dis-ABILITY?

This is my family..... we have abilities... we are not defined by our special needs

Basketball, blowing bubbles, pulling a wagon with a nephew in it. 

 These are the faces of spina bifida, hydrocephalus, lower limb paralysis, and profound deafness... 

 These are my kids who strive to do everything YOU can do.  

They do not know the word CAN'T

These are my kids

heart disease, hypospadius, down syndrome, cleft hand, 

extra toe, anal atresia, microtia

disability??  N-O-P-E

ABILITY WITH ATTITUDE

Dont let the diagnosis scare you.

With God all things are possible

These are my kids....

they are just kids.....

"The Book"... a little ditty

I have really felt the calling to put down in words the happenings of my life since first entering the adoption world.  I have grow as a person and as a Christian.  I know there are many who could use some encouragement and support as well as a brief look into the journey they may travel some day.

I sat down today and started an outline.  It seems very overwhelming and I prayed for God to give me some direction.  We have 8 adopted kids, two biological children, and a load of testimonies to God's faithfulness.
Every testimony given to me shapes how I live my life today.  If not for adoption, I would have never grown as  a Christian so profoundly.  I certainly would not have grown in my awareness of what is important in life.
From a fake nail wearing, perfectly coiffed hair-styled, keeping up with the Joneses kinda gal....to a goodwill shopping, ponytail wearing, driving my 15 passenger van mom of ten.
so without further ado---
my first little ditty I wrote today-- ( not edited but too excited not to share)

January 2005   A walk through NanChang

The third day we were in NanChang was pivotal for me as an adoptive parent.  Here I was plunked down in the provincial city of our child and out for a leisurely stroll with the two other mothers and their newly adopted children.  My mom was also along just to get out of the hotel and the four walls of our room.

 I can remember us all walking single file leaving the hotel grounds on to what the Chinese call a sidewalk. We were laughing at the fact we had been warned by BTDT parents to dress our girls warmly so the “clothing police” would not target us for a tongue lashing.  The clothing  police were the old grannies just looking for someone to berate for not dressing their child in the required 20 layers for mid-winter in NanChang.

 You could pick out our group easily as we were four American ladies walking with their Chinese babes for all to see.  We were given the “thumbs up” by many and smiling faces were numerous.  And then it happened. The first contact with “them”. As swift as a gazelle, she came out of nowhere to grab a hold of my daughter’s bunting.  Yes, I said, “Bunting” …as in snowsuit for winter.  She was quick to show her disgust and start waving her aged finger at me.  She was clearly distraught over the fact that my child’s bunting was not stuffed full of clothes and bursting at the seams from layers.  She basically said, “Nice try, sweetie, but you get a Big “F” in dressing your child.”  You see, she could feel a huge gap between the bunting and Cassie’s shoulder.(Yes, she came right up and grabbed her clothing)   She knew from experience that I did not have enough clothing on my child to make Cassie stiff as a board and unable to scratch her nose. The four of us laughed as we walked further down the street.  Someone was saying, “I told you so!” back in the US. 

Then, I had a realization that wasn’t too funny.  I was angry and wished I could spatter away in Mandarin my disgust that my child was abandoned and not good enough because she did not have the outside part of her left ear!  Really?  Clothing layers?  That was the last thing I was worried about. My daughter was 22 months old and had never had the touch of a mother.  Never had the hug of a father that says, “I will protect you forever”. 

No security. No protection. No love.  

Clothing?  Shame on you.

I was also struck by the staring people as I had never really walked the street of China.  I didn’t know staring was okay , that someone could point at you, move closer to you and it was politically correct in every way..  It was unnerving to say the least.  My daughters both had very blonde hair at the time and, poor Chelsea’s hair was very curly!  They both had crowds follow them through the local WalMart when we went to purchase items for the orphanage.  One person thought Karli was Britney Spears and several of the young girls reached to touch Chelsea’s hair without even asking.

The walk down that shopping street in Nanchang also haunted me.  I could feel the eyes on me and I thought to myself, “What if one of these ladies is Cassie’s    mother?”   I wondered how many of these women have given up a child?  I was sure some of them had. The orphan crisis in China was horrible and the culture of feeling that disabilities were a curse was prevalent.  I was sad….  

Sad for the moms who had to abandon their child because of a birth defect.

 Sad for the culture that knew nothing of God’s love for children.

 Sad that my daughter had to live without a love of a family for all those months.

NanChang left its mark on my heart.  I would never be the same after my stroll down the street.  I left the hotel a joyous new adoptive mother and returned with a life’s calling to seek help for every orphan I possibly could with God’s help.  It was an urgent feeling I have not lost since that day. 

The Adoption Community...a BIG blessing!

