1/31/10
1/30/10
Random
This is not necessarily- ok not at all- about this adoption process, but it has happened on this trip.
As many of you know Kimmy is getting married in June and I have been thinking quite a bit about both the day and the process- as we have looked at things related to the wedding and purchased a few things for the day/people.
When I return I think I am going to start a blog about what is going on in this process from a dad's point of view. I'm sure there are many moms and brides who have blogged about what is going on in their minds in this process.
On the plane ride here I was thinking a lot about the music. What a day to look forward to.
As many of you know Kimmy is getting married in June and I have been thinking quite a bit about both the day and the process- as we have looked at things related to the wedding and purchased a few things for the day/people.
When I return I think I am going to start a blog about what is going on in this process from a dad's point of view. I'm sure there are many moms and brides who have blogged about what is going on in their minds in this process.
On the plane ride here I was thinking a lot about the music. What a day to look forward to.
Sunday Night update
T had a funny. We were trying to tell John where he is going to live- Washington State- and it is difficult for him to say. T then said to me, "The 'th' sound is difficult for him". I laughed so hard. She said "what is so funny?" I reminded her that the is no "th" in where he lives:) She keeps it light.
A lot has transpired since the last post. We have taken an airplane- John's first- to Guangzhou, we have checked into our room, checked back out because of a minor flood in just our room, had medical a check up, a few shots, TB test, met a bunch of Americans adopting, gone on a safari and toured the local "pharmacy".
Starting with the flight. We came here on Friday- as I originally thought we were doing- and only after being told we were coming on Sat. did I think that was going to be the case- but I am trying to go with the flow. We arrived an hour late- we didn't know what time we were supposed to arrive anyway- and the driver took another family from the airport to the hotel and had to return for us. We checked in at around midnight.
In Beijing and Tianjin the temp outside was cold and it was very hot in the room. Here it's the opposite. It is nicely warm outside and very cold inside. I had to turn the system totally off to make it the right temp. Such trials-NOT.
We woke up on Sat. am to go to the clinic and heard the construction guys working outside our window- we have a view of the tarp. I went to take a shower and T said, "there is water coming in through the window". How much water cold it really be? A lot. We were trying to be on time for the clinic but now we needed to change rooms. So we packed our bags again and moved. More about that later.
Everything was fine at the clinic- John is healthy- and he only had to get 3 shots, so that's not too bad. We did notice along the way that he reads very close to the page so we thought we might need to have his eyes checked. Come to find out he has good eye sight in his right eye but has a stigmatism in his left and could only see the first symbol on the chart. No problem there that glasses won't cure.
We went across the "moat" to the main land and walked down the block. We went through this local market trying to figure out what all these things were; food maybe? There is everything from gigantic toad stool, tea, saffron, dried mushrooms, snakes, sea horses and all kinds of things we didn't have any idea what it was. T went out later and explored and found out the entire thing is the pharmacy for local medicine. I'll try to get some pictures for you.
When we returned to our room our proximity sensor would not open the door and it took 3 trips back to the desk to convince them that it was not me but the door. The repair man came to repair it as we were out.
We went for dinner last night to a local place. At the restaurant there were live eels, turtles, fish in many tanks, all kinds of other sea life alive in tanks and even a couple of baskets with frogs in them. You place your order, the wait staff talks into their head set, a guy grabs whatever you have ordered from the appropriate tank/basket and off it goes to the kitchen. It isn't much fresher than alive.
Today is Sunday and we went to the safari park. It's sort of like the zoo only in part of it you can get on the train- like Disney- and it drives right through all the animals.
So- it has not been the best last couple of days. I have not been excited about what is happening and being so out of control of this whole thing. I now am reminded why I don't take tours with a bunch of people, but rather go on my own. Standing in the clinic with 50-ish other couples, and their entourages, with little kids who have no idea what is going on with them and getting shots- making them even more grumpy- makes me very much appreciate the fact that we have John, who can do all these things by himself. For much the same reason as I like being a HS leader- I like having older kids.
