Hi All,

Anybody out there listening?  No comments for a few days (and we love those) so we thought you could let us know if you’re still reading or not.  So, please leave a quick comment … even a quick “Hi!” with your name is good on this post.  We’re a little curious who is still reading.  We know we’re close to returning home … but we miss you all and love even the small connection this blog provides.

Also, we’re offering a cool little gift for the most “substantive” comments for the rest of the trip.  It is a hand drawn bookmark from right here in Guangzhou!  And by “hand drawn”, I mean no brushes or implements were used in the painting of it … which you will find unbelievable.  So if you find that a suitable inducement … comment away!  Oh, and we can probably only send it to those living in the US … sorry!

Love and miss you all!

Today is our one-week anniversary with Claire.  But instead of a celebratory day, it has been an interesting day of highs and lows.  Claire has really struggled today and it’s been a bit of a sad day for us.  We won’t go into all of the details … but suffice to say, it’s clear that the attachment and bonding process still has a way to go.  Probably the saddest moment for us was when we asked her if she was happy to be part of our family and we got a definite “No” … followed by tears.  We know this is normal and that there will be up and down days … today was just definitely of the down variety.

That isn’t to say it was all terrible … after a particularly difficult time this morning we ended up having a family game of “stand on the bed volleyball” (which is played with a balloon).  Very fun and everybody was laughing.  That was the sad part, I guess.  She is having fun … but I think she still believes that we are another set of caregivers that will leave at some point.  It breaks our hearts.  Again, we know this is normal … but that knowledge is cold comfort during the tough times.

Anyway, we ate breakfast and then headed to the clinic for a follow up with the doctor on the TB test.  SUCCESS!  She’s free and clear with no need for X-Rays or anything else at this point.  Thank you so much for your prayers; we definitely felt this was a HUGE blessing for us and for Claire.  Dr. Judd … you’ll be the next stop of this kind!

Our guide, Helen, then decided to take us to the big nearby market (the one I had been searching for yesterday).  I was only a block off at one point in my search!  Darn!  It really is a great place and we were able to find a number of things we were looking for.  Some gifts for the kids and some special items for Claire that we’ll give her at special moments in her future life … 16th birthday, college graduation, wedding, etc.  We also ate lunch at a GREAT pizzeria.  29 yuan (about $4.50 USD) for a pizza and some spaghetti!  This market area is what we’ve been looking for since arriving in Guangzhou … we’ll likely head there again tomorrow.  Thanks to Helen for leading us here … it really is perfect for what we were looking for.

After that we headed back to the hotel.  I grabbed our dirty laundry and headed back to Jenny’s while Sandy and Claire went to the hotel lobby.  Sandy will have to elaborate on her experience and conversation she had while there.  I’ll give the quick-quick version.  She met a man who is here adopting (with his wife, but she isn’t here, his 16 year old son is with him) his fourth Chinese child.  They also have 4 biological children … so EIGHT!  Here’s the neat part.  The son they are picking up right now is older and is a “little person” (it’s not un-PC to call him a dwarf here).  They met him while they were adopting their 2nd Chinese child … he lived in the same orphanage as that child and just latched on to them at the time.  Long story short … they inquired about adopting him shortly after and were told it was impossible … he was “un-adoptable” due to his size.  They pushed the issue and asked what would happen to him.  The Chinese government told them that he would be placed in a home for those with mental retardation.  IMAGINE!  They protested, stating the obvious that he wasn’t mentally retarded and actually was VERY bright.  They said that was just what was done here.  At this point they really started to put on the pressure.  While picking up their 3rd Chinese child they asked if they could take the entire orphanage staff to lunch … provided this boy was able to join.  To their surprise, the staff also brought a bag with clothes for a week with them.  He stayed with them for an entire week, but had to go back after that … I honestly can’t imagine how difficult that would be.  Anyway, after that they redoubled their efforts and the government finally relented in allowing the adoption.  They were required to sign some sort of special contract in order to make it happen (probably an indemnification of some kind).  One of the really touching things he told Sandy was something to this effect … “My wife asked if we could really afford to do this, how would we pay for it and would our family be OK with it.  My response was that we will pay for it in mental anguish if we don’t do it.  Can we really live knowing that we left this child to such a future?”