So, since I wrote the first post I have seen this conversation reach new heights and new avenues each day.  The best part is that families are opening up to each other and also finding support through various posts.

I can honestly tell you that I have never been a part of a family like the adoption FAMILY.  I have had friends I have never met bend over backwards to help me in so many ways the last nine years!  Friends that have stood with me, and the choices our family has made, when my own family couldn't understand.

  Sad times....

 when we cried together over children who didn't make it to a family, families who lost husbands and wives, children who lost their "second" mother or father.  I have seen cancer steal the lives of mothers who I cherished, accidents steal the lives of fathers, and children who have slipped to the "other side" because of the hand of their own parents.  Loss of family I had never met.

And then.... 

complete and utter joy...

 as children we have seen languish are scooped up by a mommy and daddy and made the center of their world...

 Children who have a blank stare in their eyes and, in just ONE day, there is a small spark of light being emitted...and then, in a month, their little faces become pudgy and filled out and their faces exude the joy they are experiencing.  

JOY...as children who come home, with little hope of surviving the next year, be healed and children who should not walk--- DO.

As my husband says every time I go to him with "the next child"...

It will never be wrong to adopt. God will bless us and the child.

Yes, He will.

 

Kelly Rumbaugh

Adoption is not for the faint of heart.....

Recently I was contacted by a set of parents who needed new info for their referred child.....they had less than 24 hours to make their decision.  The file was over a year old and they had a couple of photos of her.  She was institutionalized since birth and is currently 26 months old.  Her special need was "autistic features"

These parents were not scared of the autistic diagnosis...they just wanted to see where she was on the spectrum of severity.  However, I heard fear in their questions...  why is her head flat?  Why does she have a red mark around her arm like she was tied?  The other comment...."I have no idea how parents do THIS more than once... Adoption is hard"

I told them... Adoption is not for the faint of heart.

My main point of this e-mail is to say that adoption comes with many unknowns.  The unknown of timing, the unknown of cost, the unknown of what child you will make a part of your family, and the unknown of the extent of special needs your child will have.

I have brought home 8 children from China who were listed as waiting children.  Each time our family stepped forward in faith, we knew the medical file we received may or may not be valid.  We only once had a video of a child and even it was deceiving. There are always holes in the information and  the information you receive is usually very general (like the developmental milestone page)

On his gotcha day, I was given my son, Jonathan, along with an echocardiogram and told...He has a heart defect "Do you still want him" 

 On gotcha day, I met my 11 year old daughter, Piper, and as we left the 2nd floor of the civil affairs building, I was told, "She cannot do steps"  I carried her two flights of steps on my back to just get out of the building. We lived in a split foyer home and in her file "can do steps" was checked.

On gotcha day, my husband met our 6 yr old son, Elijah, and realized he cannot form words correctly and cannot be understood when he speaks.  The box marked "can speak 2-3 word sentences" was checked.

On gotcha day, my son, Joseph, was brought to me barely alive. The child I received photo of was at the BOTTOM of a slide, was pictured standing in the middle of a playground, and was pink.

Joseph was the picture of death-- purple and gasping for each breath.         

I have wondered recently.... why?  This is the age of digital cameras...this is the age of computers.  WHY are these files so empty and WHY are we not getting the full "picture" of our child to be?  Sometimes I think the files are worded and purposely left empty to help the child get a family.  Sometimes I feel the file is filled out by someone who really doesn't know the correct diagnosis but fills in a blank with a guess.  Sometimes I think they are filled out correctly and then the "higher ups" remove needs that could potentially be hidden until the child is being parented.

Adoption is not for the faint of heart. Adoption is a gamble.  Adoption has many unknowns and you have to be willing to accept it.  I don't feel it should be this way but, frankly, we enter into adoption knowing it will happen this way.

When you are adopting think of these few things....

--I will love my child not matter what.  

--I realize there may be many more issues to handle than what is in the file

--I realize these children did nothing to make them the way they are...they were born into an unfortunate situation and given less than they deserved for whatever period of time they were without a family.

--You cannot control many of the unknowns of adoption.

--You can prepare yourself as much as possible by educating yourself about the effects of being in an institution.

--Your child is not cured just because they have had surgery.

--You can prepare yourself by realizing that bringing a child into your family through adoption will be very very hard.  It is not rescuing the child and making everything ok.  It is taking them from everything they know and removing them from what they feel is security and home. It will take along time for them to acclimate to your home, family, and our country.

--Your family may go through come rough times and it affects the other children in the home as well.

-- Your trip to get your child will be exhausting and full of difficult times.  It is not a vacation.

Once you can wrap your brain around all of this... 

Strap your big girl panties on and stand tall....

--- YOU are about to do one of the hardest things in your life with the BIGGEST blessing on the other side. 

