincinnati said that her IQ score ranked her in a very low
category, indicating that she would never be able to live
independently. This is always a possibility, but becoming less
likely the more we get to know her.
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We went back to the hotel for lunch and
more playtime/bonding time. We went for a walk to get water and some
fresh air (not really fresh as there is a lot of pollution in the big
cities in China, but it was still a nice day and not too bad of
pollution today.) We found a park across the street and played for a
bit. We are so much in the minority here, that it is so common for
people to stare at us as we walk by. I'm sure they are staring at
us, not only because we are white, but also that we have a Chinese
kid. ( Or maybe because we are wearing jeans and Ben is wearing
tennis shoes, ha ha, we've noticed most Chinese people dress very
nice in dress shoes and black slacks/pants.) We asked Ashley what
the impression that most Chinese have when they see 2 white people
with a Chinese kid and he said it is usually that the child is lucky
because they will get good care in America and any family is better
than No family. They also will wonder “why” would they come all
the way here to get a child. We were hit by this in Beijing. We told
a couple ladies while shopping that we have 3 kids at home and are
adopting a 4<sup>th</sup>. They'd say, “Why? You already have 3!
Why would you want more?” Some days I'm sure we'll ask ourselves
this question too ;)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That night we ate in the hotel room again,
Ashley had written down on paper the Chinese characters for “Not
Spicy!!!!” so we could add that to the other characters he gave for
suggested dishes. This time, all of the food was very enjoyable and
we loved watching Lucee eat her dish of beef and noodles with
chopsticks. This girl can go to town with chopsticks :)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After dinner we again got ready for bed
and prepared ourselves for a rough night. (It always seemed like with
the other kids, the first night in the hospital was a dream and the
second night was a nightmare ha ha, so we were bracing ourselves for
this to be the same, I know, we're weird. :) ) however, this night
was just the same as the night before. She fell asleep great, we
didn't put her in a diaper because she said no when I tried and she
slept 13 hours the night before without wetting the bed and drinking
a ton of water, so I thought it'd be okay, and it was. We woke her
up 12 hours later. She again, fell out of bed at like 2 am, but this
time we had put pillows down there so I actually didn't hear her
fall. I happened to wake up at 2 and realized she wasn't in bed,
then looked in the crack and there she was, sleeping peacefully on
the pillows. We moved her back into bed, again without waking up at
all. This girl is a heavy sleeper! </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhES0C4OJnz1F_mQ6fifQ_r5xfV0c3Oe6OuAThOd9rMk7CuZVl8GwkT8ZOjga3CmmhMkUqZrhNUmGL221ZjF1Eo-mF3KSe_NYSzs3qzQBLDgK9ZqZQDk-HKl3RQJ8fAC4G2-NHPgpLV2s/s1600/DSCN0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhES0C4OJnz1F_mQ6fifQ_r5xfV0c3Oe6OuAThOd9rMk7CuZVl8GwkT8ZOjga3CmmhMkUqZrhNUmGL221ZjF1Eo-mF3KSe_NYSzs3qzQBLDgK9ZqZQDk-HKl3RQJ8fAC4G2-NHPgpLV2s/s320/DSCN0062.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee feeding Lilee a cookie on skype :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vwiyQ0r7ulkzP0faRbsoFm481QdP7AJaIMxly-T3uH7u6efGZFBZ5F0UH11zo9Pkm6Rjeao2oxusWunm9BK0flTM7bxviFSCMPS3MmA3WQkFD_eZb7KxXA975LktsrKVUQ1Zgx2Zot4/s1600/DSCN0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vwiyQ0r7ulkzP0faRbsoFm481QdP7AJaIMxly-T3uH7u6efGZFBZ5F0UH11zo9Pkm6Rjeao2oxusWunm9BK0flTM7bxviFSCMPS3MmA3WQkFD_eZb7KxXA975LktsrKVUQ1Zgx2Zot4/s320/DSCN0067.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben, signing the paperwork to complete the adoption process!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia22kwhIKPTvNw-IMgEfWB-t5kHEZXjMxFDioHGs7Dl5sGw6ptG978m70f75NG_hXppWAH_-O-xshXIX2n43duqjPoR1QTn3EAUUKPpgoHHZs5WeLYbhH5EG8kO7JqcWyYBoz-IczqzaA/s1600/DSCN0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia22kwhIKPTvNw-IMgEfWB-t5kHEZXjMxFDioHGs7Dl5sGw6ptG978m70f75NG_hXppWAH_-O-xshXIX2n43duqjPoR1QTn3EAUUKPpgoHHZs5WeLYbhH5EG8kO7JqcWyYBoz-IczqzaA/s320/DSCN0071.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee with Teacher Hu, from her orphanage - saying goodbye!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxYAkHTnF4W84ZwZu8uF3gn4_4SVQr6IU9PyfI8T_k8Rmtc1mvXqHYFcQQQdZJfwq9dK7Pn7HKb8HKB5PzNV5CTKOcLf5FeEzXJua_BXwyljysRMFuXGtbjI2Y5AuaYDngfOedpB6qMg/s1600/DSCN0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxYAkHTnF4W84ZwZu8uF3gn4_4SVQr6IU9PyfI8T_k8Rmtc1mvXqHYFcQQQdZJfwq9dK7Pn7HKb8HKB5PzNV5CTKOcLf5FeEzXJua_BXwyljysRMFuXGtbjI2Y5AuaYDngfOedpB6qMg/s320/DSCN0080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee stamping her hand on the paperwork as her "signature".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIVJWKWPjuYg4_ak27IzDbfT66jy_Dkfm3ZStEcl5of4WuHUsKgxAFiArzJdrNgdOAeGVQl1Oss_MW2zWATxh7zZjo67zKvqPXehNuNeXiV3tXzs0V-1LpN3QKXhhDlpy1K6ZtFiU-dg/s1600/DSCN0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIVJWKWPjuYg4_ak27IzDbfT66jy_Dkfm3ZStEcl5of4WuHUsKgxAFiArzJdrNgdOAeGVQl1Oss_MW2zWATxh7zZjo67zKvqPXehNuNeXiV3tXzs0V-1LpN3QKXhhDlpy1K6ZtFiU-dg/s320/DSCN0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay, It's official!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1wV1FG6zsF13K0phIRkYidaACgbOvaQ0WYCrgDPEewINXm22tifFhip7_gFYcoc6Uj2Mk6sJlX-13oqeAmUSkddlkBsQynRl_R5WxVogN5CT0Gy0Yl9C2mFW3DJHlVOZ6EU0H4Pb0i8/s1600/DSCN0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1wV1FG6zsF13K0phIRkYidaACgbOvaQ0WYCrgDPEewINXm22tifFhip7_gFYcoc6Uj2Mk6sJlX-13oqeAmUSkddlkBsQynRl_R5WxVogN5CT0Gy0Yl9C2mFW3DJHlVOZ6EU0H4Pb0i8/s320/DSCN0096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating a snack with chopsticks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdRwshOt0L2esmHx1yObJLlL9ZNUsGiQapme4_Va8RM7Jv9cb3_VDyjRxhpJYBB0Fj8RfvP99a8skyTVsHKEewrwTcZIFLpxC0UzNZMJiIJTI1KokOMnATcV3VPbpUzwsdGpEBrBKoWc/s1600/DSCN0105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdRwshOt0L2esmHx1yObJLlL9ZNUsGiQapme4_Va8RM7Jv9cb3_VDyjRxhpJYBB0Fj8RfvP99a8skyTVsHKEewrwTcZIFLpxC0UzNZMJiIJTI1KokOMnATcV3VPbpUzwsdGpEBrBKoWc/s320/DSCN0105.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of our hotel- Love this smiling girl!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhL8HOuaH1_MhSQzMrJ1gIHzLLMrpJquTQyxzcMwm9RKs_ZbL_jJGebqwZLusJeSd-F3-1oikWW-QdRN9kEIaYHg69KsnnemSmJb0Mhz0mjTw73wzj5oicQLvmo58xw_HS73FSgCOSf_U/s1600/DSCN0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhL8HOuaH1_MhSQzMrJ1gIHzLLMrpJquTQyxzcMwm9RKs_ZbL_jJGebqwZLusJeSd-F3-1oikWW-QdRN9kEIaYHg69KsnnemSmJb0Mhz0mjTw73wzj5oicQLvmo58xw_HS73FSgCOSf_U/s320/DSCN0110.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having fun, out and about.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0U8FCRCfzLjYVGVXDiLMLspuyp6cOFvNDu9K6krEbY5J9PvwGzGYbbSoIxoTqp8_VPmgBkeWNzF7vJEfBTBt9CnTDrgf5I8VIlG3fCgxXDlyl2bQ1cB4f4hJtkFUxr2nr2kc9yPcK_V0/s1600/DSCN0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0U8FCRCfzLjYVGVXDiLMLspuyp6cOFvNDu9K6krEbY5J9PvwGzGYbbSoIxoTqp8_VPmgBkeWNzF7vJEfBTBt9CnTDrgf5I8VIlG3fCgxXDlyl2bQ1cB4f4hJtkFUxr2nr2kc9yPcK_V0/s320/DSCN0115.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing on the playground across the street from our hotel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBntch_83yWo1L3T2veNeZNu-97ZYg7cSAippQOWJJ_1DEkV5s58FEUx4q8aq12C2r-t2SKSsaIeEoHXdrnamj-73bZuC-qnvsxJaAIdrKPFwZQFotfyUQS0DLpkGrVKG5H0SdxNwz1U/s1600/DSCN0123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBntch_83yWo1L3T2veNeZNu-97ZYg7cSAippQOWJJ_1DEkV5s58FEUx4q8aq12C2r-t2SKSsaIeEoHXdrnamj-73bZuC-qnvsxJaAIdrKPFwZQFotfyUQS0DLpkGrVKG5H0SdxNwz1U/s320/DSCN0123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben working on homework... Ugh, definitely not a highlight for him.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpYT0VlKsLT66TLNSxjAONOo6LID64ogAbyzcPp-3Xz4eG7iviazcA3QJ0EpN0o2Pt0XmHe7p18F20dZkveq4y4B9uMuWbzigbAqIpM565QGHdVrw83b4QO9o_X4LiRklyqN2Y3obxtU/s1600/DSCN0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpYT0VlKsLT66TLNSxjAONOo6LID64ogAbyzcPp-3Xz4eG7iviazcA3QJ0EpN0o2Pt0XmHe7p18F20dZkveq4y4B9uMuWbzigbAqIpM565QGHdVrw83b4QO9o_X4LiRklyqN2Y3obxtU/s320/DSCN0138.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot Stuff eating with chopsticks!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-89845445859865779072016-02-01T19:34:00.003-08:002016-02-01T19:34:51.013-08:00More photos from Gotcha Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cmkKEwyV09Fq4s6h7_v9JDcG4oAFuiRKkU3zrbUDSm0B8sPlsD3N2I6VBjZMmTclsdFyi20800PagLZCHELGv2Q8toDaNWgjFcZh114sLRYGFyjtgwphWSNiYHggIj9DWsmiy6KeuZQ/s1600/DSCN0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cmkKEwyV09Fq4s6h7_v9JDcG4oAFuiRKkU3zrbUDSm0B8sPlsD3N2I6VBjZMmTclsdFyi20800PagLZCHELGv2Q8toDaNWgjFcZh114sLRYGFyjtgwphWSNiYHggIj9DWsmiy6KeuZQ/s320/DSCN0021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first meal together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping Beauty</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_803714916"></span><span id="goog_803714917"></span><span id="goog_2037186785"></span><span id="goog_2037186786"></span><br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-39252877818884563352016-02-01T01:44:00.001-08:002016-02-01T01:44:14.228-08:00Jan. 18, 2016 - "Gotcha Day"!!!!!!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Monday January 18, 2016</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today is the day!!!!! Hard to believe!
We woke up and got ready for the day! I began to prepare myself for
Ben to lose his mind. It seems that right before having the other
kids, he kind of loses his mind and can't think straight. Lol, he
began doing this about an hour before leaving... pacing the floor,
and not being able to focus on finishing getting dressed, ha ha.