Here’s the thing … we’ve had the chance to talk to numerous adoptive families at this point and there is a common thread.  We all feel “called” to it in some way.  There is a decided Christian bent to it as well.  And so many different kinds of families, different ages and stages in life, different personalities.  So many of the stories being shared with us are so compelling, in a way, our story feels so pedestrian in comparison.  We feel so blessed to have met and talked to so many amazing people!   We feel compelled to be better, to do more and to love in ways we’re not exactly sure how to yet … but we know with God’s help we can.  We love Claire so much and are so grateful for the blessing she is to us.  Hard times will come …we know that … but we also know that this blessing has been delivered to us through God’s will.  We will do our best to be worthy of it.

Shifting gears a bit … the next thing we did was a very fun FIRST!  Swimming in the (freezing) hotel pool!  It was very fun and Claire couldn’t get enough of it.  She had planned this earlier in the day and reminded us about every 5 minutes that it was on the schedule.  (We’re not kidding about the schedule.  Claire announced it this morning and in her words it  went something like this:  sun wake up, eat breakfast, talk to Helen, show doctor owie, swim).  Even though it was so cold … she absolutely loved it.  It was actually much warmer out of the water … so we made sure she had plenty of breaks warming up.  To be fair … I acclimated to the water within a few minutes … so it wasn’t “scout camp” cold.  Videos and pictures below. By the way, just to be clear … I’m pretty sure all of the “little girl” screaming about the cold water came from Sandy or Claire … definitely not from me. Are we all clear on that? I just want to make sure everybody understands that before we move forward.

So … we’re good … right? OK … on to the show.

After that we headed back to the room and Claire was able to watch her newly purchased Xi Yang Yang video (translated Xi Yang Yang means “pleasant goat”).  It’s a very funny cartoon here in China that she loves … so we bought her a small collection to take back home.  We were flipping through the channels with the remote control last night and Claire told us that she used to watch Xi Yang Yang at Baba Mao’s house (the orphanage) – so now we know what the flat screen TV on the orphanage wall was used for.  She also said Baba Mao was good at pushing the buttons on the remote.  Good for him!!  :)   We’re also hoping the video might aid in keeping a bit of her Chinese up for a few years.  Sandy then tried to help Claire paint her fingernails, although Claire didn’t really want the help and they therefore didn’t turn out great.  It literally looked like she dipped her fingers in the bottle.  She promises next time that she’ll let mom help:)

The night ended really great with a collection of songs that Sandy has always sung to the kids. Claire loved this song …

Claire we love you,
Yes we do,
Father in Heaven has blessed us with you,
When we are near you,
We love to hear you,
Whisper so softly that you love us too.
Claire we love you, we love you we do.

So that one was sung about 10 times before bedtime. She would close her eyes and sway her head back and forth. Feeling much better about things after experiences like that.

Sunday was all about walking in the muddy, rainy mess of Shamian Island and neighboring areas and playing at the nearby park (also very muddy).

We spent the first bit of the day looking in some of the local shops and met some very nice and enterprising people.  We wanted to seek out “Jenny” because of her reputation for doing laundry … and boy do we need help with laundry.  I tried to do a lot of it while we were in Nanjing … washing in the bathtub and then hanging dry.  That didn’t work great and was a ton of work one of the nights … I was up about 2 hours after Sandy and Claire had already gone to bed.  Not fun.

We were finally able to find Jenny, but it was difficult.  There is so much construction happening on the island right now … that some of the spots are a bit of a struggle to find.  She was great and her husband was very nice as well … they are a young couple … Jenny is about 24 and her husband can’t be much older.  We bought some fun trinkets and enjoyed getting to know her a little bit.  We were able to help her a bit by writing down some common English words/phrases that she wants to be able to say to her customers.  Fantastically friendly couple.

After a look around some of the shops we went to the neighborhood park to play a bit.  We met a very nice family named the Ellers and their beautiful daughters Olivia (6) and Lydia (3).  They are here picking up Lydia 5 years after being here picking up Olivia.  They are from North Carolina and one of the highlights of the day was hearing that fantastic accent coming out of a beautiful asian girl … see the video and pictures below.

Oh, and when we say “park” what we really mean is “outdoor-adult-gymnasium-with-limited-children’s-play-equipment.”  Seriously.  It is very common around these parts to come upon a “park” full of brightly colored equipment.  But upon close inspection, one quickly notices that the equipment is more of the nautilus variety (minus the weights) and is intended for adult use, though kids do play on it.   In fact, come by the “park” between 5 -6 pm and 90% of the people there will be over the age of 40.  One of the pieces even provides a fantastic back massage.  And best of all, it’s free to the public — no membership required!