--- YOU are about to be the hands and feet of Christ to a child.

---  YOU are about to show others the possibilities of infinite love for a child even if they are not "yours"

---YOU are about to show others in your family, church, and community what unconditional love is.

Turning over a new LEAF......

For the last 8 years, I have been immersed in the adoption world.  I have been active with my business, Ladybugs N Love and active on various yahoo groups.  I have made friends for life on many of these groups and have been prayed through some pretty "hairy" situations in my adoption journeys- as well as my breast cancer journey.  I would be remiss if I did not say that the adoption community is like *home*. 

however...........

God has impressed upon me that I spend too much time on the computer being the "adoption helper" and too little time managing my home.  So, just a little while ago I went to "no mail" on my yahoo groups.  I feel this is the time to step back and turn over a new leaf.  My children need me to be a mother who does better in many areas---

*cleaning the house*  *managing my time*  *laundry*  *record keeping*  *taking care of myself physically* 

and most importantly...

God has called me to make an effort to devote myself more to Him and less on "other stuff"
Imagine how hurt He is that I can actually call it "stuff".....because thats what it is--stuff that I put in front of Him.  He is the God of the Universe and I don't spend time with Him everyday.  He has entrusted me with a beautiful family...and I don't spend time with Him everday.  I do pray---throughout the day--- but I do not devote a period of time to Him.   That. is. gonna. change. TODAY

I have so much to do to catch up and feel as tho I am digging out.
I am going to become a list maker so I can hold myself accountable.  NOONE with TEN children
can do a good job raising the children without a more managed home.  (we have fourteen who live here)
I am going to CHANGE for the better and I am going to show the Lord...He is FIRST.

I am turning over a new leaf---today-- and I am very excited!

So, I leave you with a tidbits I have gleaned from the Lord--

draw near to Him....He delights in us being close to Him and seeking His face.
We cannot do anything without Him that is good.  All of our blessings come from Him and He expects us to care for them in every way.....

March 13- Last Day...

Today, as promised, was a day mostly of eating and shopping. We pretty much took shifts...Matt and I would go out while Dad stayed with the kids, and then we would switch. It ended up working pretty well, I think.

We have learned that Jack does not know that his name is Jack (we were under the impression that he did- that is what he was called at the foster care home to our knowledge). It turns out that he actually thinks that his name is "da tou" - big head! Note to those unfamiliar with Jack- he has hydrocephalus and, thus, a very large head for his age. It turns out that, in Chinese culture, it isn't rude at all to refer to someone based on an obvious physical feature- like calling a large American "big old man" or something like that. Shout out to our awesome friend Dan, who was known as "big nose" during his time in China. Don't worry, Dan, they refer to most foreigners that way.....right?

Matt and I had a great time shopping today. It is a rare case that I get my husband to willingly go shopping with me, and even rarer that he has things to spend money on as well. The good news is that when we have jet lag for the next five days, we will be ale to stay up and have tea parties and practice Chinese character calligraphy together. Obviously, the marriage that pretends to be Chinese together stays together!

We had the privilege of meeting the woman that runs a local organization, called A Gift From China, while we were shopping today. Their shop houses goods produced from their many community development programs, mostly working with orphans, and the funds from the shop go back into their kids. It's a really beautiful model, and even better for us to know that our souvenir shopping was going to a good cause- something that you definitely can't be certain of in China. You can sponsor their kids to go to summer camps, and they partner with other organizations (such as Love Without Boundaries, where Elijah was in foster care, and Half the Sky, active in Zhengzhou orphanage) to have monthly programs as well.

We also met another believer, Jenny, who runs aptly named Jenny's Place and attends the Shamian Island Chapel, where we attended on Sunday. She sold me a lovely tea set (hence the tea parties) and told us about going to the church, etc. She was lovely, and just down the street from AGFC, so anyone traveling soon should visit both of those places!

In all, Matt and I got lots of different things on the premise of not knowing when we would ever be in China again. Pearl earrings, calligraphy sets, entire cakes of Pu'Er tea (Missy, are you out there?), chopsticks, etc etc and then some. You can get such beautiful things here for next to nothing!

We are concluding our last night here in the executive lounge- Matt, Jack, and I. Matt just asked Jack, "are you coming back?"- to which he replied "I'm not coming back!" so Matt asked him, "where are you going?" and he replied quickly, "I'm going to America!"

Matt wants to make sure that the point of that paragraph is that he "speaks Chinese like a champ"- this is definitely true, considering he had a basic conversation with a four-year-old, but let's give him props anyway (golf clap). But seriously, this is a kid with some insight. He has been prepared for tomorrow! For the record, America, in mandarin, is "may-gwa". You're welcome.