John is going to fit into our family well I think. He gets bored pretty easily and is ready to go through what ever it is and get on with whatever is next. He is really trying to get his new language. He is kind, patient and likes to be on the computer.
As I was saying- I am ready to be done. I find it difficult not to be doing productive things this long. I have slept enough this 2 weeks to last me a month and we are not even done. I am tired of hearing the same stories and being asked the same questions. I am just not very fun to be around right now. I don't enjoy this bad attitude and need God to change it to a good one.
T had another good one tonight. She was showing John the US flag and she said, "How many stars are there? Do you know? There are 52." I said, "Really? 52?" She thought a minute and corrected herself. One must always be on their toes around this girl:)
Tomorrow is mostly free and then on Tuesday our guide will go to the embassy and apply for John's visa.
One last very important note. I sent Gale an email asking if she could somehow get in contact with the airline and get John's name changed on the ticket home. This was not helping my attitude- knowing that I bought the ticket in the wrong name and it was going to be difficult for me to change it. So I had no choice but to let someone else help me and that was Gale. She got the airline to change the name- gratis. Thanks for your help Gale. It literally would have taken me hours to do that here; if I could have done it.
A lot has transpired since the last post. We have taken an airplane- John's first- to Guangzhou, we have checked into our room, checked back out because of a minor flood in just our room, had medical a check up, a few shots, TB test, met a bunch of Americans adopting, gone on a safari and toured the local "pharmacy".
Starting with the flight. We came here on Friday- as I originally thought we were doing- and only after being told we were coming on Sat. did I think that was going to be the case- but I am trying to go with the flow. We arrived an hour late- we didn't know what time we were supposed to arrive anyway- and the driver took another family from the airport to the hotel and had to return for us. We checked in at around midnight.
In Beijing and Tianjin the temp outside was cold and it was very hot in the room. Here it's the opposite. It is nicely warm outside and very cold inside. I had to turn the system totally off to make it the right temp. Such trials-NOT.
We woke up on Sat. am to go to the clinic and heard the construction guys working outside our window- we have a view of the tarp. I went to take a shower and T said, "there is water coming in through the window". How much water cold it really be? A lot. We were trying to be on time for the clinic but now we needed to change rooms. So we packed our bags again and moved. More about that later.
Everything was fine at the clinic- John is healthy- and he only had to get 3 shots, so that's not too bad. We did notice along the way that he reads very close to the page so we thought we might need to have his eyes checked. Come to find out he has good eye sight in his right eye but has a stigmatism in his left and could only see the first symbol on the chart. No problem there that glasses won't cure.
We went across the "moat" to the main land and walked down the block. We went through this local market trying to figure out what all these things were; food maybe? There is everything from gigantic toad stool, tea, saffron, dried mushrooms, snakes, sea horses and all kinds of things we didn't have any idea what it was. T went out later and explored and found out the entire thing is the pharmacy for local medicine. I'll try to get some pictures for you.
When we returned to our room our proximity sensor would not open the door and it took 3 trips back to the desk to convince them that it was not me but the door. The repair man came to repair it as we were out.
We went for dinner last night to a local place. At the restaurant there were live eels, turtles, fish in many tanks, all kinds of other sea life alive in tanks and even a couple of baskets with frogs in them. You place your order, the wait staff talks into their head set, a guy grabs whatever you have ordered from the appropriate tank/basket and off it goes to the kitchen. It isn't much fresher than alive.
Today is Sunday and we went to the safari park. It's sort of like the zoo only in part of it you can get on the train- like Disney- and it drives right through all the animals.
So- it has not been the best last couple of days. I have not been excited about what is happening and being so out of control of this whole thing. I now am reminded why I don't take tours with a bunch of people, but rather go on my own. Standing in the clinic with 50-ish other couples, and their entourages, with little kids who have no idea what is going on with them and getting shots- making them even more grumpy- makes me very much appreciate the fact that we have John, who can do all these things by himself. For much the same reason as I like being a HS leader- I like having older kids.