We also played with a young local boy Lei Jaa Gai who really enjoyed hanging around … he is also in the video above and some of the pictures below.  He was a good kid … almost 10 years old and he really challenged my Cantonese skills.  He was a non-stop chatter box on all kinds of subjects.  I was exhausted by the end of it because it took my whole concentration trying to play with Claire and understand him at the same time.  It was fun though.  He told me all about a friend of his who had been to America and was asking about Los Angeles and all the neat things there.

Sandy and Claire headed up to the room after that and I headed out to explore a bit.  I mentioned our frustration with “island living” … specifically in regards to the food.  I was determined to find me some ChaSiu Faahn (the chinese bbq pork that I have made for many of you)!  I was successful after what seemed like two hours in the middle of crazy Guangzhou.  Below are a couple of videos of some of the sites …

I then later headed out and actually collected the ChaSiu Faahn for later consumption … AHA! (Sound of heavenly choir)  It was so nice to have some “real” Chinese food and feel like I’m actually in China.

So, all in all, not an eventful day at all.  On the very good side … Claire’s TB test spot is looking VERY good.  If she passes tomorrow … no further doctor’s visits here in China!

The rest of the day was fairly random, but very fun.  After the clinic we met with Helen to make sure all of our paper work was set … it wasn’t.  We were told before we left that all of our paper work was fine, even though some of it was four years old.  Well, frustratingly we had to redo a number of forms here instead of back home.  So what was supposed to be a 15 minute review turned into a 2 hour ordeal … aargh.

After that we took a few minutes to rest and recalibrate in the room.  We flipped on the TV for a few minutes and were pleased to view the little gem below … awesome!

After this we went to grab some lunch.  We stopped at a very good little Thai food place that turned out to be very expensive.  The dishes themselves were a bit pricey … but when they start charging for water and napkins?!  Yeah … a little weird.  It was very tasty though and I over ate for the first time this trip.

We then decided to walk lunch off by crossing the river over into the city.  We just wandered for a while and had an absolute blast.  We happened upon a little alley way that I thought would get us to a specific spot … it didn’t, but was a happy diversion.  We met and talked to a number of different people … all in Cantonese which was a ton of fun for me.  Claire then played with a number of neighborhood children (seen in the video below).  I met a 10 year old boy and we talked about Seth and America … very fun.  We spent probably 45 minutes just playing and meeting people in this little “village in the city”.  We eventually found our way out back to the main street … a fun diversion.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a little souvenir shop to get Claire some traditional “squeaky shoes” and other items.  The video below is of the owner of the shop retelling a famous Chinese phrase.  It is … “Born in Suzhou, Live in Hangzhou, Eat in Guangzhou, Die in Liuzhou”.  Basically it means … you should be born in Suzhou (where Claire is from) because that is the “Hollywood” of China where all of the beautiful people come from.  You should live in Hangzhou because it is a beautiful land of many lakes.  You should eat in Guangzhou because they have the best food.  You should die in Liuzhou because they make the best coffins from their local oak wood forests!  Our Claire is from the city of the beautiful people!

Claire also enjoyed singing at the top of her lungs while we strolled through Shamian Island.

Sandy had purchased a Chinese dress for the Barbie while at “Jordon’s Place” (the shop where we stopped) in an effort to make it slightly less offensive … ringing failure on that count as you can see below.  You see, it turns out that Barbie is a bit more voluptuous than your standard Chinese doll.  The dress has slits on either side of the body, in an effort to make the dress fit … Sandy created another, very inconveniently placed slit!  Here’s the irony of the location though.  Chinese children who are potty training wear “training pants”.  Basically what that means is that there is NO CROTCH!  Also … NO DIAPER!  So children under a certain age are open and free … “down there”.  Well, now so is Claire’s Barbie.  She fits in very well here … if she were 2 years old.

The rest of the night was about trying to find something to eat.  We’ve actually really struggled with the food options here in Guangzhou … anything good has been really pricey.  When we’re in China, we expect to be able to eat any meal for a couple of bucks USD … but we’ve been spending like $30 at each non-breakfast meal (the buffet is free).  Well we tried a Cantonese seafood place … but the service was super slow and there was nothing on the menu that gave us any confidence on Claire’s account.  So we left and went on got some fairly nasty buns with meat inside.  Oh well.  Then we headed back to the room and went to bed!

This morning started out with a nice skype visit with the kids. It had to be a quick one as we were running a bit behind. We ran down and got breakfast … very fancy buffet here at the White Swan. Definitely a level or 30 above our Nanjing buffet.