These moments are fun for me and are probably good because if he
wasn't losing his mind, then I'd be losing mine. This makes me have
to focus on thinking clearly otherwise we'd both be in trouble. He
pulled it together and we ate our last meal as just the 2 of us. I
looked at our plates and the food was delicious, but very different
looking than back home. To have steamed cauliflower and spring rolls
for breakfast seems strange, but everything was so yummy!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The time seemed to be in fast forward.
What was an hour that we had to eat breakfast, somehow sped by so
quickly it only felt like 15 minutes! We met Ashley in the lobby at
10am and got in the van. He was talking the entire way there (15
minute trip) we don't really remember what he was saying. We pulled
into the parking lot of the social building and Ashley got off the
phone saying, they're here. We walked into the building and up the
elevator and out of it into a room and there she was right at the
right side of the door. Her nanny said “momma, Baba” and I
hugged her... tears are being held back as I don't know if she will
know that they are tears of joy! She said, Momma when looking at me
and Baba when looking at Ben. Such a surreal moment. Ben, Lucee, 2
nannies, Ashley and I went over to a coffee table where Lucee had a
bag that had all of the items in it that we had sent to her in a care
package. We were able to ask the nannies, through our guide,
questions. I asked if she was allergic to anything(no), what she
likes to eat (rice and most of the food at the orphanage), how she
soothes herself (sucks her thumb), if she was closer to one nanny or
child in the orphanage- so we could get a picture of them (no, she
seemed to get along with all of the nannies and kids), is there any
suggestions they have regarding her legs (remind her to stand flat
and have a Dr. do surgery on her back ankle because they are too
tight). I had a list of 20 or so questions to ask, but these are the
only ones I asked while Ben was interacting with her. I ended the
questions with is there anything else we should know. The nanny said,
she's very smart and sweet.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
About this moment I realized there
were other families in the same room meeting their children. We
later found out that there were 3 families from TX, 1 from Tennessee,
and 1 from Canada (we didn't meet this family, but was told about
them from the Tennessee family) who were adopting children this week
and would be in Guangzhou next week with us.
</div>
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A lady came up to us and asked for our
passports and travel approval form. We showed her and then the
nannies began to say goodbye. The one nanny, Wendy, became really
emotional, and we learned that she cared for Lucee a lot over the
past 4 years. We took pictures and said tearful, thankful goodbyes
to them as they left and we moved to another area with a table where
Ben began signing a bunch of paperwork. These papers were like a
Harmonious contract. Kind of like a 24 hr signing that allows us to
keep her, but she's not officially ours yet. Not until tomorrow.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After the paperwork was done, we went
to take a picture for a document that will have Ben, Lucee, and me on
it. After the picture was taken, we stayed in that room sitting on
bench talking with our guide when he said, “she's sad”. I look
down and she has a sad face, sitting really quiet with her head down.
Then tears start rolling down her cheeks. Then she starts to cry,
which turns into wailing. She cries for about 5-10 minutes like that
in our arms. Then she starts to settle down and Ben carries her out
of the building, still crying, but not as loud as it was. She
completely stops crying once we get out of the building. Our van
pulls up and we get it. Ashley (our guide) said he was surprised she
didn't show much emotion when the nannies said goodbye. Usually the
kids show emotion at that moment, but she didn't. However, it's good
that she had this moment of mourning, because it shows that she had
attachment with them. She's sad and uncertain about what is going
on. We had been trained that kids who don't cry when leaving their
nannies/orphanage typically haven't been able to attach to them and
therefore attachment to parents is more difficult. So, in a way,
this was a good sign to us. Sad, but good. Our guide asked her in
Chinese if she was hungry, she didn't respond. He asked her if she
was sad and she didn't respond. He wasn't sure how much Chinese she
could understand or if she could speak much Chinese. We'd find out
tomorrow that she is very smart and was just choosing to not respond
to him.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got back to the hotel around 230 and
had really good time bonding in the hotel. We showed her new toys,
jacket and shoes. In order for her to take off her shoes or jacket,
we had to show her the new ones and then she immediately took them
off to put the new ones on. While we were playing, one of her
favorite games was she'd point to the pile of dirty clothes and we'd
say, P.U. STINKY and she'd laugh and do it over and over randomly
throughout our playtime. Also, any toy we'd show her, she'd put it
in her bag or backpack and carry around like she didn't want to
forget it when she went back to the orphanage – little did she know
she'd never go back there to stay, only to visit if she wanted to.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I really wanted to show her the drawer
of her clothes, but wanted to give her a bath first. She also hadn't
gone potty at all since we had been with her! This was a moment Ben
and I were both a little worried about before meeting her. We kept
thinking how weird it must be for her to have strangers see her and
help her go potty. Plus, we didn't know if she liked baths or if she
usually had a bath in a tub or more of a sink bath. Ben got water in
the tub while I took her potty. She hopped in the tub and I began
pouring water on her head. She immediately put her head down to let
the water run off her face. I got some soap and she held her hands
out for some too. She went right to washing her hair with me. I
rinsed off the soap and got more soap to wash her body and when I put
the soap in her hands too, she washed her hair again. Ha ha, so we
washed her head twice. The next time I put soap on her hands she went
to put it in her hair, but I stopped her and showed her to rub her
belly and wash her body. After her bath, I wrapped her in a big
fluffy towel and carried her to her drawer with all of her new
clothes. I told her to open it up and said, Shan You's clothes (The
US agency gave her the name Lucy, she doesn't go by that yet, so the
first few days we just call her Shan You and eventually start calling
her Lucee Shan You until she understands that her name is Lucee).
Her eyes got so big and she smiled a huge smile and went right to
picking them all up and looking at them. She chose an outfit and she
got dressed. Then I combed her hair (something I had been looking
forward to doing since we knew we were adopting a little Asian girl.
Her hair is so beautiful in color and texture!)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After this, Ben went to go get us
dinner to bring back to the hotel. Lucee and I played some more and
watched some Chinese cartoons. She liked repeating what they said
and it seemed like she enjoyed understanding what they said, as
opposed to Ben and I sounding like aliens to her. It was also during
this time that Lucee gave her first kisses on the cheek to me!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ben came back and we ate dinner in the
hotel. Our guide had written down suggestions for him to order
(since the restaurants do not have English descriptions like most
places in Beijing had) however, the 2 main dishes were extremely
spicy! Thankfully the fried rice, white rice, broccoli, and
“quesadillas” were not and that's what Lucee and I ate, while Ben
(who loves spicy) tried to swallow down these ExTREmELY spicy dishes!
(By the way, Changsha is known for it's spicy foods and silk
embroidery!)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After dinner, we prepared for bed,
expecting a long night of crying and not sleeping. Brushed our teeth
( Lucee is excellent at brushing her front teeth, not so much in
back, which explains the major cavities she has in her bottom molars.
:( super sad for her, but she doesn't seem to be in pain?? ) and got
on jammies. They told us to put her in diaper at night cause she
sometimes has accidents at night, so we did. We were told by the
nannies that she sleeps well and sleeps with it dark, so we put her
in bed, turned out the lights and literally within 5 minutes, she was
asleep! This was around 730pm. We didn't hear a peep from her all
night. The only thing we did hear was her falling out of the bed at
4am. Ben and I both picked her up and put her back in bed. Even
with the fall and being put back in bed, she never woke up. We
actually had to wake up the next morning at 8:30am! This was a
pleasant surprise to us, we couldn't believe how great she slept on
her first night with us!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr7AtbWEvJbxJhjxNGMr0OOACLcuX3oRopGhXqyDBW_2YigD-XabP7XD1iZsz_HGPnKxcqB8_C8bBk6ZmR_ulZnX1WiULqOMFQ_HKldxcisAW1EzfIXXFgHelhQU2lTCYzH2JryuWCqQ/s1600/DSCN9941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr7AtbWEvJbxJhjxNGMr0OOACLcuX3oRopGhXqyDBW_2YigD-XabP7XD1iZsz_HGPnKxcqB8_C8bBk6ZmR_ulZnX1WiULqOMFQ_HKldxcisAW1EzfIXXFgHelhQU2lTCYzH2JryuWCqQ/s320/DSCN9941.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Changsha view from our 30th floor hotel room.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWS3cdE6N1XfepCvjiOLFy9HHj5USMdVaOJiWydnqzQtyzjBhHRkzqxMj4wJVlGuMaTck2va4CWr00xJkiuc6Ah11kmG0-nqM2-zgelJeBBJoKjCHTsMaQYLCqxhIumyRT8kaS8mfaWas/s1600/DSCN9946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWS3cdE6N1XfepCvjiOLFy9HHj5USMdVaOJiWydnqzQtyzjBhHRkzqxMj4wJVlGuMaTck2va4CWr00xJkiuc6Ah11kmG0-nqM2-zgelJeBBJoKjCHTsMaQYLCqxhIumyRT8kaS8mfaWas/s320/DSCN9946.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a typical breakfast looks like.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG0N39ktl_r06Hl002OYjHKvMmb1OEQQf3ZStvg6buH4jJePgou23s03BMagF8ZnLzR4sJWYXaWPUh7an3X1PYsZko6Q01p_NEc1qROfnU4K2OIUBtr0YnkeG7PSpQQDAd2eaXnCZcGk/s1600/DSCN9951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG0N39ktl_r06Hl002OYjHKvMmb1OEQQf3ZStvg6buH4jJePgou23s03BMagF8ZnLzR4sJWYXaWPUh7an3X1PYsZko6Q01p_NEc1qROfnU4K2OIUBtr0YnkeG7PSpQQDAd2eaXnCZcGk/s320/DSCN9951.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking into the building to get Lucee.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Qqce3Ag0R23UKBPdUsaAlQYlPVOJTbb3a-k4aAmgAcWDDISyMaWv9e0gS7ig-bbkUPkZbuIpkmTbjPYy2NozGl7Wo7ubMnz1gOY-_MJeoZPRojBS94o9wumDisYxOtC44lC_IgATKVE/s1600/DSCN9953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Qqce3Ag0R23UKBPdUsaAlQYlPVOJTbb3a-k4aAmgAcWDDISyMaWv9e0gS7ig-bbkUPkZbuIpkmTbjPYy2NozGl7Wo7ubMnz1gOY-_MJeoZPRojBS94o9wumDisYxOtC44lC_IgATKVE/s320/DSCN9953.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First moment with Lucee.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pFDyhKvfZoESvCcmBLRuAFL0Bgoq32H1QtDmTy49YWay_i4lw4OUTv0eBcSzMZRFfmG_bXMpPvHbY81NTfKecv4DIwMK35kkNcjIKtVNrNnUNgMhJMDb6yjXxOudEiyMR9JaeQRggYg/s1600/DSCN9956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pFDyhKvfZoESvCcmBLRuAFL0Bgoq32H1QtDmTy49YWay_i4lw4OUTv0eBcSzMZRFfmG_bXMpPvHbY81NTfKecv4DIwMK35kkNcjIKtVNrNnUNgMhJMDb6yjXxOudEiyMR9JaeQRggYg/s320/DSCN9956.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Picture with Mama and Baba (Daddy in Chinese)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yeJ6n-XX6hifHCL76-jsOlUdcItwoySLkHXfzwuyQSke_Re60RWDdrmJGDcveD-FxQrN012Z8DOW-GhhGYivQBs8_-Uth2ZL2gav9z5mwnLJ5WTfiBHv0CiS4t7zxhDkP20vfyXANlo/s1600/DSCN9962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yeJ6n-XX6hifHCL76-jsOlUdcItwoySLkHXfzwuyQSke_Re60RWDdrmJGDcveD-FxQrN012Z8DOW-GhhGYivQBs8_-Uth2ZL2gav9z5mwnLJ5WTfiBHv0CiS4t7zxhDkP20vfyXANlo/s320/DSCN9962.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy showing Lucee pictures in photobook we sent her earlier. Showing that he is Baba.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf2ZDqhxhnBj0XY1gPjGXJtBCWHLt3jWkWS1WqEA83lYfUodwz28dS-DwvoZjc6MTg7RwMBJYNalf4DaPZyoH_w5vbzg2JfwGt0jbgvsdZUO3zs-iXbE-23WYYgbz8lWd0lbKmOgTnhE/s1600/DSCN9971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf2ZDqhxhnBj0XY1gPjGXJtBCWHLt3jWkWS1WqEA83lYfUodwz28dS-DwvoZjc6MTg7RwMBJYNalf4DaPZyoH_w5vbzg2JfwGt0jbgvsdZUO3zs-iXbE-23WYYgbz8lWd0lbKmOgTnhE/s320/DSCN9971.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucee with one of her nannies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comforting her...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6SzD6DgMG5EHbR92nc2dWYAeiP2qNPqs1LmAbuIpljfip_lxgagbmAnU5hQWie2GtfbrPNTaHTDpIr-8t2igfsmr74Or7DWkLgprew6e0wGLD3u4gNNNwgIlIMWGQyHPA28MH2ZDx4Y/s1600/DSCN9992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6SzD6DgMG5EHbR92nc2dWYAeiP2qNPqs1LmAbuIpljfip_lxgagbmAnU5hQWie2GtfbrPNTaHTDpIr-8t2igfsmr74Or7DWkLgprew6e0wGLD3u4gNNNwgIlIMWGQyHPA28MH2ZDx4Y/s320/DSCN9992.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving to go to the hotel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking in the hotel lobby.</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-837835232701481562016-02-01T01:05:00.001-08:002016-02-01T01:16:29.782-08:00Traveling to Lucee's City- Changsha, Hunan Province<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunday January 17, 2016</div>
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Today is our last day without Lucee...
