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WE
MADE IT!!! Thought I would start our journal entries this way
to immediately ease the minds of the moms and grandmas! This
is Connie—I am writing this on Saturday at 9:50 am which
is 8:50 pm your time on Friday. Our flights came and went without
a hitch—thank you all so much for praying! We have all
of our luggage and customs was a breeze. I can’t even describe
the international flight. Twelve hours in a tiny seat—there
just are no words. Please pray for our return trip as it will
be longer, and we will have Lydia to keep occupied.
People,
people everywhere. We were told that one million people pass through Tian'anmen
Square and the Forbidden City each day. This is but a small sampling
of the masses assembled today.
Who
isn't a sucker for a little kid? In this case, it's the Chinese
wanting
pictures with the American! Randy (the boy) was very famous today!
Enter
the Forbidden City! Why is it forbidden, you ask? It has something
to do with dynasties ending in "ing" and emperors with
a great love for security. The ground you see the people walking
on is actually 15 layers deep of stone. It was designed this way
to prevent enemies from digging their way into this city. Forbidden
indeed!
Connie
and I have adopted the official military policy for eating Chinese
food: "Don't ask, don't tell."
The
pearl factory...a wonderful place to learn about the formation
of pearls. And a wonderful place to lighten the weight of one's
wallet.
The
Summer Palace...China's answer to Camp David for those in power
back durning the dynasties. We arrived
for this tour by boat.
The
silk factory was an interesting tour where we were able to see
silk go from the cocoon to finished product. The quilts, clothing
and scarves were all very nice...and none of them are going home
with us. (Too expensive!)
Our
evening comes to an end with yet another Chinese dinner (what you
see was only the beginning) and...
...the
maintianence men "fixing" our air conditioner. Only one
more day until we see Lydia!
After
church, we traveled to a jade factory. Here we saw jade taken from
its original state and carved and shaped into amazing things like
the ship seen here. In China, it is a tradition for the women to
have a jade bracelet that has often been passed down from their
mothers when the daughters turn 18. The bracelet is to be worn
on the left wrist which is closer to the heart. The properties
in
the
jade
also increase
circulation
in the body. This was an interesting experience and as always,
shopping opportunities abounded!
After
yet another traditional Chinese lunch at an eatery located inside
the Friendship Store and a little souvenir shopping, we were off
to the Great Wall. Thankfully, the weather was a little cooler
(think Houston in June, not July and you'll know how things felt).
If
you view the winding path as the letter "s", Lacey, Caiti and I
made it half way up the "s." This was no small task...the Great
Wall is the ultimate Stairmaster!
For
dinner after our trip to the Wall, we had the Chinese delicacy Peking
Duck. The proper way to eat Peking Duck is to take a pancake (actually
a thin tortilla), put a few slices of duck inside, place some bean
sprouts inside, roll it up and dip it in the duck sauce. We all tried
it and decided that it wasn't too bad. However, the food staring
back at us (see picture) was a greater cause for alarm. None of us
touched this fish dish. Needless to say, American food will taste
very good when we get to Chongqing!
After
dinner, several families attended a Chinese acrobat show. Still
shots of this program does not do it justice. That's one of the
reasons I took nearly 1/2 hour of video at this program. Pictured
on the left are people spinning plates on small sticks. This may
not sound impressive until you realize that each person is spinning
about 10 plates each...at the same time! Amazing stuff...
Lydia is finally with
us. There is too much to say, but I will try. She is as beautiful
as we thought she would be. She is very petite—one
of the smaller babies in our group. (Tonight she is wearing size
6/9 month PJs, which are just about too small—we’ll see
how clothes fit tomorrow.) She appears to be in good health—not
undernourished. She may be in the process of catching a cold as we
heard some sneezing and wheezing tonight so please pray about that.
Fortunately there is a pediatrician on our team so we’ll see
about a “house call” tomorrow just to check things out.
Lydia’s personality is, well. . . very entertaining. She is
VERY stubborn, strong and independent. Boy, do we have our work cut
out for us! In truth, she will probably fit in very well with the
Workmans! She hates going to sleep—had screaming fits before
finally conking out on two different occasions today. She has hand
gestures that mean “I’m mad” and a thing she does
with her lips that means “You’re frustrating me”.
She loves being the center of attention and loves to have us clap
when she does something well. 
So much more I could
say, but I’m exhausted and need to sleep
while Lydia does—apparently the orphanage still has her on
a schedule where she gets up in the middle of the night to eat. Trust
me—this will not last at our house! HA!