After breakfast we ran back to the room to get our paper work and discovered that they had made up the room and left Claire a little present.  A blonde Barbie holding a little Chinese baby girl.  Sandy is convinced that there is something worthy of offense there … but she’s trying to let it go and roll with it.  Picture below.

Next was the “the clinic” (insert theatrical “duh-duh-duhhhhh”).  Wow, they really move them in and out of rooms with different doctors and nurses.  But Claire hated it … no wait, let me try again.  CLAIRE HATED IT!!!  We have not heard her cry and scream like that yet.  We’ve had sobbing cries before as we’ve mentioned, this was a big old scream and cry that you expect from a little girl.  Sandy was crying along with her.  She hated getting her ears looked at and didn’t want to say “Aaaahh” for the doctor.  Maybe the Steeds or others have some insight on that?  Was there something painful that previous doctors would do in the ear or mouth?  The reaction really was beyond with what we’ve seen with her before.

And then came the needle.  We had to restrain her to get through that one, just so we could do it quickly and be done with it.  It really was a traumatic and difficult experience for Claire and it took her about an hour before she was back to normal with us.  Sandy thinks she was mad at us for having to go through the experience … which may be true.

Anyway … glad that’s over and hopefully the TB test comes back good.  If not, we’ll have to spend a bit more time at the clinic … pray for her, please.

I’ll blog more about today later … but I wanted to get caught up on the morning first since I know the last day or two I haven’t posted much.  As a teaser/cliffhanger … Announcer Voice: In the next episode we learn that Barbie doesn’t fit in Chinese clothes … will she dare to wear them anyway with the extra slit?  Find out next time on Family Rice!

Well, Friday saw us say goodbye to Nanjing.  We got up in the morning and had breakfast … I actually took some pictures this time which are posted below.  Along with breakfast pictures are some shots of Claire’s breakfast choice.  They are “tea eggs” (we discovered later) … basically eggs soaked in a tea soup.  They look disgusting … but she loved them.  Further proof that she is our least picky eater!

After breakfast we skyped with the kids at home for a bit.  It was good to see them.  We honestly don’t know how we would survive this long trip away from them without skype.  It’s so nice to be able to see their smiling faces while we talk to them.  While technology and the internet have definite downsides for kids and families … this is not one of them.

We then headed out on the town for the morning.  One last trip to the bank in Nanjing to exchange some cash and then one last exploration of the shops in our section of town.

Denise was waiting for us as we walked into the hotel.  She was early, but it was good to see her.  She came up to the room with us as we did our last little bit of packing.  We then went back downstairs and checked out.  I forgot to blog about this earlier … but it reared it’s head again, so I’ll mention it.  On Wednesday morning as we were eating breakfast, Claire accidentally broke a salt shaker.  It looked as if it were made back when Chairman Mao was in power (old school).  Anyway, a staff member cleaned it up and we finished breakfast a few moments later.  As we were leaving the restaurant the same staff member came running out after us with a bill for the salt shaker.  The bill was for 30 yuan (about $5).  I was happy to pay for the accident … but it cracked us up.  You can nearly buy a car for 30 yuan, not really, but they were definitely making a profit on that exchange!  Even after 60 years of communism in China … you can’t kill the Chinese capitalistic instincts (they were THE MOST enterprising culture in the world for thousands of years) … make some money at every opportunity!

The drive was uneventful except for the fact that is was so smooth!  We wished we could have had that van on the way to the orphanage … Claire would not have gotten sick.

It was sad to say goodbye to Denise … she was great.  Sandy and I were talking last night about how she really suited our temperament.  She was brutally honest, even blunt and would just tell us what we needed to know.  But she was also kind and very good to Claire.  We’ll miss her.

We arrived at the airport VERY early and so had plenty of time to sit around.  Below is a video of how Sandy and Claire spent some of the time.

The flight was a bit frustrating.  They boarded us about 15 minutes late and then we proceeded to wait for 45 minutes on the plane.  No explanation or word from any of the crew … just waiting as if that’s what you do after you board.  Claire became a bit anxious and had a bit of a panic attack … but so did Dad, so I don’t blame her:)

Once we finally got flying it was all good and she liked sitting on Sandy’s lap looking out the window watching us go higher and higher.  The iPod was a life saver as Claire watched Little Einstein’s on it for the duration of the two hour flight.