John is going to fit into our family well I think. He gets bored pretty easily and is ready to go through what ever it is and get on with whatever is next. He is really trying to get his new language. He is kind, patient and likes to be on the computer.
As I was saying- I am ready to be done. I find it difficult not to be doing productive things this long. I have slept enough this 2 weeks to last me a month and we are not even done. I am tired of hearing the same stories and being asked the same questions. I am just not very fun to be around right now. I don't enjoy this bad attitude and need God to change it to a good one.
T had another good one tonight. She was showing John the US flag and she said, "How many stars are there? Do you know? There are 52." I said, "Really? 52?" She thought a minute and corrected herself. One must always be on their toes around this girl:)
Tomorrow is mostly free and then on Tuesday our guide will go to the embassy and apply for John's visa.
One last very important note. I sent Gale an email asking if she could somehow get in contact with the airline and get John's name changed on the ticket home. This was not helping my attitude- knowing that I bought the ticket in the wrong name and it was going to be difficult for me to change it. So I had no choice but to let someone else help me and that was Gale. She got the airline to change the name- gratis. Thanks for your help Gale. It literally would have taken me hours to do that here; if I could have done it.
1/28/10
Forbidden City
Yesterday we toured the silk factory, the Forbidden City, had a tea party, ate lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and ordered John a suit for Kimmy's wedding.
The silk factory is very interesting and there are notes on the pictures to explain. Much of the work has to be done by hand because machines don't have the delicacy that a human can feel when unwrapping and stretching a fabric that is not the same any two times. The single thread type of silk comes from the cocoon that has a single worm, but the cocoons that have twins produce a mucous that interacts with each other and it is softer and more like a mat than a thread; this is used for blankets.
The rugs are made from the thread type and each knot has an exact place for it to go, per the pattern, and each is hand tied and then cut of to be the exact right length. The small pictured rug is about 4 s/f and took 2 years to make. The larger one, on the loom, take about 1 year.
WE then went to Tienanmen Square. It was very windy and cold, but beautiful. From there across the street to the Forbidden City. What a place, consisting of 9999 different rooms, so the emperor could never sleep in the same room- for safety. It was built in 1406 and took 15 years to complete and is reported to have 1 million workers. It is a crazy sprawling complex of temples, out buildings and court yards. So much worship of men, tradition and superstition. Satan is working hard to confuse the minds of his followers.
We had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and it was really good. They actually bring all the place settings in shrink wrap- the dishes are cleaned off site. We had "pan cakes" which John really likes, deep fried pork meat balls with a salt mixture to dip in, pork intestines, which was very spicy and I didn't care for the actual flavor- even before I knew what it was- a beef dish of some sort- was pretty good, and my favorite is pork with Beijing sauce. It reminds me of a soy sauce reduction- a little like the PF Chang sauce- served over sliced green onions. YUMMM! No wonder I am getting so fat.
We then went to a tea room and had a tea party. Tasted, learned, laughed and tasted some more. Our favorite is oolong- which is black tea with ginseng. Next is the jasmine tea. The flowering tea was very fun to watch and we bought a couple to have a show with.
We then went to the silk market to order John a suit for Kimmy's wedding. I figured tat it will be difficult to get one his size in the US and it is so cheap here. About $100 gets you a suit out of nice fabric and 2 custom made shirts. He has never had a suit before. Another first.
The silk factory is very interesting and there are notes on the pictures to explain. Much of the work has to be done by hand because machines don't have the delicacy that a human can feel when unwrapping and stretching a fabric that is not the same any two times. The single thread type of silk comes from the cocoon that has a single worm, but the cocoons that have twins produce a mucous that interacts with each other and it is softer and more like a mat than a thread; this is used for blankets.
