Sunday

This morning we got to attend church!  We'd never been to church in China before, so I was really glad we got to do this.  It was a Chinese/English service, so most of it was translated for us.  The songs were not, but one of them was "As the Deer."  The rest were in Chinese.  I couldn't understand the words, but it was very beautiful.  The pastor spoke about prayer and how its purpose is not to achieve our own will, but God's.  After that a lady gave her testimony.  It's always neat to see Christianity outside of America and be reminded of how big the Church really is.  It's not confined to our country or our traditions, but encompasses people of every nation.  When we all get to woship the Lord together in heaven, won't it be wonderful?!?! 

For lunch we went to a Thai restaurant.  I'd never had Thai food before.  The noodles were very strange.  Wide, flat and slimy.  But they tasted really good!  This afternoon we rested in the hotel room and then walked around a bit and had dinner.  I don't remember having so much down time when we were here two years ago, but Heath says we did.  I guess I spent most of the time sick in bed, so it's all a blur.  We still have 2 full days here, and the only appointment is the consulate appointment first thing tomorrow morning.  I think we're going to be pretty bored!  And walking around the shops is dangerous because I keep buying stuff! 

Heath's feeling better.  But now I have a sore throat, so I hope I'm not getting sick!  Rayanna continues to develop her personality.  We don't know what she was like before we met her, so it's hard to tell if this is her normal personality that was just suppressed during the first few stressful days of meeting us, or if she never had much expression and is suddenly developing it quickly just from the change in her environment.  Either way, she is super cute!  Today we've had to coerce her to eat again.  Yesterday was the only day she's really been hungry and drinking full bottles.  Today she's uninterested again and cries if we try to make her drink her bottle.  But if she's hungry she doesn't act it--she seems very happy.  She hardly fusses and is pretty content as long as we're holding her.  She's getting much harder to hold though!  She's getting more and more squirmy, climbing all over us.  You'd think she'd want to get down and play around, but she doesn't.  Just loves to be held.  I'm really glad she's feeling secure with us though, so all the holding must be working.  She's actually played on the bed a few times today, sitting next to us instead of on us, so I think we're making progress! 

I'm starting to really miss the big kids.  I've been doing really well being apart (and actually enjoying this "vacation" from them), but it's been long enough, and I'm ready to see them!  I'm very thankful to be able to see them every day on skype though.  It's amazing that we can be completely on the other side of the world and see them in real time, live!  Everything seems to be going well there.  I know Mommom & Granddad are probably very tired, but I think they'll make it!  ;-)  The kids seem to be handling it pretty well too.  But I can't wait until we're all together again.

Well, that's all for today. 

I forgot the pics

These were supposed to go with the last post.

 

 

Saturday Shopping

We've had a very fun afternoon walking around the little island.  It's really nice and peaceful here, compared to the rest of the city.  You can actually cross the street without wondering if you'll make it across alive!  After Rayanna's nap today, we went out to do a little shopping.  I know some people love the shopping experience in foreign countries, but I hate it.  Everywhere you go, a salesperson leeches onto you as soon as you come near.  Not only do they want to show you every little thing you might possibly want to buy, but they follow you around incessantly!  I was trying to make a decision about something, but I couldn't even think because she kept talking to me!  When you finally do decide you then have to argue about the price.  Of course you get some great deals, but I'd rather just go to Target, shop in peaceful solitude and know exactly how much everything costs.  I also hate car shopping for all the same reasons, by the way. 

 

But we did to into two shops that I really enjoyed.  One was run by a husband and wife and their little 2-year-old boy.  The man played the calabash flute for us and made it look so easy!  He also had a CD of him playing, so we bought that.  It's really beautiful, soothing music.  On the way out, the lady gave us a free fan for Rayanna and gave me my choice of a free bracelet.  I chose the one in the picture just because I thought it was pretty, but after I chose it she explained the meaning and I realized it was a fitting choice!  The large bead means "happy family" and the four small ones are for 4 children.  Perfect!

 

The other shop I enjoyed was Jordon's.  I remembered him from last time.  I think it's the only place in the country where you can shop at your leisure and not be pressured to buy anything at all!  He does a free calligraphy of each adopted child's name, and he is very friendly and talkative.  He told us all about his experience in Nanchang and about growing up in the countryside.  When we were ready to go it was pouring down rain and thundering really loud.  He unwrapped one of the umbrellas he had for sale and told us we could borrow it!  Definitely the best place to shop in my opinion!