Landing in Guangzhou brought another short lived frustration.  We collected our bags and exited to find that no one was waiting for us!  We spent the next 15 minutes or so grabbing a map and figuring out how to make it to our hotel.  Finally a woman came running up to us holding a Sign that said “WASATCH”.  We are with the Wasatch Adoption Agency … whew!  Apparently there was an accident on the freeway that delayed our ride.  Glad they showed up. Our guide here in Guangzhou is Helen. A very nice lady with a 6 year old boy … her picture is included below.

We finally made it to the hotel and crashed … very tired after a long day.  Our hotel is called the White Swan and is located in a part of GuangZhou called Shamian Island.  The White Swan is the traditional hotel used by parents adopting children, and so the area around the White Swan is a bit more western than one might otherwise expect.

Pictures below …

Today was our only “free” day while here in Nanjing.  Everything else has been programmed for the adoption.  The only thing we really wanted to do Nanjing related while here was to revisit the campus at Nanjing University where Sandy and I each spent a semester studying.  So after our standard morning breakfast buffet … that’s the direction we headed.

We stopped on the north side of campus so that we could walk through campus down to the south end where we lived in the international student dormitory.  We walked through campus and recognized a building or two … a spot here and there … but in reality, it is completely different.  We finally found the dorms where we stayed and recognized the entrance gate … but every other thing about the place was different.  It was so weird … and a bit disappointing.  We now know it was naive to think that all the same old haunts would exist for us to revisit.  It was a bit sad for us, though.  The cafe where I would buy steak and eggs every Sunday morning? Gone.  The old pizza joint, The Black Cat?  Gone.  The dirt road leading over to a couple of broken down apartment buildings?  Gone, replaced by a MAJOR thoroughfare and high rise buildings.  Weird.  Progress does have some downsides … but only to our sentimental side, I guess.

After a bit of a let down we headed over to the Nanjing museum.  Calling it a museum is a bit of a misnomer.  It’s really an elaborate front of interesting historical items and documents all apparently collected to sell you on buying fairly cheap looking silk coin purses.  I don’t know, maybe because Sandy and I have already spent significant time in China … we’re not all that interested in the shopping side of things.  We’re getting a bit tired of being sold to.  I was actually interested in the weaving process and the beautiful robes that took 8 years to make … just charge me 10 yuan and let’s get on with it.

Anyway, back to the hotel after that.  Claire was cold and Dad was tired.  So we got back to the room and I fell asleep.  Sandy did some reading on the Interwebs and Claire did her puzzles.

So far every entry and exit into the hotel has included a stop by the lobby water feature, which has goldfish swimming around.   Claire loves to watch those fish.  This afternoon she called hello to the fish and asked them to come play with her.  Surprisingly, they kept right on swimming and ignored her.  The next time we left the building we asked if she wanted to stop by and see the fish, but she declined, saying that the fish wouldn’t talk to her.   Luckily, she shrugged off the rejection like a pro and was happy to go back out into the city.

We finally had what was supposed to be a snack around 3 pm.  The snack consisted of 2 chicken skewers and 12 dumplings, or so we thought.  But after Claire ate over 1/2 of the dumplings and most of the chicken, we ordered another round, at which time she proceeded to eat another 5-6 dumplings.  Seriously, when she wants to the girl can pack it in.  We then went into the SuGuo community store, which is a local community store similar to a Wal Mart in that it has clothes, tents, food, etc.  Anyway, Claire wanted apple juice, so we obliged, and also some chocolate ice cream, again quick to oblige.  We reluctantly obliged when she said she wanted these “corn curls” that were orange flavored and in a bag like potato chips.   Seriously?  Sandy thought we had signed up for some bizarro Chinese version of orange flavored cheetos. (why not?  They have french chicken and braised pork flavored Lays here)   Turns out our girl knows her stuff – they were essentially cheeto-puff-shaped and smelled like an orange creamsicle, but tasted like fruit loops.   So our snack pretty much turned into an early dinner.

Tonight is low key.  We head over to Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon to finish everything up.  We’ll be there from tomorrow night until next Thursday … our longest phase of the trip.  So we’re getting things packed up a bit and watching a bit of TV.  I’m ready to hear the “true” Chinese Wah (language), Cantonese, and eat some real Chinese food from the south!  (That sentence is for Sandy who continues to be under the illusion that Mandarin is the “true” Chinese language … as if!  Everybody knows it is an ugly mix of real Chinese, Manchurian, Mongolian and Korean!  Just kidding … it’s all good:)

And our night just ended with this little moment with Claire.  She kept on saying something that sounded like “XiaXia went bye bye!”  We weren’t sure what she was saying, so kept asking.  Sandy eventually figured out that she was saying, “Sunshine went bye bye.”  Once we realized what she meant she ended by looking out the hotel window and saying, “Goodnight sunshine … we’ll see you in the morning!”