We woke up and decided to go check out the pool area, since we
unfortunately hadn't done that yet. The pool area, like everything
else in the hotel was amazing and over the top. Definitely the best
pool area we've every been in. It was a huge pool, perfect
temperature, all to ourselves. The ceiling was glass, so could look
up and see the morning sky. The pool was an infinity pool so it
looked like it was the same level as the walking area around it.
They gave us a magnetic key to the lockers which had water, a towel,
and Croc-like sandals for us to wear. The marble floors were heated.
After swimming, we each enjoyed the hot tub, steam room, and sauna
before showering and heading back up to the room. We went to enjoy
breakfast at our super fancy breakfast area. This time, we tried
many more things since it was free and if we didn't like it we could
try something else. I had what was like a noodle soup with cilantro,
mushrooms, meat, water chestnuts, Chinese noodles, asparagus, and
green onions in it. It was so good, hard to believe I was eating
this for breakfast. Most of the foods we ate for breakfast were not
sweet or typical for a breakfast back in the US. After that, we went
back to the room to try to pack our bags... We had to juggle things
around because the weight limits in country are less than coming from
US. Also, we had bought items, so we had more stuff this time.
Thankfully we had carry on luggage to fill with the heavier items.
We were so thankful for the Swain's letting us borrow their hand held
scale.
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We met Rocky in the lobby after
checking out of our room. They drove us to the airport and Rocky
helped us get through check-in. We realized we were really going to
miss him and Mr. Wu. It's hard to believe we will have 2 more guides
and 2 more drivers on this trip. How could they compare to Rocky and
Mr. Wu? Also, how could a hotel and accommodations compare with what
we had at the JW Marriott? We were going to have to leave our
expectations behind and move forward with different expectations.
Thankfully, the weather should be getting better. Rather than being
in the teens and 20's we are going to a place where the temps are in
the 30-40's now.
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We walked to our gate and now that we
were traveling in country, we definitely were the minority! In fact,
we only saw 3 other Caucasian people the entire time, and we're
pretty sure they were from Europe or Australia. We didn't hear them
talk, so we really have no clue except for the way they dressed. We
were traveling to the Hunan province, away from the very
international Beijing city where we'd see other people occasionally
(maybe only 20 total the past 4 days we were there, but more than 3).
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We have come to find joy in seeing
similarities in certain Chinese people that remind us of people back
in America. It's kind of a game now for us... we'll see someone and
then say to each other, person to your left, looks like so and so.
The other person will look nonchalantly and say, yep I can see that!
Overall, we have seen a Jacob Kennebeck, Steven Dexter, Mike
Jitjaeng, heard a mr. kielchewski, and I can't remember all the
others. We wish we could take pictures to show to these people, but
that would be a bit awkward. :)</div>
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After a 2 hour flight to Changsha,
Hunan province... We arrived to meet our guide Ashley, a 39 year old
Asian man. Very nice, and very much business. He was very helpful
in telling us what to expect as we get ready to meet our daughter in
less than 24 hours! Our driver Mr. E. is good, but we don't hear
much from him. We get checked into our 5 star hotel (Changsha
standards, it's hard to leave our expectations behind!!!) We get
settled into our room and head down to eat at the “western
restaurant” for dinner. We each order a hamburger and hot lemon
water. It comes out and looks AHHHMAZING! It even comes with french
fries. As we eat it though, we realize, this is definitely not beef.
Not sure what it is and with a pink center, we didn't eat much of
it. Even still, as a very loaded burger, it tasted great without the
meat. And those french fries... yummy!
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We went back to the room and tried to
get some sleep. Ben fell asleep quickly, but I had to “nest”
before I would be able to sleep. I enjoyed unpacking Lucee's
clothes, shoes, and toys before heading to bed. Praise the Lord, I
was able to fall asleep quickly, despite the super hard bed and flat
pillow.
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Cheers to our last night of sleep
without Lucee... We are left with wonder of how the next several
nights will be...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD8vNyD8ZFbG4gwr1-kgPPt4z7SOPgqtKpvkfbGaEbqNz1hseVyEW0P9bLSD-AJOqO1N71bfIuLuaEiZbjmfVhIdnbR2E5nMcP6LnvY0U7vDTupSNjz0Ii4gMYApIGObTWMmuw6wioy0/s1600/DSCN9896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD8vNyD8ZFbG4gwr1-kgPPt4z7SOPgqtKpvkfbGaEbqNz1hseVyEW0P9bLSD-AJOqO1N71bfIuLuaEiZbjmfVhIdnbR2E5nMcP6LnvY0U7vDTupSNjz0Ii4gMYApIGObTWMmuw6wioy0/s320/DSCN9896.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beijing - 19 Million People</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUO2c_O8wVBDPxtwZ_7SISlVIpbnaQYKaIyMdKOXG3Db7z5zEgzl1bn4qPdqGPVjx17iBnPfQRJGIf3WBvvuK7JlGsDkA_o9dcddpOBebaEEjevwmgh-A7U5G7qUXpVS7NTkeAjCUiG8/s1600/DSCN9900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUO2c_O8wVBDPxtwZ_7SISlVIpbnaQYKaIyMdKOXG3Db7z5zEgzl1bn4qPdqGPVjx17iBnPfQRJGIf3WBvvuK7JlGsDkA_o9dcddpOBebaEEjevwmgh-A7U5G7qUXpVS7NTkeAjCUiG8/s320/DSCN9900.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Guide in Beijing - ROCKY</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Driver in Beijing - Best driver ever! Mr. Wu!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigv-aQXNk9Dz8cpTcTaiGaD6stTvaEz82Tu_aMaTgTXTGjSVNouKDcljOlLeK-a_b7QyenE3k6pyL3U5DCtHy7hAbtaRVN-DD9wRoOEZgzZMVAb0PfgkunkZWQkL5Myz3S4RulCmIcKYE/s1600/DSCN9904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigv-aQXNk9Dz8cpTcTaiGaD6stTvaEz82Tu_aMaTgTXTGjSVNouKDcljOlLeK-a_b7QyenE3k6pyL3U5DCtHy7hAbtaRVN-DD9wRoOEZgzZMVAb0PfgkunkZWQkL5Myz3S4RulCmIcKYE/s320/DSCN9904.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boarding the Chinese Airline!<br />
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Our Awesome Looking Burgers and hot lemon water</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Ready for Lucee!!</td></tr>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-55051491137147421162016-02-01T00:45:00.004-08:002016-02-01T00:45:47.413-08:00Last full day in Beijing...Lots of Lessons Learned.
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Saturday, January 16, 2016</div>
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We were excited that this morning and
the next we have complimentary breakfast! It's the little things that
excite us. :) We made our way to the 4<sup>th</sup> floor and was
welcomed to a buffet breakfast that was beyond what we have ever
seen. They had western style food and Chinese style food. We tried a
little bit of both. They had a juice bar and everything was very
fancy. We enjoyed taking our time and savoring the flavors and
smells.
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After breakfast, we decided to venture
out via taxi to the Silk Street Market. This was a place that we
were told would have great items that we could bargain with the
sellers. Anyone who knows Ben, knows that this is his kind of
shopping. Me on the other hand, not so much. Ha Ha. I've learned to
just look the other way and walk a bit away to avoid the negotiating.
We ended up getting amazing deals on 2 custom made suits and 2
dresses (1 custom made). Great job Honey! 4 items for less than the
price of the original price of 1! We went to get a taxi to go back
to the hotel and this is where our day changed for the worse... up
until this moment, everything had been going extremely smoothly. All
of the people had been very nice, and we were surprised by how many
English speaking people we came across. We go to get into this
particular taxi and he gives us 60 Yuan (Chinese money). We knew
that it cost 40 yuan to get there, so we assumed he was giving us 60
change so we could give him a 100. So we did that but as we gave him
the 100, he said what sounded like, “Neeewwww 100, Neewwww 100”
and gave us the 100 back. It had a small tear in the top, so we
thought he wanted one without a tear. So we gave him a different one.
This happened a couple times and by this time, he had pulled over
not more than 2km from the silk street and started pointing to a
building saying, neeww 100, neeww 100. We were so confused and
nothing seemed to work with communication, so we gave him the 60 back
and got out of the taxi. We were very excited to ask our guide,
Rocky, tomorrow when we saw him what ''neeewww 100” meant. We
walked a bit and found another taxi. We got to the hotel and gave
him exact change for the trip. He was very kind and surprised by the
little Chinese that I knew in regards to Chinese numbers.
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We decided to walk around the hotel to
see some shops near by and asked the Concierge to recommend some. He
said there weren't very many, but there was a mall and a Walmart
within a block. We didn't really want to go to Walmart, but then
decided to just to see what it was like in comparison to ones in
America. We walked there and I was surprised by how much it is
different. Rather than blue signs everywhere, there are red ones
EVERYWHERE! It was packed with people! The grocery section was on
the ground level and then to get to the home goods items, you had to
go down a level. Rather than escalators, stairs, or elevators to get
down, they had a incline belt that you get on, with your cart, to go
down on the moving belt. So, we decide to look at Chinese New Year
celebration decorations and candy (it falls on Feb 8 this year and we
plan on celebrating it with Lucee when we are back in the US). We
blindly choose candy that we can't read what it is, but based of
pictures and touch, we chose several kinds. The decorations we
decided to wait to get due to our luggage restrictions that will be
better once we can add Lucee's bags. We go to pay for the candy and
Ben gives a 100 to get change back and the cashier immediately says,
“no good!” and hands it back. We are so confused at this point
why this money keeps getting rejected and pay with credit card. We
realize now, that we can't wait to ask rocky tomorrow, we need to
talk with someone at the hotel since that's where we exchanged the
money in the first place.
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We go to the concierge and ask him
about it. He says this money is fake. We hand him our money and he
begins separating the real money from the fake money. He starts
asking us questions about where we were and how we discovered that it
was fake. Overall, there were 8 – 100 yuan that were fake. With
the exchange rate where it is now, this is equal to $125. Ben thinks
it is from the hotel's exchange machine and goes upstairs to get
the receipt. Meanwhile, a manger has come over to ask me questions
and tell me that the ATM is certified and they have records of all
the money that comes in and out of the machine. She shows me how to
tell that it is fake and explains that it more than likely happened
at either silk street or in the taxi. As I think about it, the taxi
seems like the most likely person to have switched the money. In
silk street, the money was all in a money belt and only 200 yuan was
in Ben's pocket. The purchasing of clothes was not with cash. Ben
came back and the manager explained everything to him, Ben is not
convinced that it was the taxi driver because he never had 8 100's,
maybe only 3 that were ever in his hand. Unless it was a magic
trick, there's no way he had access to 8 of them. We called our
guide who offered to come over to help and possibly drive to the spot
where the taxi driver let us out. Ben and I went upstairs to our
room to wait. This is not how we had envisioned spending our last
night in Beijing. We had planned on this night being the night that
we went to a fancy restaurant for to have an anniversary night out.