If anyone is wondering about the chopstick challenge, I think it is safe to say that it fizzled. Considering that, at the past two hotels, we had to ask specifically for chopsticks (very western friendly) we have gotten pretty lazy, and if you're going to blame us, try adopting two special needs kids at once! I used a fork on my dragon fruit this morning and I'm not ashamed. However, I still used chopsticks for my fried rice, which is infinitely harder to eat and therefore gives me more street cred. Props go out to Dad, though, who still makes an effort to get chopsticks whenever possible. He was not going down. I have to say, I'm impressed.

Tomorrow we begin our journey home to the states. We will be up and in a cab at 5:50 to be at the airport for our flight to Beijing, then have a long layover before we board our 6:30 flight to DC. That being said, we are armed with a bottle of Melatonin and plans to run laps around the airport with Elijah before our long flight. Thankfully, biology will be on our side,as the flight will be overnight according to how we (read: the boys) have been sleeping. Hopefully it will go quickly and smoothly because of this

I am happy to report that Matt is feeling much better today-thank you for all of your prayers (and to Les for the official New Hope call to pray- awesome!)-we are ready to be healthy and home! Also, we are so excited that Vanessa and Mira have finally been united! So excited to meet this sweet girl when they get home. What a blessing to be a part of the Newman clan. Love them all so much!

Thankfully to be traveling home to my bed, dog, friends, and car tomorrow. Pray for peace for the kids, safe travel, and unity for the family! See you all stateside :) :)

Love, Karli

Sent with AGAPE LOVE from my iPad!

March 12- Tired & Sick :(

Today was a long, long day....and it isn't even 7pm yet! We woke up around 6am so that we could leave the hotel at 7 to go back to the medical clinic and then on to our consulate appointment. Matt has been feeling under the weather for the past few days, which culminated in a raging sinus infection this morning that has left him bedridden most of the day. Dad and I had to be really on our game today without Matt- it really helps to have a extra pair of hands for the two kids!

The medical appointment went smoothly- Jack still needed to see an ENT specialist for a signature, and both boys had to get their TB tests read. One of the doctors shared the elevator up to the clinic with us, and helped us see the other doctors and get our paperwork quickly. We certainly have seen favor with the people we are working with on this trip!

From the medical clinic, we took a cab too the US consulate. Being a government building, you would think that it would be freestanding, clean, and orderly- not so. The consulate is a fairly small section of the fourth floor of some type of commercial building, housing everything from airline sales offices to coffee shops to a wine bar. Upon arrival, we were met by our WACAP liaison, Sarah, who basically showed up, handed us a form, made sure that it was filled out correctly, and left. But she was pleasant and helpful, and got us where we needed to be to finalize the adoptions and get visas for the boys.

After passing through a security checkpoint, we were ushered into a room not unlike the DMV- more screaming children than juvenile delinquents, though. We waited for about a half hour until our ten o'clock appointment, when dad was called up to a booth. Here, he handed over his paperwork, was asked to raise his right hand and swear an oath that he was not a liar (hmm....you could just continue lying with the oath? Anyway....) and then told to come back tomorrow and get the visas. Sort of anticlimactic for all of the hype the consulate appointment gets, but exciting in its effects for the boys nonetheless.

The rest of the day has been spent relaxing and healing- trying to get Matt feeling better, and chill out the boys, who have been particularly rambunctious today. I did find time to go haggle over some cute clothes I found at a mall-like thing nearby- I may go back to find something for Sam tomorrow if she is lucky! :)

While out this afternoon, I took a side street that I figured would lead me back to my hotel. Most of the streets around the Holiday In are commercial, so whether they are a mall or a restaurant, they are full of people spending money on things for themselves. This side street looked like something out of a fashion designer's dream- it was literally shop after shop of different things to embellish clothing- beads, ribbon, buttons, rhinestones. You would think that someone was around the corner waiting to bedazzle your every move. It makes sense, though, this street- all of our clothes are made in China, yes?

Tomorrow will really be our last day in China, because we have to leave our hotel around 6am on Wednesday to go to the airport and start our journey home. While I truly have loved my time here, and we have all had such a positive experience with the adoption of the boys, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are ready to return home to some normalcy and routine. We will likely spend tomorrow doing the last of our shopping and trying foods, and get to bed early!

Pray for peace for the boys as we begin this time of travel and transition- and good behavior especially! Pray also for stamina for all of us, and healing and energy for Matt. Finally, pray for our entire family as we all come together on Wednesday night- bravery for the boys, gentleness and understanding for the older kids, and bonding for mom!

Sent with AGAPE LOVE from my iPad!

March 11- Church and a Manicure

This morning we all woke up tired! Angela and I got up around 8- though we couldn't tell because the hotel outfits each room with these lovely darkening shades that might make you mix up your days and nights if you aren't careful (handy for jet lag).