After a quiet
night of Lydia sleeping from 9:00pm until 7:00am, we started the day
with a bath. Lydia is not the youngest baby in our group but is the
second smallest baby, so we were able to bathe her this morning in
the sink. Lydia was not a big fan of this process, but we made it through.
After bath time, she was worn out from the fight of the bath and getting
dressed, so lydia and daddy catnapped while mom got ready. After mom
was ready we all made it to breakfast at 8:40am. 
After breakfast it was off to the store for supplies...our outing
for the day.
(the
box of water is her favorite toy), taking a couple of bottles,
napping, taking a 40 minute stroller ride
through the mall and discovering the new love of her life...Cheerios.
As I write this, we just finished dinner (McDonalds again)
and Lydia is playing in the room and walking around with Lacey holding
her hands.
These qualities rear their ugly collective head
in the form of prolonged screaming fits when she doesn't get what she
wants,
prolonged
screaming fits when daddy isn't holding her or is out of the room and
moments of beauty when she plays on the floor or is sleeping peacefully.
Lydia is a paradox. Her life will be an interesting one to be sure...
About our day:
What a crazy day, but so much fun! We started by going to the Chongqing
zoo today. “Zoo” is a bit misleading
as there were only a few different animals in cages, but that’s
what they call it so we’ll go with it! Our guide told us the
government will not provide adequate funding so the zoo is suffering.
However, we got to see 3 of the 4 pandas who live there which was
the main reason for going anyway! The trees and other vegetation
there were magnificent. Definitely nothing you would see in Kansas!
The best part of the zoo, though, was watching Jonathan negotiate
with the many women who were following us around, trying to get us
to buy their panda merchandise. We got some great footage of Jonathan
and one woman going at it! 
We then visited an art gallery and learned
about Chinese paintings. Many people bought some beautiful works
for very low prices.
The boat was
adorned with flashing coconut trees (tacky at best) and the entertainment
was, you guessed it—karaoke. Jonathan got it on film—there
are truly no words. When the ride had finished, we made our way back
to where we were to meet our bus. Unfortunately, the bus was nowhere
to be found. Kevin, our guide went looking for it, but was unsuccessful
in locating the bus or making contact with the driver via cell phone.
He finally contacted the driver’s boss who brought another
bus himself. Apparently, our initial driver had gone to the casino
while we were on the boat and forgot about us. Needless to say, on
the way back to the hotel we got to hear our driver yelling in his
cell phone—translation: you’re fired. What a night!
About our Lydia:
Lydia had a great day today. She hung with all the traveling and
the heat really well. Her personality continues
to amaze us. She is very laid back unless she is not getting her
way—then, look out!!! Lacey and Caiti are her playmates—walking
her across the room and cheering when she makes it. Lydia has come
to expect the applause and will let you know if you are not being
attentive enough! She is attaching better now and seems to know that
she has a mom and a dad. 
One thing we have come to realize is that Lydia stands out in the
crowd. People are always staring at her and at the art gallery her
antics drew in a group of Chinese women. One of the ladies said, “nice
eyes,” which seems to be the consensus of most. Even the other
adopting families we are with are constantly commenting on her eyes
and her size. One of the other dads calls her “princess”.
Amy, the guide for our entire trip, is also enamored with Lydia,
making it quite obvious that Lydia is her favorite. Let’s see—how
many people can I get wrapped around my finger???
This morning
started early with Lydia waking up around 5:00am. She lay in bed
with Connie for a short time while Jonathan got cleaned
up and dressed. We then switched off with Lydia sitting on Jonathan’s
lap at the computer while Connie got around. After we were both dressed
and ready for the day it was time to change Lydia’s diaper
and get her dressed. Her diaper was definitely wet but so was something
else…daddy’s leg! Lydia left a grapefruit size wet spot
on dad’s shorts, prompting a quick clothing change for Jonathan
before breakfast.
Today was a
day many families had been waiting for…the trip
to the orphanage, Fuling Social Welfare Institute. This was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for parents to get to see where the children spent the
beginning months of their lives and for families to get a chance
to ask questions of the girls’ nannies. The two-hour trip to
the orphanage provided a valuable opportunity to get to see the Chinese
countryside on the way to Fuling, a small city compared to Chongqing
(only 1 million people). 
This was a great trip that allowed us to
get lots of video and pictures that will help answer some questions
for Lydia later in life. The crib in the picture is the one Lydia
slept in while in the orphanage.
The rest of the day was spent playing in
the room and relaxing with our little bundle of dynamite.