Instead, we are in our room, waiting for our guide to drive to our
hotel. We couldn't do anything because we weren't sure how long it
would take him. Thankfully we had a deck of cards, and tried to
occupy our thoughts with playing Canasta. We thought it would take
him only 20 minutes to get here, it ended up taking over an hour.
When he arrived, he and the manager went back and forth talking in
Chinese trying to make sense of it all. Rocky was very helpful, but
since we didn't have the taxi driver's cab number or a receipt from
him, we couldn't turn him in to the police. The manager brought out
the list of the numbers of each money that comes out of the ATM and
the fake numbers we had, were not on the list, so that was proof that
it didn't come from the machine. We realized, there was nothing we
could do about it. Chalk this one up as “stupid tax” and a lesson
learned with a smaller amount, rather than the big orphanage amount
that it could've been! Praise the Lord! $125 is better to learn
this lesson on than $5K!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
By this time, it's about 730, we
decided to still get dressed up and go out to eat. We went to the
fancy restaurant Man Ho in our restaurant. We were very surprised
that although the rest of the hotel had workers that spoke pretty
fluent English, this restaurant did not. The waitresses spoke very
little English and didn't understand much either. I ordered a
Sauteed Chicken dish, and Ben went to order a steak and the waitress
asked if he wanted 1 or 2. he didn't know why she was asking this
and changed his mind to order a Kung Pou chicken dish. She said,
“No, you already have chicken dish.” In China, they don't really
order a dish for each person, they order dishes to share with
everyone, so to her, this seemed weird to order 2 chicken dishes.
She also said, “you order kung pou chicken anywhere, get something
else here.” Ben looks for another beef dish and orders one with
garlic and onions. The waitress says, “you get 2 cold dishes (like
appetizers) on the house from me, would you like rice cakes? Very
good, very special with new year” At this point, we just want to
eat and feel so out of our element, we say sure. She asks us what we
want to drink, and we order water with lemon. Ben may have gotten a
drink, but I don't remember.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The cold dishes come out and we find
out they are “spicy turnips” and “black fungus”. They both
are spicy. The black fungus was very slippery and rubbery. I ate
one, but was done after that. Ben ate a bit more. The spicy turnips
were great to me, except they were too spicy :) The texture was
crunchy and I wish I could've eaten more. Ben loves spicy foods, and
really enjoyed this dish. Then our water comes out. It's hot water
in a glass with a lemon slice floating in it. As weird as it seemed
to us, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! From
this point on, this is what I ordered and probably will continue to
drink hot lemon water when we get back home. Our chicken and beef
come out next. The dishes are super hot (heat wise). So here we are
trying to eat extremely hot meats and wash it down with almost
boiling hot water. Ha Ha... when we are almost done with the meal,
our rice cakes come out. By this point we are both pretty full but
we try the rice cake anyway. There are about 10 of them on a
platter. They look a bit like scones. 5 of them are white with
brown seeds or cocoa beans in them. The other 5 are like a cinnamon
color, but didn't have much of a taste. Neither one of them really
did. The outside texture was crunchy and a bit greasy, but the
inside was a mush, like really cooked rice turns to mush. Needless
to say we barely finished 2 of the 10. We joked about how the bill
would probably be $300 with the day that we've had. We got the
amount of the bill but didn't really look at how it was broken down.
It wasn't an outrageous amount, signed for it and as we were
leaving, the waitress asked if we wanted them to box the leftovers
and send them to our room, we explained that we were full and had to
fly tomorrow so didn't want to take them. We took pictures and got
on the elevator to go to our room. We get up there and are looking
at the bill broken down and find out the rice cakes were $50, more
than half of the bill!!! No wonder they were so insistent on boxing
the rest of them up for us. Oh my, what a day. Thankfully we were
able to laugh it off and enjoy the rest of the night, despite being
woken up at 330AM because Ben's suits and my dress were delivered at
that time after being custom made. The man had us try them on right
then to make sure that they fit. They did, just like a glove. I was
able to go back to sleep, but unfortunately, Ben wasn't.
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-BGpmq7JRho40rZprYwvndVRo9qGkoASqO4mdWa-IXyC3KDdnjAj84hUB6oLgm8ADZHQ9dYntlwbLst6Dx5duLmVqCjJxhvMTN8ULAxyo6-6W8BruIfsw7SrcSdRJ_xnRRAf9p8kjBE/s1600/DSCN9855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-BGpmq7JRho40rZprYwvndVRo9qGkoASqO4mdWa-IXyC3KDdnjAj84hUB6oLgm8ADZHQ9dYntlwbLst6Dx5duLmVqCjJxhvMTN8ULAxyo6-6W8BruIfsw7SrcSdRJ_xnRRAf9p8kjBE/s320/DSCN9855.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This is the way we wash our clothes..." due to the fact that it costs a ton to have it done there... $5 for 1 pr of pants, $2 for pr of socks, etc. ! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjoHSxM9Q2E74ayw9W0Ad3LwKnCx62IghCC2N22lexqnvt5LrJIFzKalGtVUC3CunyVrOJjpM3gZ8tw3XhiszN5U9oHnnyo2RfPvcjzmn-0WfzXOD0BQjI3Z-l91EHXzRnuNWyiwC1wQ/s1600/DSCN9857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjoHSxM9Q2E74ayw9W0Ad3LwKnCx62IghCC2N22lexqnvt5LrJIFzKalGtVUC3CunyVrOJjpM3gZ8tw3XhiszN5U9oHnnyo2RfPvcjzmn-0WfzXOD0BQjI3Z-l91EHXzRnuNWyiwC1wQ/s320/DSCN9857.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture in our 1st taxi in Beijing... </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelDlEQyj9XtcTD5xoGkD5kSQLf6Ze9hqmVBMHB1Q6XOQnAcEjA_s-uXBcICi51PLX-UudmlZc95mB9CdJL-uX31xQ8n1LDQ56lIisOqL9mDXnVauySAgpE5WI_MVfiq1cCMpO-05gXRc/s1600/DSCN9867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelDlEQyj9XtcTD5xoGkD5kSQLf6Ze9hqmVBMHB1Q6XOQnAcEjA_s-uXBcICi51PLX-UudmlZc95mB9CdJL-uX31xQ8n1LDQ56lIisOqL9mDXnVauySAgpE5WI_MVfiq1cCMpO-05gXRc/s320/DSCN9867.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walmart... the meat is just out in the open... </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92-K8zQhyphenhyphenr8QUMMCdiy3Q07zjd81BhP-b13vdA1VGS0Pn6sW_eOb7rJfk1QKG-Ofm8NKmX4ktaAPnopch0Iu5fEwnswa4imF_IpNUimUWPaeBEcSK4louGJ1-AXRTqGd0SUssN15mW84/s1600/DSCN9868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92-K8zQhyphenhyphenr8QUMMCdiy3Q07zjd81BhP-b13vdA1VGS0Pn6sW_eOb7rJfk1QKG-Ofm8NKmX4ktaAPnopch0Iu5fEwnswa4imF_IpNUimUWPaeBEcSK4louGJ1-AXRTqGd0SUssN15mW84/s320/DSCN9868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walmart, they have these flat escalators so people can take their carts between the 2 levels.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw086OZGsPeOLrMpRA83on1lPdXSaFSN9JFoUzOKcS9B6j4CfiPHokkl3354FXvXJm5nplb7JUntwDZOcKyd9hjJ0oMNyYrXmTScrIv7tNx-NrZCcFEGGyUbnzuG6Kyvzqfn7SSgULrA/s1600/DSCN9881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw086OZGsPeOLrMpRA83on1lPdXSaFSN9JFoUzOKcS9B6j4CfiPHokkl3354FXvXJm5nplb7JUntwDZOcKyd9hjJ0oMNyYrXmTScrIv7tNx-NrZCcFEGGyUbnzuG6Kyvzqfn7SSgULrA/s320/DSCN9881.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy Dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0recxupDHqMCkeC19k1DIBw5uEQCHIcntSM6mP3WWx-WzbFPH1qI6e8s12kOtX6segF46TVPVEbqt6m4q6ROY2NFGWgqFsAYJESpJKH4e2Ux7UyhFj9930PFqKSdUGEe9-7Ux5KUvqGg/s1600/DSCN9885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0recxupDHqMCkeC19k1DIBw5uEQCHIcntSM6mP3WWx-WzbFPH1qI6e8s12kOtX6segF46TVPVEbqt6m4q6ROY2NFGWgqFsAYJESpJKH4e2Ux7UyhFj9930PFqKSdUGEe9-7Ux5KUvqGg/s320/DSCN9885.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Early Anniversary dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DhjI0ZUsxYpmZcngPhD28laqzgEVrUnob5zG_kFVLNQxF7x5RY3absTUY_KKgq515Kx3pO7SR7Miz1QxDnpnk0X5xKm5a0tHndNP7n9laN77606jhYcrSZYcamaesDrSgiFBtCDsnnY/s1600/DSCN9891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DhjI0ZUsxYpmZcngPhD28laqzgEVrUnob5zG_kFVLNQxF7x5RY3absTUY_KKgq515Kx3pO7SR7Miz1QxDnpnk0X5xKm5a0tHndNP7n9laN77606jhYcrSZYcamaesDrSgiFBtCDsnnY/s320/DSCN9891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3:30AM Ben and his suit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaFW8AopunU6k9VzimxHZ1Yf2qGAgEQJrvWUViCg7hzUaLqszxbtN_DBLrmI4NBNDG1FXxv4mUp13xlzhI65qWGfkwYvWGFDnM5pNT9gTTFRcx7BB8ViWRI_b6CGLsd8JvUvnJLSNzt4/s1600/DSCN9893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaFW8AopunU6k9VzimxHZ1Yf2qGAgEQJrvWUViCg7hzUaLqszxbtN_DBLrmI4NBNDG1FXxv4mUp13xlzhI65qWGfkwYvWGFDnM5pNT9gTTFRcx7BB8ViWRI_b6CGLsd8JvUvnJLSNzt4/s320/DSCN9893.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta take a picture of our custom made items... :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-87211814104020749282016-01-30T20:38:00.003-08:002016-01-30T20:38:47.210-08:00Jan 15, 2016 - 2nd Day of Exploration in Beijing!!!