For today we scheduled a trip to the orphanage where Claire spent the first four years of her life.  It wasn’t exactly a “fun” or easy day … but it was very good and worth the time spent.

We started (as usual) with a quick breakfast at the hotel breakfast buffet (I really need to get a picture of that before we leave).  Claire was in the mood for Congee (spelling?) at breakfast which is one of my personal UNfavorites.  It’s basically rice … watered down … and then watered down some more until it becomes a soupy, bland joke of a meal.  I really don’t get it … but hey, at least we know she isn’t a picky eater!  Well, this breakfast choice becomes important in just a minute in the narrative.

We met Denise at 8:00 am for our 3 1/2 hour trip to SuZhou.  It started out … slow.  We left right in the middle of rush hour and didn’t even make it out of the city until about 8:45 am.  It was also a VERY bumpy ride and just plain not fun.  Well, Claire started to cry at about 9:15 am and was really unhappy.  We thought maybe she was feeling the stress of returning to Baba Mao (the orphanage director) and SuZhou.  After about 15 minutes … breakfast made a revisit.  I then discovered one very good thing about congee … it looks the exact same coming up as it does going down.  She threw up her entire breakfast and felt a bit better.

We made a quick pit stop, got some Sprite and moved her to the front back seat of the van and she was good as new for the rest of the trip.  Only one other issue on the way into Suzhou … when we were about 45 minutes away she decided she really had to go to the bathroom.  We were in the middle of the city but nowhere near a toilet so the driver stopped in the middle of the right hand lane (freeway “shoulders” don’t really exist here) and Sandy and Claire jumped out for an impromptu potty break (to be clear … only Claire used the “facilities”).

We then proceeded to get lost for what seemed like an hour until we finally pulled up right in front of the orphanage.  YEAH!

We pulled up to the front door and Director Mao was waiting.  I then had one of the most comforting experiences I would have at the orphanage.  I hopped out of the van first to help Claire and Sandy out.  I stuck out my hand to Director Mao and he brushed me away and said quickly in Chinese, “In a minute”.  He went straight for Claire and gave her a big hug and talked to her for a little bit before he would even acknowledge Sandy and me.  You have to know one thing about the Chinese … they are very formal.  But Director Mao could have cared less about formality … he wanted to see ChunYi (Claire).  What a blessing to know that Claire was truly loved not only by this wonderful man … but all of the Nanny’s that cared for her.

Director Mao was extremely gracious to us after that and was, in fact, hilarious!  A very unique man with a huge heart.  It was a pleasure beyond imagining to be able to meet him and see how he was with Claire and the other children at the orphanage.  You’ll see his picture below as he is (I believe) the only man besides me in any of them.  At one point he left the room and came back with his business card so that we could send him copies of the pictures we took today, as well as “updates” about Claire as she grows.

We then had the opportunity to go to the main orphanage room (where all of the pictures of the children below were taken) and see where Claire spent most of her time.  Claire was very uncomfortable for about the first ten minutes and would not leave Sandy’s arms.  Sandy kept repeating to her though that we would say goodbye to Baba Mao and the nannies soon … this was just a visit.  She settled down and ended up having a great time playing with Director Mao and the nannies and what I assume was one of her favorite toys … a big “ride in” plastic car.

Sandy was chatting with the Nannies and so asked me get pictures of all the children I could.  This is how we have ended up with so many baby pictures of Claire … adoptive parents taking pictures while there to pick up their children … so hopefully we can return the favor someday.

It was at this point where I had my own personal touching/difficult moment of the day.  As I went around to the different cribs to get pictures I would also try to hold the child’s hand and stroke their skin (usually their face).  I got essentially the same response every time.  First a bit of shock, then an immediate smile.  With one child in particular I couldn’t help but cry.  He is a little blind boy who I believe is missing at least one eye.  I touched his foot first and he immediately smiled.  I then grabbed one of his hands and he reached and grabbed my hand with his other as well.  He then pulled my fingers to his face.  At this point he started giggling and I lost it.