I could tell from the delicious
smell that I had happened upon Chongqing’s version of Frosty’s
(a local doughnut shop in our hometown). I took a picture of the
establishment, showed the owner his picture on my digital camera
(which he enjoyed) and promptly purchased a huge piece of fried
dough that could be compared in size to two extra large twists
purchased at my aforementioned hometown doughnut shop. It was like
a funnel cake, but a bit denser and was not sweet to the taste,
but very good. This Chongqing treat cost just $0.50 or 5 Yuan Chinese.
While
Chongqing, like New York, is a city that never sleeps, it begins
its daily routine around 6:00am. At this hour, the sidewalks are
populated by the older generation doing Tai Chi, younger men hauling
all manner of product on their backs and in carts and the streets
are beginning their bustle with the appearance of taxis and busses.
I have loved my morning strolls
along the streets of Chongqing, a
city of both the modern (there has been a 2006 Converse shoe convention
held in or near our hotel and the connecting shops carry the latest
styles from all over the world) and the simple. At this point, if
someone asked me where I would live if I could live anywhere in China,
my answer would be Chongqing. I will truly miss this place.
Although
we are definitely ready for the “final stretch” of
our journey, it was a little sad to leave Chongqing. The city is
so beautiful and the people so friendly. I hope someday we can
come back, when Lydia is older, and enjoy more of the city.
Jonathan took a picture
of them with her and she came to the hotel a few minutes later, asking
for the girls to send her a copy of the picture. She also delivered
four free ice cream novelties to us. Keep in mind—she knows
no English and the girls do not know Chinese. Truly, kindness and
friendship are so much more than words spoken.
We prayed for her right before we got on
the plane, and we are happy to say—she was wonderful! She slept
most of the way and while the rest of us were feeling our ears popping,
she didn’t even seem to notice. We thank God for this answer
to prayer!
We’ll let them
tell the story later on, but it does have to do with a certain male
flight attendant seen here!
all of the adoptive families are together again—33 babies!
It has been so fun to see all the new babies of the people we were
with in Beijing. Breakfast was filled with all kinds of baby sounds
today!
She definitely can’t wear anything larger than 12 months—and
to be honest, most of those are a little big right now too. But the
way she eats, we are trusting she will grow quickly! She is crazy
about Cheerios and Fruit/Veggie Puffs and ate a huge amount of them
today. (In contrast, another couple in our group adopted a 10 month-old
baby who weighs 27 pounds!)
Caiti and Lacey
were a bit disappointed at their burgers—not quite Kansas beef—but
otherwise everything was great. Lydia especially enjoyed her introduction
to macaroni and cheese!
It is
another city of several million that seems to be growing by leaps
and bounds. The cities in China grow up, not out. Most people live
in apartments, in buildings that soar into the sky. In China the
people cannot own land or even their own apartments—the government
owns it all and the people lease their apartments from the government.
None
of us were really thrilled with the idea of going to the Folk Art
Museum.
I don’t know what we were picturing, but after
visiting I was so glad we went. The museum is actually a former temple
owned by a very rich Chinese family. Children lived there and received
their schooling there. It is an indoor-outdoor facility and reminded
me of some of the buildings in “Anna and the King”. 
The
carvings, statues and ornamental décor were all amazing. While
there, we also got to shop for Chinese paintings and prints and watched
an artist paint with the sides of his hands and his fingers -unbelievable!
It
was crazy—tons
of people in a small space. We bought a ball for Lydia, which was
a major ordeal. In China, unless you are grocery shopping, you don’t
just take all your things to a “checkout” place. In this
particular store we took the ball and had to find a salesperson to
make out some sort of ticket for the item. She then bagged the toy
and sent us to the 5th floor to pay for it. After we paid, we then
had to return to the 6th floor with our ticket to receive the item.
Although customer service in China is great, this process is a bit
ridiculous. We returned to the 5th floor where the “grocery” section
was located. It was really odd as part of the 5th floor contains
expensive jewelry, fine china and other “department store” items.
We
bought a few snacks and then visited the 4th floor -electronics.
We then returned to the bus, totally wiped out, and rode back to
the hotel.
After naptime
we made our way to the basement of the hotel where two very nice
shops are located—a silk shop and a traditional
Chinese gift shop. We then stopped at Starbucks (our addiction!)
and finished the night chatting and eating in our room.