The boys have different stories of waking up in the morning. Jack, the resident alarm clock, wakes up everyone by yelling "hello!" around 6am and slapping dad on the shoulder. When this doesn't work, he turns on the bedside light. This, in turn, wakes up Elijah, who runs to the curtains and opens them wide. I am not exactly sure what happens between that time and 8 when I wake, but I am pretty sure that sleeping is not a part of it.

After a mostly leisurely breakfast in the larger, more crowded (but still complimentary) downstairs dining room, Matt and I decided to go to the Shamian Island Chapel for their bilingual church service. Non-adoption vets out there, Shamian Island is an island in Guangzhou that used to house everything for adoptions- medical clinic, US consulate, and the infamous White Swan Hotel. All of these things have either moved or are closed for renovations now, but nonetheless, every adopting family ends up on the island at some point. This, among other historical and touristy features, makes the island a hotspot for westerners- thus, the very public and very open Christian church, to appeal to them and give a false sense of security for the Chinese church, as seen by Americans at least.

The church service was really nice- almost all Chinese, very few foreigners. Every other song was in english, and both the sermon and a testimony were given with the assistance of a translator. My touch of ADD prevented me from locking into everything that was said (translators are hard to keep up with!) but I know that the sermon was solid, and the testimony, given by a girl who was probably my age, was really encouraging. She told the story of not just how the gospel came to her life, but how it came into her entire family and changed them as a whole. I thought that this was really a beautiful way of talking about the gospel- how it affected her community, and not just her individually. We also met another family, here adopting a little girl with both cleft hands and cleft feet, and the biggest, most beautiful head of curls that I have ever seen on a Chinese child. She spent the better half of the service playing peekaboo with me and handing me the bulletin, and totally captured my heart.

After church, Matt and I stopped in a few shops that were along our route home. All of the shops on the island are cleverly named after the person who owns them- Jennifer's, Lucy's, Andy's, etc, which actually makes them easier to remember. Because the hotel and many other things are no longer operating on the island, business is down and many of the shop owners are desperate for a sale- which resulted in my score of a beautiful, grade A, almost translucent jade ring for about $5. We are still scouting the perfect set of carved wooden chopsticks- but we have a few days!

Fried dumplings and milk tea for lunch, and we headed back to the hotel to watch the kids while Dad went exploring- and came back with a ( fake) Rolex and tales of explaining the gospel to the woman who sold it to him. I admire his love for the Lord and his willingness to put himself out there for the sake of the kingdom so much- what an example I have for a father! He saw a painting of the last supper and explained to the salespeople, who had no idea what it actually was, how significant the event was, and what it meant in his life. what a man of the faith he is!

While he was gone, Matt and I and the kids watched various Nat Geo documentary shows, most notably one about Kung-fu that had both Elijah and Matt running around the room throwing kicks and karate chops at each other. Those two are the sweetest pair. They fight and make up so fast- I can barely keep up! Highlights of the babysitting session include a seriously gross 4-year-old's poopy diaper and watching a show about three grown men pretending to be beavers. I don't know which was more disturbing.

After Dad got home, I decided to have a little cross-cultural adventure of my own. Right next to the entrance to our hotel is a whole in the wall nail salon that advertises an OPI manicure for 20 yuan- about $3.50. This time, my inner diva was unable to be stifled. Angela assures me that a manicure usually costs about 10 times that, and jokes that it is probably the price per finger. After she natured about the price for me, she assured me that it was in fact the price for the entire manicure, and encouraged me to check it out. Well, it might have been the mot pleasant and relaxing manicure of my life, largely because there was no awkward, forced conversation between myself and the stylist- actually, there was no conversation whatsoever! I will, however, freely admit my disappointment that no one asked me if I wanted "dee-zine" or "kritul gel" or another classic phrase from an Asian-run nail salon in America. Nevertheless, my nails are a lovely shade of red-orange and I am only less 20 yuan. I'd recommend it to anyone staying at the Shifu!

Now, we are relaxing in the executive lounge, enjoying our free appetizers and drinks. This is serving as our dinner for the entirety of our time here at the Shifu, which saves us a ton of money on food every day!

Memorable conversation from today- attempting to explain the term "redneck" to Angela. We ended up going with "that family member that would dare to open a beer during the closing prayer at your wedding"- probably accurate. This was in accordance with our conversation about people eating things that shouldn't be eaten- which lead to Chitlins- which lead to a story about a redneck member of Matt's family eating scrambled deer brains and eggs. Oh, was that you, Bobby? :)

Also noteworthy for today- remember the Pleasant Goat cartoon from yesterday? I saw him today! Walking around the streets of Guangzhou entrancing all the little children! I am so lucky.