I want to be clear here … what the director and nannies do is remarkable and nothing short of divine service in helping and loving these children.  I do not want to diminish their work in ANY way.  They do the best they can and more with the time and resources they have.  But clearly … the children need more.  If we had the time, money and resources we would have packed up the entire orphanage and brought them home.  What beautiful children and what an amazing place.  I personally spent the rest of the ride home thinking about what we could do more in the years to come.  I just hope God will allow our family the blessing of helping further in some way, some day.

After this (about 20-30 minutes) we went to the orphanage conference room where we chatted and waited for Rae who I’ve mentioned before.  She arrived about 20 minutes later and we then proceeded to have another amazing experience meeting and chatting with one of God’s true lights here in China.

It would take to long to describe everything she does or has done for Claire and many, many other children and people in China.  Basically, she was born in northern China (Manchuria) and then moved to the States (Upper State New York) at some point.  She returned about 10 years ago when her husband was sent on a work assignment.  She has a (20 year old?) daughter that lives in New York.  She spends her time in China constantly on the move and mostly, from what we can tell, blessing the lives of others – volunteering at at least two orphanages, one hospital, and using her vivacious and driven personality to create guanxi that results in good things for lots of people.

She is extremely well connected and was the driving force in getting Claire well.  She asked a doctor friend of hers to look at Claire a few months ago.  It was at this point that this doctor discovered that Claire had been misdiagnosed four years ago.  She was about to be scheduled for a bone marrow transplant by her regular doctor in Shanghai.  This doctor realized that that wouldn’t even help and would be unnecessary and dangerous surgery for Claire.  This doctor called Claire’s regular doctor and told her the results she was seeing.  They performed some additional tests and determined that a spleen removal would eliminate all of her symptoms and put her on track for a real recovery.

Rae then went about to raise the money for the surgery.  About $11,000 was needed.  One man … Stephan Albrecht of Germany footed the entire bill.  Others also gave money, but what Stephan gave was enough and more to cover the cost.  We believe at least a portion of the overage went to help other children in the orphanage.  We don’t know all of the details about the money but we do know that at least the following families/people were involved.  Rae, Stephan Albrecht, and the Steeds.  We think there might have been more as well.  Special thanks to Karen Bristol, as well – Karen, we still don’t fully understand your role in Claire’s medical care, but we know it involved at least one trip to Shanghai and much more, and for that we sincerely thank you.

Anyway, it was Rae who saved this little girl’s life and made it possible for her to be healthy enough to enter the adoption list.  It is because of her that we have her now.  It is because of her that our family now feels more complete and whole.  It is also because of her that we feel a need to be better and do more to bless the lives of those around us.

And so the one regret we will forever have from our trip to the orphanage is that we didn’t pose for a picture with Rae.  I don’t know how we managed not to do that, but we did, and we are truly sorry.

While we did all this chatting Claire played with the aayis, played with Baba Mao, and generally had a great time.  Every now and again she would come over to us and we would reassure her that we were going back to the hotel soon, then she would go play some more.  When it was finally time to go she gave everyone hugs, waved goodbye and blew kisses to everyone, and we were off!

Before leaving Suzhou we wanted to stop and get some silk from a famous factory in the town.  Some silk for Claire from her hometown.  We purchased a piece of white silk that could be used in a baptism and wedding dress someday.  We also bought her a traditional red and gold Chinese dress that she can wear now.  Pictures of the factory are also below.  There was also a “fashion show” going on at the factory at the time … thus, the pictures below.

The drive back was MUCH more uneventful than the drive there, for which we were all grateful.

The night ended with ice cream for dinner.  Two scoops of Belgian Chocolate from Haagen Daas.  I’m not much of a chocolate ice cream fan, but I have to admit that is was pretty darn tasty.

PS  Sandy posting here — when Tom says the night “ended” with ice cream, he means it ended for me and Claire, who fell asleep blissfully around 8:30 or something.  Tom, however, without sacrificing one ounce of masculinity, is a master at handwashing laundry and put his talents to the test when he managed to wash quite a bit of our stuff.  So Claire and I awoke to clean clothes and underthings hanging all around and drying, and we didn’t have to lift one finger!  :)

Today was a great day in so many ways.

It started out early with a trip back to the Civil Affairs office.  We sat down with a civil service officer who asked a few questions … Why do you want to adopt?  Why from China? etc.  We then promised never to abandon or hurt Claire in any way … that’s an easy one.

About 30 minutes in the office and they handed over our final paperwork … I think it’s essentially an order of adoption?  Not sure … I could ask Sandy … but she’s reading to Claire right now and I don’t feel like interrupting that.  One thing Sandy did tell me though is that it is the essential piece of paperwork … we are to never lose it.