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Friday, January 15, 2016</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning we woke up and had yogurt
and banana for breakfast. I guess I should go back to the fact that
since Ben fell asleep so early last night, he woke up at 1am and
couldn't go back to sleep. I woke up at 430 but was able to go back
to sleep till 530am. We went running in the top floor gym, Ben ran a
5K, I ran/walked 3 miles. Then back to the room to eat breakfast and
get ready for the day! We talked with the kids and heard all about
their day. Every time we hear from Lilee, she says over and over, “I
really want you momma and daddy! I really WANT you! “ So sweet and
makes us miss them even more. Noah says he misses us lots and can't
wait to be with us, he wants to jump through the computer to be with
us. Gavin seems to care less, as long as he keeps busy with acting
like a wild animal or playing with toys. :)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We met our guide down in the lobby at
9am to begin our adventures for the day. He took us first to the
Olympic Village for a photo. We didn't have a tour, but were able to
see the hotel towers (shaped like the Olympic torch and dragon) where
the Olympians stayed, the Water Cube where Michael Phillips broke the
record for most gold medals in any Olympics, and the Birds Nest. We
hopped back in the van and drove next to the Jade Market where we
learned to tell the difference between real and fake jade and tell
the difference in quality, color, and design. I never knew that Jade
comes in all different colors, including purple, brown, white,
yellow, orange, blue and of course the famous different shades of
green. While at the Jade place, we saw a couple that was on the
plane ride from Chicago to Beijing with us. They sat on the other
side of the plane and we didn't get to talk with them, but I wondered
then if they were coming here to adopt. They had a young girl who was
not the same ethnicity as them, which made me wonder. I went up to
them and awkwardly introduced myself and that I had noticed them on
the plane. They acted as though I was little crazy and that they
didn't notice us on the plane. However, after a minute or two, the
conversation was very natural and they asked us why we were visiting
and that they were adopting an 18mth boy from China on this trip. We
will more than likely see each other in Guangzhou with our additions
to the family. Their embassy appointment is the day before ours and
they fly home on the same day, but out of Beijing, rather than Hong
Kong. They are from Nebraska.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRmab-4LkbDr3uNofEtDvf1BGsh_DgvtucFvYrlxX19s4jVrL6ZoUMLx2ih1GVhAFGtdG5UDOlEGHNMjEXH2qrVRqPWPsdwFp5_arRszKTWPZM4poDwmf-gAAUnVJPWkfbINJEsj2NeY/s1600/DSCN9744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRmab-4LkbDr3uNofEtDvf1BGsh_DgvtucFvYrlxX19s4jVrL6ZoUMLx2ih1GVhAFGtdG5UDOlEGHNMjEXH2qrVRqPWPsdwFp5_arRszKTWPZM4poDwmf-gAAUnVJPWkfbINJEsj2NeY/s320/DSCN9744.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the Olympic Village (Water Cube and Bird's Nest)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vWAbXlZt5NUVpTxExUP5ZhhJg75gpc81GS3gfl_CwcaP9beq-QVYqnJHZlkM5yM0jymfJqIbdmHsCzp43Ni_IBBgp9J9tR2D7_ZBqhjINYFUi7RvY9ssT8eOxpSg7-Qg9UmpJ9vFHQ8/s1600/DSCN9745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vWAbXlZt5NUVpTxExUP5ZhhJg75gpc81GS3gfl_CwcaP9beq-QVYqnJHZlkM5yM0jymfJqIbdmHsCzp43Ni_IBBgp9J9tR2D7_ZBqhjINYFUi7RvY9ssT8eOxpSg7-Qg9UmpJ9vFHQ8/s320/DSCN9745.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympic Village Hotel built to house the Olympians. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-Ikk49h50bYsvBxgpHjV2x5zv_1cOmTKIIm5iaIWIDEjp5CRYCwjIt_ahEPhqiABuqV_1FaNIUkttm7jAgawoeLW7ah8Y091yVSaKw6vzMs2U6dPMuc9zpmAhxHqeTBblfPKC-cSS8c/s1600/DSCN9754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-Ikk49h50bYsvBxgpHjV2x5zv_1cOmTKIIm5iaIWIDEjp5CRYCwjIt_ahEPhqiABuqV_1FaNIUkttm7jAgawoeLW7ah8Y091yVSaKw6vzMs2U6dPMuc9zpmAhxHqeTBblfPKC-cSS8c/s320/DSCN9754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man carving a jade figurine.</td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After the Jade Market, we drove to the
outer part of Beijing to visit a section of the Great Wall of China.
This wall is over 4000 miles long stretching across China. It is the
only man-made object that can be seen from outerspace. There are 6
areas that you can visit in Beijing. The one we went to was a very
high part of the wall, Jutong Pass. Ben and I went up over 1600
stairs and then had to come back down the same way. What an amazing
adventure! Words can't describe it and pictures can't portray it. It
is definitely a destination that everyone should attempt to visit in
their lifetime! We had envisioned ourselves on the wall before we
left the US and now was the moment we were actually climbing the
wall. Surreal for sure! Lord willing, we would love to bring Lucee
and the other kids back here one day to hike it as a family.
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8w-hNVP6vIb2ede0IDmKDGcMqGrh1kJlzsQa6Q2V3LCpyPWl_3a9rmtmoZf5UJXB0PX8pSRdDavRy6CexdY4OcBrrFCbZ0cDVKoHsDPEfrxdZEwmFNazw0-l77eM9Kj0RXgQuAdQUxU/s1600/DSCN9760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8w-hNVP6vIb2ede0IDmKDGcMqGrh1kJlzsQa6Q2V3LCpyPWl_3a9rmtmoZf5UJXB0PX8pSRdDavRy6CexdY4OcBrrFCbZ0cDVKoHsDPEfrxdZEwmFNazw0-l77eM9Kj0RXgQuAdQUxU/s320/DSCN9760.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pass that we climbed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEHSUQlmV_wCOXYLQspu9ld3kWP9Dc0uHAQ5cZREJg0DF_dMglyEwEKC7uWVonGmWmERqR-eHaA00j7eQ19bUg_SofmSUJ728P5lrg1Wmw0rl3Fno_AvRJM2MhoADkwTXtBljyDSX5h8/s1600/DSCN9774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEHSUQlmV_wCOXYLQspu9ld3kWP9Dc0uHAQ5cZREJg0DF_dMglyEwEKC7uWVonGmWmERqR-eHaA00j7eQ19bUg_SofmSUJ728P5lrg1Wmw0rl3Fno_AvRJM2MhoADkwTXtBljyDSX5h8/s320/DSCN9774.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdUSJ9iBV2Cbz5ntg0TefmXZ4mo_IHiE-O3WIoFzQCM5gCM-0vnY2uyOSmITXVEinaR3l5pYsOmknGIdSlNiaoSbRieXhuPSOpyg4m5Rg50Y7DsOsyWFP5eTdHg_snMj_Zcse2MDlL4M/s1600/DSCN9808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdUSJ9iBV2Cbz5ntg0TefmXZ4mo_IHiE-O3WIoFzQCM5gCM-0vnY2uyOSmITXVEinaR3l5pYsOmknGIdSlNiaoSbRieXhuPSOpyg4m5Rg50Y7DsOsyWFP5eTdHg_snMj_Zcse2MDlL4M/s320/DSCN9808.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yRJH3TMFtbaKsaGKQaxmhL__0N5iHqkECx9hjN2ogPqG7c-NToiJJ81lK0jvwGCpvbpEycgbwxkhqy5WdjjFALpTmH5xKvf-kfYdKuMVOprvTAZndJMiqr0r3FXe_zOooYTe24sc9do/s1600/DSCN9830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yRJH3TMFtbaKsaGKQaxmhL__0N5iHqkECx9hjN2ogPqG7c-NToiJJ81lK0jvwGCpvbpEycgbwxkhqy5WdjjFALpTmH5xKvf-kfYdKuMVOprvTAZndJMiqr0r3FXe_zOooYTe24sc9do/s320/DSCN9830.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We Conquered this section of the wall!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaQO6KeGAiTr5wlN_5S6PWP_ujDo9dNsl3qnoroatAbVoI5McUUq5lvcFnAENNWsfHjwYR-hibzQdMvpy0RuEEF79VDNsStjcj6uY2kl3oK6C4ddwZDO7afrbwcFkWceTJJV9ekzFBIE/s1600/DSCN9822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaQO6KeGAiTr5wlN_5S6PWP_ujDo9dNsl3qnoroatAbVoI5McUUq5lvcFnAENNWsfHjwYR-hibzQdMvpy0RuEEF79VDNsStjcj6uY2kl3oK6C4ddwZDO7afrbwcFkWceTJJV9ekzFBIE/s320/DSCN9822.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least 1,610 steps to the top... kiss from the top.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After the wall, our guide took us to
take a photo in front of a fire station in Beijing. Then we took our
guide and driver out to lunch at a local restaurant that is one of
their favorites. It was delicious except for a flowery hot pepper
that we carefully tried to dodge in one of the dishes. The spicy
noodles, garlic broccoli and fried rice were yummy though!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUq3Pv902cIX8rqJLaY5JnOUI2mZ6AxOzdGJleqLH_qYwYZxbe8l-HVmxzU45zHRyBWxUJvL95A694S0QKOJUVcRpzzgw73MTs54lSGJmSZfcXyh6V9j2a-9sKZFGlflithY-8ZLC9To/s1600/DSCN9842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUq3Pv902cIX8rqJLaY5JnOUI2mZ6AxOzdGJleqLH_qYwYZxbe8l-HVmxzU45zHRyBWxUJvL95A694S0QKOJUVcRpzzgw73MTs54lSGJmSZfcXyh6V9j2a-9sKZFGlflithY-8ZLC9To/s320/DSCN9842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then with full bellies, we were dropped
off at our hotel for a 2 hour window (aka nap time) before going to a
Kung Fu performance at the Red Theater. This performance was
different then I thought it would be. I expected to see very
disciplined martial arts, with stern faces. However, it was more
like a play about a young boy who was trained to be a Kung Fu master.
While he was a boy though we got to see a lot of spunk and
personality, from not only this particular boy, but the other boys.
They would smile a lot at the audience and their performance was
extremely relational. Their movements were done with perfection.
There were about 6 boys, 30 or so men, and 2 ladies in the show. The
show was very well done and we know for sure that our boys would've
loved to see this. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLiuF4QTKA43NNOELbY-nfD2y9fVBjZe6YAo1sICOU1Vum_pgJJvsg5W4A9-8WCAiGa9Yl514Q80P0abVilbMzO0gjWYJaTl3jWwz1PBA8AUc7MkMnD86UGfBCxjkqG05hncJ4lh2UCA/s1600/DSCN9851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLiuF4QTKA43NNOELbY-nfD2y9fVBjZe6YAo1sICOU1Vum_pgJJvsg5W4A9-8WCAiGa9Yl514Q80P0abVilbMzO0gjWYJaTl3jWwz1PBA8AUc7MkMnD86UGfBCxjkqG05hncJ4lh2UCA/s320/DSCN9851.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This actor behind us was about 8years old and sat here for 30 min or more before the show!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs53sG2YtSJL0mXVBrUE86n0xyx6Bz_pPOUg-fy01A9ak9LJVIf498T2lFT6KpjG6Y5FID4gTTxcZnjjDZBzQlyj1mlTs5SGF52ShsCKuJw0Kt6nThRalj2rqQyd2EIyYWgmriZhcVtDQ/s1600/DSCN9854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs53sG2YtSJL0mXVBrUE86n0xyx6Bz_pPOUg-fy01A9ak9LJVIf498T2lFT6KpjG6Y5FID4gTTxcZnjjDZBzQlyj1mlTs5SGF52ShsCKuJw0Kt6nThRalj2rqQyd2EIyYWgmriZhcVtDQ/s320/DSCN9854.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our guide left before the show was
done, due to the fact that he was riding his bike home and the
theater was a 40 minute bike ride, rather than if he was to ride home
from our hotel, it would've been over an hour bike ride. We got in
the van with Mr. Wu and he drove us home to our hotel. By this
point, we have come to appreciate Mr. Wu's 20+ driving experience and
although there are moments of craziness, we feel like we are in great
hands while in his van.
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We got home around 930 pm, Skyped with
the kids. For them, they have an exciting day planned since Mamaw
doesn't have any daycare children in her home. They are planning to
go to Chuck-e-Cheese and tonight, their cousins Seraphina, and
Cherubelle are coming over for a sleepover. We on the other hand,
are very hungry and tired. So, after our Skype date, we head down to
the western restaurant in our hotel called Casalingo. We enjoyed a
margherita pizza. Ben had a beer, and I had a ginger ale. Much to
my surprise the ginger ale here is much more natural than the ones at
home. I could actually taste the real ginger. Everything was
delicious. We went to bed, excited for our “free” day tomorrow.
The one day in Beijing without a guide, driver, or schedule.</div>
Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-84061694000407268002016-01-30T07:44:00.001-08:002016-01-30T07:44:42.584-08:00First Day of Exploration in Beijing...
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<b>Thursday, January 14, 2016</b></div>
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(It looks like we missed Wednesday the 13th, but actually that is due to the 14 hour time change )</div>
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This morning we both woke up around
530AM, ready to go, not tired at all. We enjoyed slowly getting
ready, with no rush, since we weren't scheduled to meet our guide
till 9am. We also were able to Skype with the kiddos and tell them
good night. For breakfast, we at the goods we bought at the market
last night (strawberry yoghurt – with raw milk, we are hoping
that's okay for our bodies to eat since they are not used to it raw-
and a banana). Then we head down to the lobby to meet our guide and
driver.