Praying for Pack the Pavillion at church today- and for Vanessa and Mira, who have either already met, or will meet in the morning! Love you all :)

-karli

Sent with AGAPE LOVE from my iPad!

March 9 & 10- To Guangzhou We Go!

You guessed it, today we made our trip to Guangzhou, where we will finalize everything for the boys adoptions and soon be on our way home! We enjoyed our last luxurious Sofitel breakfast and spent a lazy day cleaning (and then re-cleaning) the room as we packed p for our 6:30pm flight. The amazing Angela wooed some unsuspecting lobby worker into changing our checkout time from 12pm to 4pm, thus avoiding an awkward several hours where we had to find a place for us to look inconspicuous. Obviously, we were grateful.

Between turns making noodles and picking up puzzle pieces for the 97th time, Matt and I ran back down to the Muslim quarter to pick up some earrings I decided I needed and have one last round of street food. Of all the Chinese cities I have been to, Xi'an is by far my favorite. Maybe because it is fairly easy to navigate, or the food is good, or the people are friendly, or maybe just because my husband is here now and that makes everything more interesting (stop reading and picture Chinese people seeing his blond dreadlocks.....yeah, you get me). For all of those reasons and more, I will miss being in Xi'an.

Around four, we headed to the airport. For the duration of this post, I want you to keep in mind several things:

-I have borderline severe flight anxiety. Not panic-attack worthy but enough to make me cut off the circulation in the hand of the person next to me and swear at small children who are obviously moving too much and are going to make the plane lose its balance and plummet to the ground. Cue brown paper breathing bag.

-My last in-country flight in China I was dropped of alone in the middle of an airport in which there was nothing but Chinese characters. Noth. Ing. And I had to find my way to Washington, DC from there. I might tend to overdramaticize this story but it really was quite terrifying.

-Earlier in the day we watched a show on Nat Geo channel entitled 'Flight Crash Investigation' or something ominous like that. I am sure that In tiny print underneath, it read- 'Oh, you're flying today? Watch this footage of planes crashing, then move your extra undies to your carryon for when the turbulence hits.' Again, cue brown bag.

I have learned to deal with some of these fears. For example, there are pills that make me not visualize my demise everytime we fly through a cloud. Now, I also have Angela, who not only can read Chinese characters, but has a superhuman ability to make everything easier (ie somehow getting us into a special security line...smooth). As for Nat Geo, I mostly am left thankful that the person whose hand I am squeezing is my husbands. I swear I would drive to China if I could.

All of my fears aside, the flight was, at times, almost enjoyable. My favorite part was, as we took off, seeing Elijah (aisle seat next to Matt and I) realizing what was happening, getting a huge grin on his face and spreading his arms out and flapping them around like he was flying. So precious! Close second goes to hearing Jack, several rows up, called out for Elijah, then starting to serenade the entire flight. Another highlight- Matt's face when realizing that the hot yellow pepper sauce that came with his in flight meal is actually really freaking hot.

So, alas, we did not crash- we will not be the next feature on Air Crash CSI or whatever. The flight was mostly smooth, the boys were well behaved and entertaining, I read Tina Fey's book "Bossypants" in its entirety (so funny) and I am safe in my bed at the Holiday Inn Shifu in Guangzhou. Both of the boys fell asleep in the van on the way here, and were easily transferred to their beds. Someone just brought us a bowl of "welcome fruit"- at 11pm- including a "pig kidney mango"- some kind of local favorite. I will call it the "baby mango" because that's what it is. I would rather eat something called 'baby' than 'pig kidney'. Please check your cannibal jokes at the door.

Continued....
March 10- Medical Appointments

It's about 11am now, and we have just returned from our medical appointments. All you non-adoption vets out there, this is when you take your child to a clinic in a big city building, they look over their medical files, weigh and measure them, look over immunizations and give any that are missing, and usually administer a tuberculosis test that must be read within the next 72 hours. I think each child's experience at this medical appointment is different- I know that, in some of my brothers and sisters cases it was downright torturous and sent my mom into an advocating-against-vaccination frenzy, and rightly so. Children are just beginning to bond with their parents and are then forced onto cold tables and, more than likely, given shots or some other uncomfortable test. If that doesn't make you question your loyalty to someone you really just met a few days ago, I don't know what will. However, many children take this all in stride and are perfectly fine. We pray this for each adoption.

Needless to say, I totally prepared myself for the worst. While Jack does pretty much everything with a smile and a song, Elijah does pretty much everything with a lot of yelling and kicking. He's a six year old boy with an inherent difficulty to communicate because of his Downes Syndrome, as well as a language barrier, and he definitely gets frustrated. I don't think that I was alone in assuming that getting him to hold still for a TB test was going to be a challenge. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong!