 

The other picture is a T-shirt that I found quite funny.  The caption means "Serving the People."  But the funniest part was that the lady saw me looking at it and said, "Very popular!"  I'm sure she has no idea why it's popular, which makes it even funnier!  I thought of several people who I'd love to buy it for, but we only have so much suitcase space, so I decided just to take a picture of it. 

 

After shopping we had dinner at Lucy's, the American-ish restaurant here.  We were going to have Chinese, but it was pouring rain and that was the closest thing.  We both got hamburgers and french fries, which were really good.  And, wonder of wonders, Rayanna let me give her a piece of a french fry!  At every meal we try to get her to taste something, but she never will (except for the first morning when Heath got her to try a bit of congee).  But this time she actually opened her mouth and ate it!  She almost gagged on it though, and refused to take anymore after that.  But isn't it nice that her first real food was a french fry?!.  She really didn't know how to chew it, so I think we're going to have to go through all the typical baby food stages:  rice cereal, Gerber baby stage 1, 2, 3, etc, before we can get to real food.  She's had two full bottles without coercing today though, so I think she's really making progress.  AND, I was holding her on the bed while we played with some cups, and she actually slid off of me a little at a time until she was sitting on the bed not touching me!  I don't think she realized it, but she was on her own!  Then a little later she'd been sitting/lying on Heath on the bed and ended up standing there pretty much on her own!  As soon as she realizes what she's done she grabs back on for dear life, but she's definitely getting more comfortable.  I'm hoping before we leave for home she can sit comfortably on her own without panicking.  Otherwise that first ride in a car seat is going to be very traumatic!

 

Tomorrow we don't have any official business to do.  We were supposed to go on a tour to the Folk Art Museum, but since we saw that last time we decided to skip that and go to the church here instead.  I'm very excited about visiting a Chinese church, since I've never had the opportunity to do that before!  They have a Mandarin/English service, and I'm not sure if it's mostly local people or tourists that go, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. 

 

I hope everyone is doing well back at home!  Thanks again for the comments and encouragment and prayer!

 

 

 

Guangzhou Day 1

Well, I take back what I said about the weather.  This morning it's very humid and getting hotter.  It's not as bad as Nanchang for sure, but still yucky.  When there's a breeze it feels pretty good though.  We're right on the Pearl River, so there is a bit of a breeze, and it's a pretty area.  We're on Shamian Island which is a part of Guangzhou that is built in European style, so it doesn't feel much like we're in China here.  The US Consulate used to be right on this island, but now it's moved into the city so we'll have to take a bus there when we go on Monday.

 

I did enjoy our delightful breakfast this morning.  And at lunch time today, Rayanna drank her first full bottle!  We've had to coerce her to eat every time, and she usually won't drink more than half a bottle.  But today she guzzled down the whole thing!  She still wants nothing to do with solids, even rice congee, which supposedly she's had.  But at least she's getting an appetite.

 

This morning was her medical evaluation.  They've changed the law so that we can do immunizations at home.  I'm really glad about that because that part was a nightmare for Tabitha!  Even without shots, Rayanna was still quite traumatized by it all.  Remember . . . she just can't bear to be set down.  First we had to set her in a chair for a picture.  I wish I could scan and post the picture--she was NOT happy, to say the least!  Then we had to lay her down for a quick exam, then to be weighed, then to be measured.  Every time she just screamed and screamed.  When we got back we had to change her diaper, so she screamed again.  But she did calm down each time as soon as we picked her up, and she's definitely getting more comfortable with us holding her and passing her back and forth.  The exam went fine.  Her referral had classified her as special needs for "possible hearing or mental abnormality," but this doctor was confused as to why they would've put that (as are we), as everything seems completely normal.  We're going to have her hearing thoroughly checked when we get home, but she seems to respond to sounds just fine.  As far as mental ability, we thinks she's OK too.  She's obviously delayed, but after seeing the orphanage I'm pretty sure her environment is to blame for that; it doesn't seem that she has any real problems at all.  Praise the Lord!

 

Heath's feeling a lot better than yesterday but still not up to par.  Last time I spent most of our Guangzhou time sick in bed...hopefully this time isn't HIS turn to do that! 

 

We don't have a lot of requirements while we're here.  We had the medical check today, tomorrow a little sight seeing, Monday the consulate appointment, Tuesday we just wait for the visa to be delivered, and then Wednesday we head home.  All of those things just take a couple of hours each, so it should be a pretty relaxing week. 