The rugs are made from the thread type and each knot has an exact place for it to go, per the pattern, and each is hand tied and then cut of to be the exact right length. The small pictured rug is about 4 s/f and took 2 years to make. The larger one, on the loom, take about 1 year.
WE then went to Tienanmen Square. It was very windy and cold, but beautiful. From there across the street to the Forbidden City. What a place, consisting of 9999 different rooms, so the emperor could never sleep in the same room- for safety. It was built in 1406 and took 15 years to complete and is reported to have 1 million workers. It is a crazy sprawling complex of temples, out buildings and court yards. So much worship of men, tradition and superstition. Satan is working hard to confuse the minds of his followers.
We had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and it was really good. They actually bring all the place settings in shrink wrap- the dishes are cleaned off site. We had "pan cakes" which John really likes, deep fried pork meat balls with a salt mixture to dip in, pork intestines, which was very spicy and I didn't care for the actual flavor- even before I knew what it was- a beef dish of some sort- was pretty good, and my favorite is pork with Beijing sauce. It reminds me of a soy sauce reduction- a little like the PF Chang sauce- served over sliced green onions. YUMMM! No wonder I am getting so fat.
We then went to a tea room and had a tea party. Tasted, learned, laughed and tasted some more. Our favorite is oolong- which is black tea with ginseng. Next is the jasmine tea. The flowering tea was very fun to watch and we bought a couple to have a show with.
We then went to the silk market to order John a suit for Kimmy's wedding. I figured tat it will be difficult to get one his size in the US and it is so cheap here. About $100 gets you a suit out of nice fabric and 2 custom made shirts. He has never had a suit before. Another first.
Strange People- we are
Walking down the street in Beijing-probably anywhere in China, for that matter- 2 American's with one pretty short, CLP, older boy brings some attention. The Chinese don't just look over and go back, they don't even just stare for a bit, they stare and then stare some more. In fact at times I am not sure they are not going to fall over since they are not watching where they are walking because they are looking at us. I actually think they are looking directly at John. Why is that?
There are many adoptions taking place as we visit tourist destinations. Yesterday, at the Forbidden City, we saw the family from Colorado again. What are the chances of us seeing the same 3 people in Tianjin and in Beijing amid the hundreds of thousands of people we are around? I think God will arrange for us to see them in Guangzhou as well- we'll see if I am right.
Why is John getting so much attention? Is this the same reason he is reluctant to speak to so many of the Chinese? He is Chinese, like they are, he is visibly normal in every way, except for a scar under his nose- so why all the stares?
Yesterday, again walking down the street, this nice looking young man- 20-ish, was coming toward us and just stared all the way past John- I wanted to put my hand in from of his face and say, "Hey- look at me. I'm the strange one". I restrained myself.
I immediately thought about our Father who adopts us into His family and then people look strangely at His children, persecute them and even sometimes kill them. How He must want to put out His hand and say, "I could smash you like a bug for treating my kid like that", but He restrains His anger. He allows His children to go through these types of trials for their good and His glory. He will not always hold back His anger. Someday- and maybe soon- He will right all wrongs and bring His "scarred" children to His perfect presence and there will be no more stares- except at the Lamb.
One day we will be able to throw off our sinful, scarred tents and will put on our royal clothes- clothes befitting the children of royalty. There will be a time when, with our "adoption papers" in hand we will take the ride of our lives and arrive at out Heavenly home- what a day that will be.
But what about what happens between now and then? What is our job? As adopted children of royalty, what does our ambassadorship require? Isn't it heralding for the King of kings? Isn't it telling others about the "not forbidden city", where everyone is welcome to come as long as they have surrendered to the King? What a glorious job- heralding. We don't have our own message and we are taken care of by the King. Simple job- when we believe the message.