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They take us to Tienanmen Square where
we learn the history of the square and the surrounding buildings. One
of which, is the building that the US president would come to if he
were coming to visit China. While we are listening to Rocky explain
the history, a woman, man, and little girl walked right up to us and
ask to take a picture of us with the girl. We had heard before
coming, that this would happen just because the kids don't get to see
people that look like us very often. We did and then continued
through the square and to the Forbidden City, which begins at the
other end of the square. There were many guides and photo vendors
around and we felt so thankful to not be bombarded by them due to
Rocky being with us. If we had been on our own, they would've been
hounding us while we were there.
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As Americans we tend to think of
Tienanmen Square as just a place where students were killed by China
military but the Square is really like the national mall in
Washington DC, acting as like a courtyard to many important buildings
in that area. Chairman Mao's body is kept in the building to the
south, almost like the Lincoln Memorial. His body is brought up
during the day for visitors to view and lowered in the evening to
refrigerate. We never went in there but Rocky told us about it. The
Square also has the most important flag in the country and is under
guard 24 hours a day. Military presence in the area is very evident
everywhere you look and each level of security is distinguished by
different colors. Rocky told us that the square, just like the
National Mall, is the area where people come to gather for large
celebrations. It was great to learn that yes a tragedy happened here
in this square, but many other important things happen here.</div>
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Forbidden City...Having read some about
the Forbidden City before we left, we had a general idea of what it
was but as with any very historical place, you can't really
appreciate it until you are there. We were very fortunate to have
Rocky as our personal guide through the FC and before we even entered
the gates he began to give us lots of knowledge about it. The
Forbidden City is where the Emperor of China and his family would
live. This wasn't just a recently built area for the ruler of China
within the past 100 years or so...this was hundreds and hundreds of
years of emperors and rulers of China. We were about to be treading
on the steps history that were behind walls that weren't opened to
the people until the 1940s. Each wall that we passed and each
courtyard that we walked through brought us deeper and deeper into
the Forbidden City. As we went deeper, the history became richer. At
first we were just blown away by the beauty of the FC, but then it
hit us....we were fortunate enough to be going where hundreds of
years of history happened. The emperors ruled from withing these
walls. Decisions for the country of China were made within these
walls, and this wasn't just a stroll by replica buildings as Disney.
This was the real deal!!! History is amazing and the only thing I can
compare this to because of how old it is, is walking through ancient
Rome. Except in Rome, a lot of those buildings have deteriorated or
no longer exist. This had everything, including the original still in
its same spot throne that every emperor ruled from, it has the
original garden with very very old trees, it has the old cauldrons
where the Anglo French scraped gold from when they tried to conquer
the city, it had the original stone courtyards. It was a crazy walk
through time and we were so grateful to be able to see it with our
eyes, hear the stories with our ears, and feel the history that
wafting throughout the place. Without a guide it would have still
been a beautiful amazing place to see, but to get the history behind
it all was priceless. Seeing this beauty and experiencing this
history was completely wonderful but also sobering at the same time.
In order for this all to be built in 14 years, someone had to work
hard. The work was done by slave labor and I'm sure with conditions
that were not the best. While history is a beautiful thing, it's easy
to forget the ugly side to it too. For this to be built the way it
was built was a huge undertaking and one that was very costly.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz-z6218jka0ALBhgumcLDOlAK4jbgy1DaeyjNty6bwsdhi6BxAhjQnTkN1QJ5x2j8DDR98v9q_2cxAPDMGVT198y3wQGNHJz4Rh6Gfmb1NWl29IcZzAlpzW0N-a4ji1qNW_UIUkAI4U/s1600/DSCN9618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz-z6218jka0ALBhgumcLDOlAK4jbgy1DaeyjNty6bwsdhi6BxAhjQnTkN1QJ5x2j8DDR98v9q_2cxAPDMGVT198y3wQGNHJz4Rh6Gfmb1NWl29IcZzAlpzW0N-a4ji1qNW_UIUkAI4U/s320/DSCN9618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold scraped off the pots by the Anglo French...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandee and our 1st Guide, Rocky!!! </td></tr>
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After the city, Mr. Wu met us and took
us to our next destination – Hutong tour via Rickshaw.
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This was very neat to see the small
houses and hutong alleys that connected them. We learned how to tell
if a house was an 'ordinary' family or a 'more important' family.
(based on how many steps led to the house and how many circles were
above the door.) We also learned how to tell if the house belonged
to a scholar or a military family. ( based on the object placed on
both sides of the door – If a rectangle shape, it belonged to a
scholar. If a circle shape, it belonged to military) We rode in the
rickshaw while a Hutong guide rode his bike next to us. It was so
great to get a glimpse of what common life looks like. These Hutong
communities are how most of Beijing looked 30 years ago. Now in
Beijing, there are more modern buildings and many skyscrapers. We
finished the Hutong tour by going to a local family's house
(consisting of a eating/living room, kitchen, and 1 bedroom) Most of
the houses shared a courtyard with 4-10 other families. The family
cooked us lunch and we ate with our Hutong guide in their
eating/living room. They served us rice, chicken & mushrooms,
pork & Celery and a potato/onion/garlic dish, along with hot tea
and beer. It was SOOOOOO delicious!!!!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-WWarna0KUJYo8uBAA9Cm5RDWxATtQC0dCSPVHR4YmRAOyNHsCY6H7xPK4WfBFo-crfEezxfI9rgPyBrZe-ZYM1o2N5afGgHj1sa67_7LWskZM7fr2KI97w11fTiAyIx8Ry9T07tjcw/s1600/DSCN9672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-WWarna0KUJYo8uBAA9Cm5RDWxATtQC0dCSPVHR4YmRAOyNHsCY6H7xPK4WfBFo-crfEezxfI9rgPyBrZe-ZYM1o2N5afGgHj1sa67_7LWskZM7fr2KI97w11fTiAyIx8Ry9T07tjcw/s320/DSCN9672.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hutong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrVrLFMIv-Z2a2gYKIcp-wr4vNd5uHCyaQU8NFORqAQ4YQ3ZwrcWhqNsgohRy5ETf9__8Vdziz3CLp_1fEJUPsGqHJQVcpaNJwh073uMdxxNlD49EB9rJxkODM6tSltoCpBZrqW4wLKA/s1600/DSCN9675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrVrLFMIv-Z2a2gYKIcp-wr4vNd5uHCyaQU8NFORqAQ4YQ3ZwrcWhqNsgohRy5ETf9__8Vdziz3CLp_1fEJUPsGqHJQVcpaNJwh073uMdxxNlD49EB9rJxkODM6tSltoCpBZrqW4wLKA/s320/DSCN9675.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wearing Queen and King hats in a Hutong village</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyJlGm8DQw6KYXXiDCVaeGEoDbnE__A_Y5RM8UtNRv5XB8jejnP1bRbocT6j58tx8oXjl111qk90ss49z9PcCPAGLqFtrFPS68VBcFP81_a8jKbVDhsg7gXs3K6GjVOuH3rUZDvvyDao/s1600/DSCN9688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyJlGm8DQw6KYXXiDCVaeGEoDbnE__A_Y5RM8UtNRv5XB8jejnP1bRbocT6j58tx8oXjl111qk90ss49z9PcCPAGLqFtrFPS68VBcFP81_a8jKbVDhsg7gXs3K6GjVOuH3rUZDvvyDao/s320/DSCN9688.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The local lady who made our lunch in Hutong village... Believe it or not, this was our most favorite meal out of all of our meals in China!!! Such a memorable experience! </td></tr>
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After the Hutong tour, we were driven
to a Silk workshop. I (Brandee) really enjoyed this part. We were
taken around to see silk worm cocoons and how they boil them to make
the thread come off onto a machine that winds 8 cocoon threads
together to make one strand. We learned that there are single worm
cocoons and double worm cocoons. The single worm ones can be made
into thread and used to make silk material. A double worm cocoon
cannot be put in a machine, it instead has to be done by hand. They
boil them and the a person takes out the worms and stretches the
cocoon over a hoop. When many cocoons are put on the hoop together
into a mat, this mat is dried and then stretched by 4 women (one on
each side of a bed sized hoop) 50 or so of these mats are stretched
to make the inner part of a quilt or blanket, which is then put in a
cover. We learned that the silk can last 20+years and is washable
with shampoo rather than laundry soap. Then they took us to a silk
shop where we were able to buy Lucee and Lilee matching silk dresses
for a great price. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dress we bought for Lucee, Lilee's is in the bag...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Single Worm Silk Pods... 8 of them to make one thread of silk.</td></tr>
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After the silk workshop, we went back
to our hotel for a nap before going to our evening outing, an
acrobatic performance. This performance was out of this world! The
kids would've LOVED to see this and we wish they were able to come
with us. Words can't really describe the amazement we felt while
watching this performance! We were amazed and in awe of how high,
limber, and strong these performers were. To give a glimpse of what
we saw, try imagining 11 people riding on 1 bike, a dancer standing
on 1 leg-on her toes- on top of a man's head, men jumping through
hoops higher than they are tall, and 8 motorcycles driving at the
same time in a ball cage! This performance was about an hour long.
Through many of the performances, I (Brandee) found myself with tears
in my eyes with how proud I was to be adopting a child from a country
with such performers as what we were watching.
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Afterwards, our driver ( who sounds
like a Chinese Mr. Kielchewski!)drove us back to our hotel where we
found we were so tired. Ben fell asleep waiting to talk to the kids
and I am trying to stay awake during this time, by typing this
journal entry. It's 912 PM here and our in Milwaukee it is 712AM
this morning. I'll sign off for now and get ready to Skype with them
before going to sleep. So far, they are doing really well and we are
so thankful for that.
</div>
Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-79404499837415704952016-01-30T06:05:00.003-08:002016-01-30T06:05:52.798-08:00Jan 12 2016 - Traveling Day to Beijing!
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** FYI - We didn't realize we had to purchase a VPN code to have access to all the American websites before going to the US, we thought we had everything we needed with the router friends let us borrow... Therefore, we didn't have access to Facebook, Gmail, Google anything (including the Google Translate App we were so excited to use over there!!) while we were over in China for 2 1/2 weeks! Thankfully, we did have wifi access to our phones for texting and skype sometimes worked, but mostly we communicated with the kids and grandparents through Voxer. We were planning on posting each day while we were gone to keep everyone up-to-date, but due to the blog site and social media sites not working, we just journal-ed in document form to copy and paste when we got back... Sorry for the delay, we'll get them all on here as quick as possible. :)</div>
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Another FYI- We went to China 3 days earlier than required, because we knew we wouldn't be able to go anywhere to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary July 1 of this year, so we decided to celebrate it early by sightseeing Beijing and having a "baby moon" :) </div>
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<b>January 12, 2016 (Ben typing...</b>)</div>
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Well today was the day we
have been waiting for a for a long time. We have been thinking,
praying, and planning for this day. What would it be like? How would
everything come together? When would this day that we leave actually
be? When we finally knew that our leave day was 1-12-16 the
excitement hit new levels as we knew for sure when we would be
leaving. For the past couple of weeks I have thought a lot about this
day. Not only are we going to get our daughter, but I am able to
travel half way around the world with my wife and experience another
culture and country. That is so exciting to me!!! I never thought
that I would be traveling to China to see places like the Great Wall,
and now here I am embarking on that journey. I feel so blessed and
grateful to be able to go on this amazing adventure. And the best
part is, after the sightseeing and touristing around, I get to bring
my beautiful daughter home.</div>
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This morning my wake up was
not to my alarm clock, but my sweet little Lilee crawling in bed with
us. It was so awesome to have her there snuggled up with Brandee and
I and to hear her sweet little voice, and smell her hair one last
time before we would leave her for a little more than two weeks. I
knew we would be leaving the kids, but this just kind of reminded me
how much I will miss them and also how much I don't want them to grow
up. I want them to be with us forever and be our little kids that
cherish to be with us. I pray that we will always have that kind of
relationship with them. We got up and began to get ready. The boys
awoke and got ready almost as if they were going on this journey with
us. Right before we left, Brandee and I went up to say goodbye to
Lilee, but she was deep asleep. While we were waiting on the limo
service, Noah took it upon himself to wake Lilee up so we could say
goodbye to her. He is so sweet and his heart is so precious towards
others. I was glad he woke her up because we were able to get a good
last family picture together of just the 5 of us. It's crazy to think
that the next time we are all together, there will be 6. A-mazing!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7eUvvsnYxuDQUUTKxWSL5fMbkJqFsxAT-_oD5sE9THXAZ79tU-RhbqYXf20ox3fDBi7j4ovZjupsV-dZDQMfgOf2cNEC0DQMLlXoAb1qVSzRBwKxvzbtTMLYu9tlMlIgAsJ6LUsnBXA/s1600/DSCN9476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7eUvvsnYxuDQUUTKxWSL5fMbkJqFsxAT-_oD5sE9THXAZ79tU-RhbqYXf20ox3fDBi7j4ovZjupsV-dZDQMfgOf2cNEC0DQMLlXoAb1qVSzRBwKxvzbtTMLYu9tlMlIgAsJ6LUsnBXA/s320/DSCN9476.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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Well, we gave our hugs and
said our goodbyes. Our hearts raced as the excitement of the trip was
upon us while battling the sadness of leaving our precious ones
behind. We know they are in extremely good hands but its still hard
to pull away from the house and know we won't see them for a while.