Tomorrow will
be a huge day as all the babies will be receiving their medical
exams. Please be praying for Lydia—these are
generally very basic exams, but she has been sick and I don’t
want anything to hinder her getting a clean bill of health. She is
actually much better—thank you all for praying. Please pray
for the other babies too. Many others have colds or ear infections
and one baby even has bronchitis. 
handle
her a bit more. We know her adjustment will continue to take time
as she learns to trust us and trust that we are not going to abandon
her. Again, thank you for praying and see you tomorrow!
Lydia had to endure three examination “stations”—one
for ear, nose, and throat; one for height, weight, and temperature;
and one where they took off her clothes and listened to her heart.
I’m not kidding when I say the actual “exam” took
less than 10 minutes. The “ridiculous” part of it all
was being there for TWO HOURS, packed in like sardines, waiting our
turn. It was hot and filled with crying babies—needless to
say, an experience I don’t want to repeat.
Thankfully, Lydia
handled the wait much better than I did, fussing (screaming) only
during the actual exam. For those who have been waiting for the official
statistics, Lydia weighs 16.2 pounds and is 27 inches tall.
targeting tourists.
We shopped until we dropped—some dropped earlier than others,
including Lydi and me! We went to the bus early and took a nap. 
Again,
thanks for your prayers over the medical exam. We are basically home
free now barring any complications from the American Consulate. We
are definitely counting the days until we are back in the States.
There’s no place like home!
None
of us liked any of it, but we wanted to say we had tried! One of
the women on our team asked our guide about “Lipton”.
Our guide said, “We don’t talk about Lipton in China.” The
Chinese know nothing of tea bags—they use actual tea leaves
and go through quite a process to prepare their tea.
In the afternoon,
Jonathan, Lacey and Caiti took a taxi to a DVD/CD store recommended
by our guide. This was a very exciting venture
for them—the sales staff, noting they were Americans, immediately
ushered them into a “back room” not much bigger than
a closet. There, the three of them found DVD heaven, paying an average
of $1.25 for each DVD. 
Shown here are a sampling of the titles they
found—many of which are still being shown in theatres in the
States. Another exciting moment during this excursion occurred when
Caiti and Lacey hailed a taxi. They were quite proud of themselves!
This hotel had some really unique
shops and our wallet was again lightened.
We’ll be stuck in the hotel much of tomorrow for paperwork
so feel free to email us—we’d love to hear from you!
in
the early afternoon with Lydia and I joining them later on. We went
to a Chinese bookstore and bought a children’s fairytale book
for Lydia, which is written in both English and Chinese. We then
stopped by McDonald’s. Caiti and Lacey eat there everyday—I
think they both may turn into French Fries! It’s interesting
trying to order there—we do a lot of pointing. 
Actually, a
few people do speak English, and they do a good job of figuring out
what we want. 
(Thus, fewer fits!)
We have a long way to go and lots of things to tackle when we get
home, but it’s nice to see even a small amount of progress.
Only one more day! Yea!!!
Sure,
the initial programs were a bit rough (tractor pulls, pool tournaments
featuring Minnesota Fats and Australian Rules Football), but
we loved the idea of having an all sports network! As I've been watching
a little bit of television this week in Guangzhou, I've been treated
to the likes of rugby, equestrian, soccer and of course, the 2005
Kaohsiung World Pool Championship and on the Asian ESPN. The graphics
are the same as the US version, but their programming transports
me back, back, back, back to ESPN, old school. For the approximately
18 people who care
(and
you know who you are) that's my take. Out.
It feels so
good to be able to say THIS IS OUR LAST JOURNAL ENTRY FROM CHINA!!!
Today we went to the American Consulate for a 20 second
ceremony in which we swore everything we put in our adoption papers
is true. This was our last step—when we land in Chicago, Lydia
is an American citizen!
To celebrate
the occasion, Lydia wore her new “I love America” dress,
and Jonathan and I wore red, white and blue. As we were unable to
take any pictures at the Consulate, here are a few we took before
we left.
Later in the
afternoon we took group pictures at the hotel. Our picture is of
all the families who went to Chongqing (minus one—missing
in action!) Then, we took pictures of just the babies. Well. . .
we tried to. As you can see, Lydia is already a “take charge” kind
of person, making sure her friends, Molly on her right, and Kayley
on her left, are paying attention!
will be over
25 hours of traveling—and then still on home!
I want to go
back for a second as one fun thing happened during our wait in
the Hong Kong airport. We got online and discovered that
Caiti had become an aunt again! Our good friends Mark (Caiti’s
brother) and Jana (See “Joining Us In China”) became
the proud parents of Hope Nyssa on July 28th, 10:02 pm, weighing
in at 7lbs, 8oz.! Welcome Hope! We love you!