There are many adoptions taking place as we visit tourist destinations. Yesterday, at the Forbidden City, we saw the family from Colorado again. What are the chances of us seeing the same 3 people in Tianjin and in Beijing amid the hundreds of thousands of people we are around? I think God will arrange for us to see them in Guangzhou as well- we'll see if I am right.
Why is John getting so much attention? Is this the same reason he is reluctant to speak to so many of the Chinese? He is Chinese, like they are, he is visibly normal in every way, except for a scar under his nose- so why all the stares?
Yesterday, again walking down the street, this nice looking young man- 20-ish, was coming toward us and just stared all the way past John- I wanted to put my hand in from of his face and say, "Hey- look at me. I'm the strange one". I restrained myself.
I immediately thought about our Father who adopts us into His family and then people look strangely at His children, persecute them and even sometimes kill them. How He must want to put out His hand and say, "I could smash you like a bug for treating my kid like that", but He restrains His anger. He allows His children to go through these types of trials for their good and His glory. He will not always hold back His anger. Someday- and maybe soon- He will right all wrongs and bring His "scarred" children to His perfect presence and there will be no more stares- except at the Lamb.
One day we will be able to throw off our sinful, scarred tents and will put on our royal clothes- clothes befitting the children of royalty. There will be a time when, with our "adoption papers" in hand we will take the ride of our lives and arrive at out Heavenly home- what a day that will be.
But what about what happens between now and then? What is our job? As adopted children of royalty, what does our ambassadorship require? Isn't it heralding for the King of kings? Isn't it telling others about the "not forbidden city", where everyone is welcome to come as long as they have surrendered to the King? What a glorious job- heralding. We don't have our own message and we are taken care of by the King. Simple job- when we believe the message.
1/27/10
More Pictures
Chuck passed on more pictures and you can go to Great Wall, Cloisonne and Beijing Olympics to see them. Enjoy!!
Goofing Off in Beijing
Today we pretty much goofed off all day and just hung out with John.
I think he had his first ever milk shake at McD's, we went to the "silk store" which is less of a silk store and more of a bargaining experience- it was fun once we understood the basic ground rules.
We came back to the hotel, rested our feet for about a half an hour and then headed out to the subway to catch Avatar.The subway was pretty entertaining by itself. I remember my mom telling me that when she rode the subway in Tokyo, growing up, that they had "pushers" who actually helped push people into the cars and when she was in the car she could just let go of her books. I couldn't help but laugh all the way into the car- the pushers were there and we couldn't get onto the first car because there was no room- even with the pushers.
We had to switch lines and then go a few more stops, but we rode the subway because the front desk told us that traffic would be too bad to go when we needed to go. It was fun and adventurous.
The movie was the 3D version, so for sure it was his first 3D movie and maybe his first real movie- it's hard to really know for sure. The "weather" in the theater was the warmest we have ever experienced- like close to 80. He is getting better at helping us communicate with the locals.
Any word from the SR? Looking forward to hearing good reports of God's grace in everyone's life.
I think he had his first ever milk shake at McD's, we went to the "silk store" which is less of a silk store and more of a bargaining experience- it was fun once we understood the basic ground rules.
We came back to the hotel, rested our feet for about a half an hour and then headed out to the subway to catch Avatar.The subway was pretty entertaining by itself. I remember my mom telling me that when she rode the subway in Tokyo, growing up, that they had "pushers" who actually helped push people into the cars and when she was in the car she could just let go of her books. I couldn't help but laugh all the way into the car- the pushers were there and we couldn't get onto the first car because there was no room- even with the pushers.
We had to switch lines and then go a few more stops, but we rode the subway because the front desk told us that traffic would be too bad to go when we needed to go. It was fun and adventurous.
The movie was the 3D version, so for sure it was his first 3D movie and maybe his first real movie- it's hard to really know for sure. The "weather" in the theater was the warmest we have ever experienced- like close to 80. He is getting better at helping us communicate with the locals.
Any word from the SR? Looking forward to hearing good reports of God's grace in everyone's life.
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