 

We missed the boys on skype this morning, but Tabitha and Granddad were there to talk to us.  Tabitha seems to be doing well, though she's been asking for us to come home.  I must say, I'm very impressed with how involved and hands-on Granddad has been!  He's even been doing a lot of Tabitha's medical stuff!  Heath's parents have been keeping the kids pretty busy, so hopefully the time's going fast for everybody.  It sounds like the kids are most concerned about what presents we're going to bring them when we get back!  =)

 

That's all for now. 

 

note to Kelly and Brief Update

Kelly--Hmmm....I guess I should consider the placement of those pictures!  Yeah, doing it by email I have no clue what the actual post looks like.  So, no . . . she's not blossoming into a water buffalo.  It was just a picture I couldn't resist sharing.  =)

 

Everyone--We are now in Guangzhou at the beautiful White Swan hotel.  We have a king sized bed!!  (I didn't know those existed in China!  This is my 5th trip here, and I've never seen one before tonight.)  AND our room is arcticly cold....it's awesome!!  AND outside there's a breeze--almost like a nice summer's evening rather than the boiling cauldron that was Nanchang.  AND we had no flight troubles.  AND we get to eat the most awesome breakfast ever in about 10 hours.  AND, last but not least, Heath is feeling better and Rayanna's sleeping soundly.  I'm a very happy camper right now!  =)

 

 

Our Blossoming Flower

The above picture is for all the Veggie Tales fans.  =)

Rayanna is doing great today!  She's been so much less panicky!  We still can't set her down, but we can change positions without her crying and even pass her back and forth to each other.  It used to be that whenever we moved she'd cry, so this is definite progress!  She's also gotten rid of the vacant look in her eyes and is getting more inquisitive.  Today while I was talking with someone she just stared intently at my face, never looking away.  I don't know if she was trying to learn my face or figure out what this crazy language was, but it was very precious.  She's also been making cute little noises, saying things likes "ga ga ga ga", blowing bubbles and playing with her spit (which I normally wouldn't encourage but am very happy about for her)!  I think she's starting to come out of her shell and becoming more like a normal baby.  We're very excited to see her progress!

On the downside she woke up twice last night.  Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come!  Also, Heath has a really bad chest cough and a fever.  Please pray he gets better quick and doesn't share it! 

I just got to meet another family who's adopting from the same orphanage.  She had asked me to take pictures of her daughter there, so we got together to talk about the orphanage and the girls and all.  It was neat to meet their family!  They'll get their daughter on Sunday, and it's their first adoption, so it was fun to be able to share our experiences with them.

This evening we (along with the family who got their baby the same day as us) fly on to Guangzhou and the second half of our trip.  Let's pray we don't get stuck in any airports this time!!!

Another Day

I can't respond to comments on the blog since I don't have access to it here.  (I'm sending these posts by email.)  But I wanted to say thanks to everyone who's commenting!  It's so nice to know people are "with us" on this trip, and your encouragement and prayers are appreciated!  Kelly Hills . . . funny you mentioned the water buffalo song.  Heath was singing it on the drive to/from the orphanage.  Fortunately, not loud enough for anyone but me to hear it.  =)

After we got back from the orphanage yesterday, Rayanna was very crabby.  We discovered that she's getting her molars!  She sucks her thumb a lot, but we noticed her gnawing on it on the side of her mouth, and sure enough . . . there was a tiny tooth poking through!  The other side is swollen too, so I think that's making her miserable.  Not to mention her world being suddenly turned upsidedown.  Tylenol seems to help with the teeth, but only time will help with the other stuff.  She still can't bear to be set down for even an instant.  I hope she's over that by the time Heath goes back to work, or I will have a serious problem!  This isn't the typical whining of a baby who wants to be held, it's a panicked cry.  And even if we just change her position from one arm to the other or from standing to sitting, she cries.  But, like I said, she does sleep well.  So we are VERY thankful that once she falls asleep in our arms we can lay her down for the night and she's fine.  She did wake up once last night, but went back to sleep within 15 minutes of holding her.  She's not wanting to take a nap this afternoon.  She fell asleep while I was holding her this morning, and I think that ruined it for her afternoon nap, even though we were told she takes two naps.  I'm hoping she goes to sleep though or it'll be a long evening! 

She continues to be very serious, but every now and then we'll see a little half-smile or hear a little coo.  It's rare though.  Most of the time she's either silent, or she's crying because we aren't holding her just right.  But those little glimpses of happiness give me hope that she'll be a lot of fun once she's used to her new life! 

We haven't really done anything else since the orphanage trip.  Tonight we might meet up for dinner with two other adoptive families, and then tomorrow we'll fly to Guangzhou.  I'm looking forward to breakfast at The White Swan already!  =)