Jack and Elijah were both incredibly obedient and patient in the clinic, listening to all of the doctors and letting them do whatever examinations they needed. Our only hiccup was when Elijah decided that he needed to use the bathroom-Matt took him and let him go in by himself. He came out, washed his hands, walked to the middle of the room and proceeded to drop trou in front of all of the doctors (who laughed, by the way) to show Matt that his pants were wet. Upon further inspection of the bathroom, Matt described the events that must have transpired as "spinning around" and that there was pee virtually everywhere but in the toilet itself. I mean, it could've been the kid before him, right?

Funny anecdote from the clinic- the entire time we were at the clinic (probably an hour or so) there was a team of four or five doctors that were attempting to duct tape a line to mark where people should stand to read an eye chart. Not only was in funny because they were all speaking Chinese loudly to each other (aka sounds like they are all fighting) but it was funny because there were FIVE DOCTORS trying to put a LINE ON THE GROUND. They still hadn't succeeded by the time we left.

Anther highlight from the trip was seeing another adoptive family that is bringing home Joy, another child from Starfish, where Jack was! They recognized each other and were completely adorable in a way that only two and four year olds can be- slapping each other in the face, giggling, and pulling on each others clothes. It was so cute to see this little bond that they had.

Our visit to the medical clinic also further confirmed our suspicions that Angela is, in fact, and international celebrity in hiding. Everyone recognized her, and I think there were even more pictures taken. She really is some kind of super hero!

We are back at the hotel now, and thankful for the Shifu's big rooms and nice views from the windows. Guangzhou, which is in the south east part of China, is noticeably more awesome than the other parts that we have visited. Not only is the sky clear (no really, it actually is- I can even see some kind of mountain range beyond the city, before I couldn't see the third block over) but the city itself looks like some kind of magical forest that decided to grow skyscrapers and overpasses for a while before returning to natural vegetation . There are large trees everywhere, and the sides of roads and ramps are all lined with plants and flowers. All of the balconies and rooftops are brimming with life, and potted plants dot the sidewalks. I am sure that this does not only improve the air quality, but emotional health as well. Big american cities should take notes on this.

Continued....Afternoon

Matt and I are currently relaxing in the Shifu's executive lounge- a worth-the-upcharge relaxation oasis with an espresso machine, snacks, and juices as well as couches and TV. In the morning, this transforms into a private breakfast area with a buffet (smaller than the one downstairs for the common folk, but private all the same). At night, a free "happy hour" is available to all executive floor guests including an assortment of snacks and complimentary beverages. This will inevitably amount to a large amount of business execs and pilots getting shwasted, while we sit and eat meat on a stick and sing the ABC's.. Or, as Jack sings them, the ABG's. Regardless, I am more than pumped.

This afternoon, after dad took Elijah out on the town for a little stroll, Matt and I convinced Angela to take us through the nearby pedestrian street and teach us some things about Guangzhou street food. We had some dumplings, egg tarts (like egg custard in a pie shell...nom), bubble tea, and fish balls- spongy round fish-tasting tofu-like balls on a stick that I would rather forget, but I tried, I really did.

Here is a list of the things that we did not (read:will not) taste:

-fried scorpions on a stick. This is not a joke.
-deep fried tarantula. Whole.
-some type of stew made of ALL of a cows innards, chopped, mixed with turnips, and stir fried. Literally everyone was eating this. I could not fathom.
-grilled baby squids, whole, on a stick. This might actually be good but I cannot eat anything if I feel like it's looking at me.

After turning down these very eager venders and walking through the pedestrian streets, we circled around to go through the Pet Market and the Herb Market right in front of our hotel. This was pure torture for me because it's basically aisles of puppies that you aren't allowed to touch because the people selling them are sadists. That's probably not true, I think it's about hygiene and keeping the puppies healthy, but don't they know who I am? I only want to snuggle them! That's snuggle, not smuggle....shhhh.....

The herb market was really interesting, too- mostly because I consider myself fairly educated in herbs and spices, and I have no idea what any of this stuff actually was. I have never seen more types of mushrooms, dried roots, and completely unidentifiable objects that are meant to be ingested in my life. I felt better when Angela explained that they were mostly used for medicine, and that she didn't know what they were either. The venders were especially enthusiastic about their saffron supply- apparently its a very hot commodity here and americans come searching for it.

So, for now, we are all relaxing and waiting for our happy hour spread to begin. We were just brought another plate of fresh fruit, so we are all enjoying some orange sections, distributed by Elijah, while watching Chinese cartoons about a goat named Pleasant and a wolf named.....something menacing I can't remember. This stuff is gold!

I leave you with this joke, courtesy of Tina Fey-
Two peanuts were walking down the street, and one was a salted.

:)

Sent with AGAPE LOVE from my iPad!