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My dad graciously purchased
our ride down to O'Hare airport in Chicago via limo service. We
didn't know what to expect as we waited for the vehicle to arrive.
Would it be like a taxi? Would it be a minivan or station wagon? All
of those would have been great but to our surprise a nice black Yukon
pulled up and we went out and put our luggage in. It's funny because
Brandee and I aren't used to nice things like that so I looked at how
much room we had and thought we had to have others that were
traveling with us. It was surely too big and too nice for it just to
be us. But to my surprise, it was just for us! We got to ride in
comfort with heated leather seats and enough space in the middle row
to fit our whole family. It was so nice to not have to worry about
driving or competing with traffic. We simply got to talk and take it
all in.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXoV-uvrRYTWSlnEWVPHhzuSMXL37iJdd81piDH5rR7k24WfdkiIgyRykae0yOjUen18kOjxN_QwCsZ2ex9-FJobDM4vjNUf2wbGHraJ1fFfFp76LFAJfQnboU9mH5Z0lQNLCSAp_3CU/s1600/DSCN9481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXoV-uvrRYTWSlnEWVPHhzuSMXL37iJdd81piDH5rR7k24WfdkiIgyRykae0yOjUen18kOjxN_QwCsZ2ex9-FJobDM4vjNUf2wbGHraJ1fFfFp76LFAJfQnboU9mH5Z0lQNLCSAp_3CU/s200/DSCN9481.JPG" width="200" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIalbB46mXsYQ0N7jFJlQMKCwZ50NKRjrzS4zY0Hh1K1lbrr6FJBY4iscxZkbeQuftNSxNKpKNkBhCe7khaZimFpkMs2A2RYG2UHLOwIvijrVNHEySACbeIpIzsff4cGJ85ot3m9PWh8/s1600/DSCN9483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIalbB46mXsYQ0N7jFJlQMKCwZ50NKRjrzS4zY0Hh1K1lbrr6FJBY4iscxZkbeQuftNSxNKpKNkBhCe7khaZimFpkMs2A2RYG2UHLOwIvijrVNHEySACbeIpIzsff4cGJ85ot3m9PWh8/s320/DSCN9483.JPG" width="320" /></a>After arriving ahead of
what time we both thought it would take, we were able to flawlessly
check in and go through security. We were here, we made it, all that
was left was to get on the plane and fly! We were able to go get a
really good turkey BLT wrap while we waited and it was Dlish. Thick
freshly cut pieces of turkey and veggies. So worth the money. Since
we made it to the airport early and went through security so quickly
we were able to wander around, talk, explore, use the bathroom with
the super cool rotating seat cover, and talk to our kids without
feeling rushed. We even tried to get a seat upgrade with customer
service but it would have cost $300 extra. That's ok, we could save
that money and buy gifts. While waiting we ate some more, like normal
Americans : ) Brandee got an orange scone from Starbucks and I
got a Chicago style hotdog....both excellent choices. To our sadness,
we were unable to find a Cinnabon. That is the only disappointment of
this day-haha. How can a guy fly without being able to enjoy a sugar
filled Cinnabon. It just isn't right : )
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Well crowd began to grow at
our gate and the flight attendants were now there ready to check
documents. I told them I was a Paramedic in case they needed any
medical assistance during the flight. I also asked about upgrades in
case they started to have a clearance sale on them since we knew
there were a lot of seats still open in Economy Plus, just one
section up from ours. The price was higher that what was offered
earlier so we definitely were not going to get the upgrade. Well the
time came to board the plane and the attendant at the counter told us
to hang on and not go through the line just yet. After she helped a
few people she called us over and upgraded us for free!!!! What an
amazing little gift to start this trip. More leg room and no one else
in our aisle.....winner winner chicken dinner! We were very grateful
for this and excitedly boarded the plane feeling like we hit the
jackpot. We got settled into our new “home” for the next 12 hours
and sat in awe and excitement of where we were and what we were
doing....WE, were going to China to bring home our Lucee!</div>
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The plane took off and
within the first hour we got our first meal and to our surprise free
beer and wine. We didn't have to be going anywhere....this felt like
a date to us : ) From the endless options of movies and tv shows, to
the comfort of our seats and being in the presence of each other, we
are content as can be. As I type this, we are currently flying over
some place that's really cold and snow covered. We are at the same
level as the middle Iceland....or Greenland. Hmmm, don't know which
one it is but I know it's one of those places and it's really cold.
It is -76F outside as we are all cozied up and warm in here. We are
traveling at 629mph and are at 34,000 feet. It's funny because
everyone has said how miserable this long flight would be, but we are
seeing the time tick away as we get closer and closer and we are
actually sad that our flight will come to an end. It goes by way
faster than you think. Maybe it's the comfort of the seats, or the
endless entertainment options, or being able to look out at the
starry sky, but we don't want it to end.....at least for now. What's
on my mind now is....when is the food and beverage cart coming around
again : )</div>
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This trip is not meant as a
vacation, but we get one out of it. In a few days we will meet our
daughter for the first time and will begin a new chapter of life with
her, but for now, I get to share an amazing adventure with my lady,
my girlfriend, my love, my Brandee.</div>
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<br />
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We enjoyed the flight and
everything that came with it. Surprisingly I slept really good and
Brandee tried to, but didn't get the sleep like I did.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHNZX_8OQvRkx2BTZlNdZ1E8vbgmDt1GrUqao1qzFyy6HCREE_ke7lFM8wn01XaBbrCYCqeDvETauAlLR9ePUVj7vU2ZDLQrvVNNmMCc-9VqjkTEOYuUZOZe0Nb9lpk_smwmDzOxJD50/s1600/DSCN9511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHNZX_8OQvRkx2BTZlNdZ1E8vbgmDt1GrUqao1qzFyy6HCREE_ke7lFM8wn01XaBbrCYCqeDvETauAlLR9ePUVj7vU2ZDLQrvVNNmMCc-9VqjkTEOYuUZOZe0Nb9lpk_smwmDzOxJD50/s320/DSCN9511.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHINA!!!</td></tr>
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We arrived safely in Beijing
and found the airport to be huge and beautiful. It had an open air
feel all throughout the terminal and we were kind of just in awe of
being in a foreign land with foreign people. We made it through the
check point and at each point we kept looking for our guide Rocky but
didn't realize that we hadn't made it all of the way out. The
airport was huge so it took us a while to get to him. The smell in
the airport was that of fresh flowers and was a very clean and pure
smell. Besides how big and beautiful the terminal was, that was the
first impression of China and that will stick with us forever. We
finally made our way out and found Rocky holding a sign with our name
on it. He was very friendly and spoke very good English. We made it
out to our vehicle where our driver Mr. Wu was waiting. Everything
got loaded up and we headed into the city towards our hotel.
Obviously we were crazy tourists just looking around and staring in
awe of everything. The sun had already gone down so we couldn't see
very far but we saw lots of buildings and LOTS of vehicles. We
noticed right away that driving here would not be like driving back
in the states. There is lots of lane merging and close encounters,
and as we would come to realize, this is very normal.
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Rocky showed us new pictures
of Shan You and our hearts leapt with excitement. She is growing up
so much and we noticed how she has many features similar to Lilee.
These two girls are going to have fun together. Rocky was very
helpful and told us many things about our time in Beijing and what to
look forward to. We immediately felt safe and appreciative of having
Rocky.
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We arrived to our hotel at
the JW Marriott in Beijing and were blown away by the service right
away. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. I had a feeling that
this was going to be a hotel stay like no other. Rocky helped us get
checked in even though everyone at the hotel spoke very good English.
Then we were off to our room to get settled in for the night and
prepare for our first day sightseeing in the morning.
</div>
Our hotel had so many
wonderful smells in it too. It's amazing how a wonderful smell can
make a lasting impression on you. The room was beyond the level of
luxury we are used to and were very excited to be here. We were so
thankful that Matt Neimiec offered and gifted us Marriott points to
stay in such a nice place.<br />
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So after unpacking a little,
we did what we do best at a new hotel....go explore. Although the
exploring we did was outside the hotel this time. We went down the
street to look for some food, and came across a group of older
ladies outside on the walkway doing Tai Chi. We were already falling
in love with the people and atmosphere of China. We then stumbled
upon a mall and went inside to look for food. Inside was a small
grocery store, so we got some bananas, yogurt, and a nice big 5 liter
jug of water for in the room. On the way back we decided to stop at a
KFC because we couldn't find any other restaurants open. With us
being up for a long time, a long journey, and ready to go to bed, we
just wanted to get some food in our bellies and go to bed. We had
done it....we successfully made two purchases on our own, paying with
Chinese Yuan and no translator.....but we couldn't correctly get a
bag for all of our groceries so there we were walking down the street
and into our uber fancy hotel with all items in our hands and a bag
of food from KFC of all places.</div>
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With food in bellies,
settled into our room, and said goodnight to the kids (technology is
great) it was time for us to crash and get some much needed sleep.