And that was it!  We’re done!  With the China side of things anyway.  We have to remain in province a couple of extra days while waiting for Claire’s passport.  That should arrive Friday morning and then we are off to Guangzhou!

The rest of the day was all about fun.  We tried to run a couple of errands … but they mostly didn’t pan out.  We rested in the hotel for a bit and then headed out for a bank stop, lunch and play park fun!  Below are two videos at the play park.  It had all kinds of fun things for Claire to play with including a small slide, a big slide, a ball pit, all kinds of “twirly” things and (as you’ll see below) a balloon “box” which was her favorite I think.  In case, we’ve never mentioned it … she is HUGE into balloons.  She bathes with them, sings about them and loves to play with them. And lest you think we are crazy parents for subjecting our darling daughter to a germ-fest like unto the McDonald’s playland, well, this is one area that the Chinese have it right. Before Claire could go into the playground they took her temperature with a thermal forehead scan to make sure she wasn’t running a fever, and then she had to wash her hands with hand sanitizer. Of course, shoes are off. The floor of the playground is covered with those foam puzzle squares that fit together, and the workers walked around with lint rollers making sure the floor was clean of fuzz and hair and all things dirty at all times. A whole new level of cleanliness as far as kids playplaces go, I think.

The play park was a ton of fun and we had a great time.  Claire is getting more and more comfortable with us, which is nice for us and hopefully for her as well.  We got our first “lip kisses” today from her with barely having to ask.  She gave some squeeze hugs and cuddled with Mom for a short afternoon nap … all very nice.  She did wake up from her nap with a similar, although much reduced reaction to last nights.  She cried for about 3 minutes as opposed to 1 hour and was having fun again shortly after.  It has nothing to do with forgetting those she loves, I really believe that she is getting more comfortable with us … Sandy in particular.

Dinner tonight took us to a semi-familiar place as we’ve eaten there a number of times since we’ve arrived.  It’s just next door to the hotel and is usually fairly cheap.  They must have afternoon and evening pricing differences though as dishes were twice their normal prices for the exact same things we ate yesterday.  Oh well, I’ll never fully understand Communism and the odd, quasi-capitalistic variations it creates.

After dinner was tub time again … Claire loves evening tub time.

Well, I’ve been using every available moment to get caught up on these blog posts today.  We head to Claire’s orphanage tomorrow to look around, meet a few people and take pictures.  They are telling us the drive is over 3 hours each way and then we’ll spend 3 or 4 hours there.  That means it is unlikely I’ll get much posted tomorrow … although we’ll be creating a bunch of photos, etc. in SuZhou.

Make sure you look below at other posts … this makes the 3rd new entry we’ve posted since most of you have been sleeping.  There are some cute videos and pictures of Gotcha day and night.

Thanks again for all of your prayers.  We have felt the power of them and really feel like the Spirit has softened Claire’s landing … what a blessing the Comforter is in our lives.

On to SuZhou!

I’m not sure how this post will come off … I apologize if it seems to sentimental or sappy.  This is for the Steeds and mostly for Kohl and Keaton.

I ended our first Gotcha day blog post abruptly stating that Claire needed us.  She had gone to bed at about 8:00pm and then woke up at about 9:00pm that night.  All of the books we’ve been reading say that bed time and wake up time can be particularly difficult and vulnerable times for adoptive children.  Well, we experienced this last night.  When she woke up she definitely seemed disoriented, but more than that she seemed genuinely scared and out of sorts.  Not in a “screamy” or normal way … but in a very deeply disturbed way.  My heart broke.  It was clear that she was hoping the day had been a dream that she would wake up from … and she hadn’t.  As I said, she wasn’t “scream crying”, but sobbing in a way that a grown up would.  We asked her if she was missing “Kohl and Keaton” and she immediately started sobbing even more deeply and repeated their names.

Kohl and Keaton, she loves you two so deeply and continues to long for you.  You have affected her heart in a way that I don’t believe will ever fully leave her.  Thank you for that.  We know that because she has connected so deeply, she is capable of that and hopefully even more as we take her into our family.  I know it must be hard for you to give her up right now, and we promise we will do our best to be as great as your family has been in loving her.

We also promise to let you see her again some time in the near future.  A summer 2011 trip to Canada sounds like a ton of fun to us!

Thank you, Steeds … we love you.

P.S.  I’m posting two entries here at once.  Look below for updates on Monday’s “Gotcha” moments.