An update with photos......

Hi friends---
Haven't you been enjoying Karli's writing!!  I think I have found the perfect person to write our family's book!  
So, as you know, the gang is en route to Guangzhou which is where the last part of the process happens.
All of the US immigration forms are submitted along with a medical report.  This will give the Consulate the documents needed to process the immigrant visas for our boys.  They will enter the US on these visas and will be US citizens upon touchdown at Dulles.

I am assuming they are still in the air or at least driving from the airport to their hotel.  The trip is exhausting but on a travel day you are just "wiped out".  Guangzhou will be lovely as the temps are milder and there are many more adoptive families you can spend time with.  And, lets get real....a Starbucks!

So, without further ado---
photos from the past few days.

brothers!

noodles bowls!

caught in the act of slurping!

wiped out....

Matthew and "Patrick"

XiAn street food

March 8th- a quiet, rainy day!

Today has been slow and steady here in Xi'an. We woke up slowly, ate breakfast slowly, and have generally gone about our day leisurely. Jack has been keeping us all entertained with his singing all day- not only does he sing recognizable songs (twinkle twinkle little star, and an adorable version of the abc's) but he will also make up songs with people's names. He sang us an 'Amanda' song at breakfast this morning- his foster care director! Precious!

Both boys really love to eat rice and noodles, and are obsessed with apple juice. We finally figured out that the servers had straws on hand for kids, which greatly improved apple juice aim :) When he is full ("chebala") jack has taken to putting whatever leftover food is on His plate into his apple juice glass....ah, childhood. He also like to mash his rice with his hands. This morning, when I told him to stop playing with his food ("boo" means no), he mashed his hand into his bowl, cocked his head to the side, smiled at me and giggled "boo". Clearly, he uses his cuteness as manipulation. It worked.

Today was exciting for us because we finally got confirmation about our new consulate appointment- Monday morning! This means that we will leave for Guangzhou tomorrow night, have medical appointments on Saturday morning, consulate Monday, pick up paperwork, etc Tuesday, and leave for home on Wednesday! So hard to believe that we are in the final stretch. But, we are ready to get these boys home to their family!

After finalizing our travel arrangements and hanging around the room with the boys, Matt and I decided to take to the streets for lunch while the boys enjoyed some noodles in the room. This turned into a 2-hour street food adventure back in the Muslim quarter, where Christian took us last night. To toot my own horn for a second, I have to say that I navigated us to, around, and back from the quarter without using my map- okay, I know, I'm awesome.

A quick rundown of our street food experience:
-Chinese apple ginger cider for Matt, who is getting a cold
-soup-filled dumplings from the original third-brother restaurant (ask if you want the brother story)
-beef steaks on a stick caked with spices, delicious
-more rice cookie cake rolled in sugar things
-a round, deep fried pouch of beef and spiced cabbage that we will call Chinese Crunchwrap
-Baked quail eggs on a stick
-candied baby apples (called "haw") rolled in sunflower seeds, on a stick

This will be forever known as our adventure in stick food. To me, it will also be known as the two hours during which i stifled my inner diva that wanted to buy every knockoff Louis Vuitton I saw. Truth.

Shortly after arriving back at our hotel, Matt and I accompanied Angela out for a dinner food run- fried rice, steamed rice, fried green beans (the boys looooove these), sweet and sour pork, and a Chinese version of potato salad that looks like raw hash browns and is insanely spicy. I was still pretty full from our street excursion, but tried everything anyway. Great as always.

Since dinner we have all just been relaxing, singing along with either Jack or the Chinese cartoon commercials, whichever happens to be loudest. My personal favorite is one where the children climb aboard tubes of toothpaste that turn into rocket ships and they fly around brushing huge teeth. Innovation at its finest, clearly.

Dad told us a cute story from when we were out getting stick food- Jack loves to be picked up. Elijah, realizing this, has started to like being picked up as well. Dad was walking around with jack this afternoon when Elijah came over to him and held his arms up to be picked up, too. So dad walked around with both boys in his arms, eventually settling on the bed and watching tv holding his sons in his arms. So sweet!

We are all relaxing for the night now. The boys are in their pajamas (okay, Elijah has had his on since this afternoon, full disclosure) and we are all watching some funny chinese show where people have to move a certain part of the body as many times as possible in a minute, like shake their head or their leg. It's pretty comical to watch, especially when we have no idea what they are saying.

Tomorrow, to Guangzhou! We are thankful for a late flight (and late checkout from the Sofitel) and we are looking forward to arriving at the Holiday Inn Shifu, famous for huge rooms and executive floor of free and awesome food. Time for me to go start packing...I've got a lot of L'Occitane lotions and shampoos to pocket!

Night all :)

Sent with AGAPE LOVE from my iPad!