What a great first day it was!!! We are actually in BEIJING,
CHINA!!!!</div>
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Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-14243065447656223482016-01-04T06:33:00.002-08:002016-01-04T06:33:44.389-08:00It's go time!!! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, almost. We will be on the road in less than a week to get the kiddos to grandparents. We leave for China a week from tomorrow!!!! Two weeks from today we are scheduled to meet Lucee. From that moment on, we will get to have her with us the remaining time. (In some countries they want the parents to come visit and observe over a day or 2 before being able to take their little one with them. In China, at the orphanage Lucee is at, we see her and she is ours from that moment!) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On a financial note, God has completely provided for all of the adoption expenses! We are so thankful for all of the generous donations, from the pennies to the thousands! It truly is a blessing to see how each step of the way, the Lord provided for everything and we have faith that He will continue to do so. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'd love it if you could be in prayer with us as we continue on this journey. There are so many prayer requests, but the main ones are:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1) That Lucee would feel the love we have for her and attach well into our family! We believe that the Holy Spirit will go between us to help with the communication barrier that is evident. [Ben and I have learned some Chinese and will continue to make efforts, but it's a complicated language to say the least ;)]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2) For all the preparation that needs to be done during this week.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3) For safe travels.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4) For Noah, Gavin and Lilee to be at peace while we are apart.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5) For the grandparents to have energy beyond what they naturally have, to care and love on three wild kiddos for an extended time ;)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6) For the millions of other orphans still waiting for their forever family!!! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our goal is to post updates while we are in China... Thanks for coming alongside us during this adoption journey! All glory be to God! </span></span>Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-54765508745610062212015-12-17T05:13:00.000-08:002015-12-17T05:13:17.647-08:00One Year ago...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exactly one year ago today( December 17, 2015), Ben and I filled out the Request to International Adoption Application and mailed it off to the Gladney Agency with our $300 application fee! At that time, we were under the impression that the adoption process would be a long one and the wait could be 18-24 months long! We were trusting that God would bring us step-by-step to the child He had planned for us. Now, one year later we are excited to be anticipating our little girl, Lucee, coming home with us within 13-14 months of that initial application!!! Praise God and may He continue to bless this adoption process!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just a side note.... our three biological kids came 1-3 weeks early, so it's just fitting that Lucee would be coming "early" as well ;)</span> <br />
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<br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-63402371035469301472015-12-14T19:05:00.002-08:002015-12-14T19:05:57.635-08:00December 14, 2015 Update<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some people have been asking about updates on Lucee... Not much is going on right now on our side of things. Other than trying to get things ready for her to come home! Woo Hoo!!! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">However, in China, the paperwork is getting to where it needs to be and people are double checking that everything is where it is supposed to be, so that when we get there with Lucee, there won't be any paper/document hiccups. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We have been given the estimate of about 2 more weeks until CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) will issue our Travel Approval date. We are estimating that the travel date will be toward the latter part of January 2016. We will definitely announce on here and blast it on Facebook when we get that Travel Approval date!!! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Until then, we will just continue to prepare our house and hearts for our sweet daughter to come home! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In regards to our fundraising, we are less than $3,000 away from the financial goal on Adopt Together!! Praise God for all of His provisions thus far! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you would like to contribute to this, please go to </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.adopttogether.org/zachariasfamilyadoption">https://www.adopttogether.org/zachariasfamilyadoption</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to make a tax-deductible donation to help with travel and adoption expenses. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stay tuned for the Travel Date coming soon.... Yippee, SUPER exciting, it's just around the corner!!!</span></span></div>
Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-18745905330085726852015-10-30T05:12:00.001-07:002015-10-30T05:12:05.304-07:00Our Sweet Lucee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Introducing to you...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Our Daughter, Lucee!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">She has stolen our heart and she doesn't even know it. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: serif;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Soon, little one, soon. You will know how much you are loved." </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> With Love,Your family! </span></span></div>
Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-18443252285750621932015-10-08T14:02:00.000-07:002015-10-08T14:02:41.288-07:00Update on Lucee!!!I know it's been a while since we have given an adoption update. We have kind of been sitting in limbo waiting to hear back from China as they have all of our paperwork and are reviewing it. <br />Today we got to hear from the physical therapist that is part of our adoption agency and we got some REALLY exciting and encouraging news. First of all she couldn't stop talking about how amazing and sweet Lucee is. Her excitement right off the bat was very exciting for us. We hadn't even gotten into any questions and she was already bragging on her. Then she got in to answering a bunch of the questions we had asked before the group went over to China to see the kids. <br />-Lucee is very active and even jumps around a lot. This was encouraging for us as we know that she has issues with with her legs with the muscles and tendons due to her cerebral palsy. The physical therapist did state that she is not in any kind of brace for her legs right now (this is normal in orphanages) and that the longer she goes without, the harder it will be on her legs. She does have good range of motion in her feet and legs right now, so that is encouraging. The fact that she is jumping is very exciting for us.<br />
-With her strabismus (cross eyes), the therapist did note that Lucee is not tracking well out of her right eye. We expected this but is just a reminder that vision therapy and surgery on her eyes is in her future when she gets here. Her head is tilted to the left and they believe this is to compensate for her right eye. The therapist stated that because her head is tilted to the left that the muscles in her neck are tight and will need to be worked on when she is here.<br />
-She does not speak any English except for "hi". She speaks Mandarin pretty well, so this will most likely be our greatest challenge when we are united. The amazing thing is that we met some new friends recently who are from China and fluently speak Mandarin. They have offered to teach us and to be a help when we don't understand Lucee. Meeting these new friends is such an amazing blessing at the right time.<br />
-Lucee is learning lots of new things and is able to match the right colors together. Her favorite colors are green and red.<br />
-Lucee is a very personal little girl and loves interacting with others. The therapist stated that they gave the kids fruit snacks and Lucee was offering some of her snacks to the workers before she ate any herself. Over and over the therapist continued to talk about her sweet, loving personality.<br />
-She loves music and sings all of the time.<br />
-Lucee is not on any medications<br />
-She sleeps well but is a lite sleeper and likes the room completely dark. This is perfect because Lilee sleeps in the dark whereas our boys sleep with a night light on.<br />
-A big one is that she is potty trained!!!!! She goes potty all by herself as well. That means we can't get rid of the big changing table in our house and we no longer have a need for any diapers!!!! Brandee was VERY excited about this news.<br />
-She is 101cm tall which puts her at 39 1/2 inches. She weighs 31.4 pounds. Lilee on the other hand is 38 1/2 inches tall and weighs about 33 pounds. Both girls wear 3T clothing. We are going to basically have twin girls!!<br />
-The nanny's and anyone that is around her states that she is an absolute joy to be around.<br />
-Some of the most exciting news but also gut wrenching (because we have to continue to wait) is that she has been talking about wanting a "mama and baba". She has seen other kids get adopted and leave and she is desiring that as well. Obviously, this just melted our hearts and made us want to get on a plane right away and go get her. It's exciting that God is answering our prayer for her to desire to be part of a family. It's crazy to be in the spot we are in because she has no clue that there is a family pursuing her. Because we are waiting on China's final approval, they cannot tell her about us yet. We feel like we are looking through a one way mirror where we know who she is and are looking into her world, but she can't see that we are right there on the other side of the mirror smiling and ready to love on her. Once we get final approval for her they will begin telling her about us and showing her pictures.<br />
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This was a very exciting day for us as we received all of this great information about our daughter. Please pray that the process would hurry along so we can actually get over there and bring her home. Thank you all for the amazing love and support we have been receiving!! It has meant so much to us. Can't wait to tell you all more soon!<br />
<br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-22690980254430147052015-09-13T05:30:00.000-07:002015-09-13T05:30:18.662-07:00While We Are Waiting...We have been pre-approved to get Lucee (spelling we will probably change her name to in keeping with her momma and sister's spelling), which is a big deal!! This means we are the only family that has her file in the world and no one can get her unless our paperwork doesn't get approved in China before Jan 23rd. (It should be approved by October!!) Once it's approved, we will be given a time to travel over to bring her home!! This could be as early as December, but could be later like Feb or March. Financially, we are preparing for Dec, but emotionally, we are trying to prepare for the latter. <br />
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While we are waiting, we are focusing our efforts on fundraising. We are planning several fundraisers...<br />
- Bake Sales at APEX Community Church (Sept. 12-13 & Oct 24-25)<br />
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- Beer Tasting at The Trolley Stop in Dayton (Nov 4 @ 6:45pm)<br />
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- The Orphan Love Run/Walk 5K (Nov 14 @ 9am) The Start line is at APEX Community Church<br />
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-To Give Tax-Deductible Donations you can give at <a href="http://www.adopttogether.com/zachariasfamilyadoption">Adopt Together</a> .<br />
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Also, some exciting news that's happening right now is that the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoOgBVR5UDg">Superkids</a> (a team that our agency sends to China 2 times a year to physically see the kids in the orphanages, take pictures and be advocates for) just left yesterday (Sept 12) for their second trip this year to China. They will visit about 10 orphanages while there, and they are bringing a little package of items for Lucee! If she is not ill on the day that they visit her, they will get to take updated photos, videos, and ask her nannies the questions that we have given them. We are so thankful for this team and all of the work that the volunteers do to help these waiting children.<br />
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That's all for now! If you have any questions about the process or anything, please feel free to let us know! All Glory be to God!!!<br />
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<br />Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130788487166024511.post-59744295247352750702015-09-13T04:49:00.000-07:002015-09-13T04:49:16.993-07:00A word from BenWhile running a 6-mile punishment for the Biggest Loser Challenge at work, I was finishing up my last mile and God began to minister to my heart about little Lucy. I have been struggling with wanting a little girl who was going to fit right into our family's active life style. Little Lucy has muscle issues and moderate retardation. So that didn't fit into what I (emphasized!) wanted. I wanted it to be easy or maybe not easy, but definitely not as hard as Lucy was presenting with. I had lost focus that this was the Lord's inspiration for us to adopt and not us. What was it that he wanted in this adoption and not I. This needed to be Your will be done, not Mine. <br />
As a dad, I have always wanted the best for my kids and having a kid with moderate disabilities, especially mentally, was a challenge for me. I selfishly was limiting in my mind maybe what God wanted to do through this adoption. This selfish perspective was possibly limiting God's will for our family. With this narrow-minded perspective we could be missing out on an amazing blessing the Lord has for our family as a whole and each individual member of our family. Right before the run, Brandee and I talked about Lucy's personality and how she liked singing, playing with others and how she liked to eat... all signs of life! We talked about how getting a toddler or infant, you don't know their personality yet and how a child that seems more "normal" could turn out to have many social issues. So with this foundation of the story I'm on my run... I'm finishing the last mile and put on one of my most favorite songs to help me dig in. It's "Tear Down the Walls" by Hillsong United. <br />
Tear Down the walls<br />
Tear down the walls, <br />
see the world, is there something we have missed<br />
turn from ourselves, look beyond<br />
there is so much more than this<br />
And I don't need to see it to believe it<br />
cause I can't shake this fire deep inside my heart<br />
Look to the skies hope arise<br />
see His majesty revealed<br />
more than this life there is love<br />
there is hope and this is real<br />
This life is yours and hope is rising as your glory floods our hearts<br />
let love tear down these walls that <br />
all creation would come back to you <br />
it's all for you<br />
Your name is glorious glorious<br />
your love is changing us, calling us to worship in spirit and in trust <br />
as all creation returns to you<br />
For all your sons and daughters who are walking in the darkness<br />
you are calling us to lead them back to you<br />
we will see your spirit rising as the lost come out of hiding<br />
every heart will see this hope we have in you<br />
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So here I am running along and the Holy Spirit just starts ministering to my heart with the lyrics of this song. I begin to see my selfishness and begin to see what I'm missing overall: <br />
1) One day when the Lord returns (if not sooner) she will be able to walk and run "normal" and have corrected eyes and "normal" mental capacity. Jesus will usher those of us in Him into a new life with a new body, heart, and mind. How short minded I have been to forget this. We ALL have imperfections and the only cure is Jesus. It (this life) has been and will always be about coming back to Jesus who all things were created by and for. My main idea as a parent, husband, friend, coworker, and believer in Christ should be first and foremost to "lead them back to you". The lyrics "let love tear down these walls (of ignorance and selfishness) that all creation would come back to you, it's all for you" and "turn from ourselves, look beyond there is so much more to this" really brought this adoption into a right and true perspective.<br />
2) No matter the mental delays our love can carry us through and Brandee's background of early childhood education could help this precious little girl to grow leaps and bounds. She's worked with kids who have developmental delays so who better to help Lucy grow than her mama.<br />
3) Why are we adopting? For ourselves and what WE want or answering the calling that God has laid on our hearts? Is this for our overall plan in life or His? Loves doesn't see ailments. Just as God loved us "while we were still yet sinners" and gunked up with our junk and imperfections, should I be looking at my kids and ones He's entrusted to me with the same eyes. This life will never have perfection. How soon we forget that the "perfect" family life and circumstances does not and will not exist in this life. Our only hope is in Jesus. "look to the skies, hope arise, see His majesty revealed. More than this life there is love, there is hope, and this is real"<br />
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Our love for Lucy will fill us with joy and compassion as with any of our kids, to see beyond whatever physical, mental, or emotional ailment they may have. Did we get to choose Noah not to get Lymphomatoid Papulosis? No, and it didn't make us love him any less. If Lucy was "perfect" now or have very mild disabilities and then develop into moderate disabilities later, would it change our love or care for her? By NO means. <br />
Thank you God for helping me to see the error of my ways and your prompting to pursue this precious little girl. If we hadn't had an A/C appointment, where I had to turn down overtime, I wouldn't have been at home to go on this long run and have my eyes opened. The appointment ended up being unnecessary as the installer found out that the air distributor was internally insulated. No charge to us for the appointment, but that whole event ensured I was at home and therefore able to go on this run. <br />
Now where do we go? Well with a new perspective, we are pressing forward for Lucy and whether we get her or not is in God's hands, but like Paul in the bible, we have a new way to see.Ben and Brandeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09693304114280365023noreply@blogger.com1