We arrived home after a long trip and are glad to be home! We have a lot of adjusting to do and will post more later but wanted to let you know that we arrived fine. Thank you all for your prayers!
Sorry no pictures, too tired. We will do some later.
The Family
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
FINAL UPDATE FROM CHINA
END IN SIGHT
Friday, March 16 marks the end of nearly 3 weeks in China. It has been an incredible trip in many ways. What started with Andrew, Amy and Mike leaving White Oak concludes with Andrew, Amy, Mike, Eric and Brandon returning to White Oak. Today we submitted Eric and Brandon’s paperwork for them to get their US Visa and their documentation to become US Citizens. They will become US Citizens when we arrive at the airport in San Francisco late Friday night. Our travel plans are as follows:
· leave Guangzhou at 10:20 pm Friday March 16 (9:20 am CST); Arrive in Hong Kong at 10:15 pm;
· leave Hong Kong at 1:00 am Saturday March 17; Arrive in San Francisco 10:00 pm Friday March 16;
· leave San Francisco 12:35 am Saturday March 17; Arrive in Dallas at 5:45 am.
As you think of us, please pray for our flights. Also pray that we would get a little sleep on the trip. Thank you to those of you that have said you have been praying. We look forward to seeing many of you in the coming days. Sorry no pictures today. Lord willing, the next pictures we post should have some of all 9 of us!
We want to thank Josh and Amanda for faithfully posting these posts and pictures every day since we cannot access blog sites from China. We would like to also thank both of our parents (Urban & Ardella Gathman and Harold and Pat Hood) for their help in watching the 4 Hoods that did not come with us – you were a valuable part of this trip.
Friday, March 16 marks the end of nearly 3 weeks in China. It has been an incredible trip in many ways. What started with Andrew, Amy and Mike leaving White Oak concludes with Andrew, Amy, Mike, Eric and Brandon returning to White Oak. Today we submitted Eric and Brandon’s paperwork for them to get their US Visa and their documentation to become US Citizens. They will become US Citizens when we arrive at the airport in San Francisco late Friday night. Our travel plans are as follows:
· leave Guangzhou at 10:20 pm Friday March 16 (9:20 am CST); Arrive in Hong Kong at 10:15 pm;
· leave Hong Kong at 1:00 am Saturday March 17; Arrive in San Francisco 10:00 pm Friday March 16;
· leave San Francisco 12:35 am Saturday March 17; Arrive in Dallas at 5:45 am.
As you think of us, please pray for our flights. Also pray that we would get a little sleep on the trip. Thank you to those of you that have said you have been praying. We look forward to seeing many of you in the coming days. Sorry no pictures today. Lord willing, the next pictures we post should have some of all 9 of us!
We want to thank Josh and Amanda for faithfully posting these posts and pictures every day since we cannot access blog sites from China. We would like to also thank both of our parents (Urban & Ardella Gathman and Harold and Pat Hood) for their help in watching the 4 Hoods that did not come with us – you were a valuable part of this trip.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Pictures of "THE HIKE"
Above: taking a much needed break!
Above: enduring the LONG hike UP and UP and UP
Above: Mike and Amy on the hike
Above: Brandon and the Chinese squat
Above: The Three MusketeersUPDATE
Today our only “engagement” was a mid-afternoon appointment to test the boys TB results. Thankfully they both passed without having to do a chest X-ray. We took the morning to go to a park that we had been to when we were here with Jaiden. The pictures are from our trek. Anything look familiar Jaiden??
TRIVIAL TIDBITS
· On this trip we’ve used planes, bullet trains, subways, taxis, black taxis (“illegal” taxi), metro taxis, vans, cable cars, city bus, and our own 2 feet!
· Squatty potty: I (Amy) try to avoid these, but have had to use 2 or 3 so far. It always feels like a first time, as you just never get used to those. Quite frankly, the western toilets (where available) are usually much dirtier than squatties…apparently the Chinese can’t stand to sit on them, so they “hover”and make a mess! It’s very annoying. Ok, I’m sure that’s TMI (too much information)!
· Toothbrushing 101 is coming along well. Unfortunately, now that we’ve established one method, it’s time to go home and learn a new one. i.e. We can’t use tap water here, so we boil the water to rinse our mouth and rinse our toothbrush. They still do a LOT of spitting since they don’t like the taste of Crest. Definitely going to get to the Dentist soon!
· Eric and Andrew (and sometimes Brandon) constantly play the “winner” game. Anything and everything can be turned into a race…going up the steps, getting to the elevator, etc. etc., so the first one there says “winner”! On the LONG trip home (in airports, etc.) we’re going to have to eliminate this game though, as we don’t want to lose track of anyone!
· Brandon and Eric enjoy talking at bedtime when the lights are out. We can’t seem to shut them up. And they choose to not understand what the word “whisper” means. I’m sure there is some good bonding going on, but Andrew is worried how he will ever get to sleep once we are home (as all 3 will share a room). We may just have to put them to bed early so they can get their talk time in. :)
· Religion: Brandon is being exposed to both Protestant and Catholic Christianity. So he bows his head while we pray…and then crosses himself when finished (just like Eric does).
· Airport security: If you want to sneak something through security in the US, put it in your carry on. In China, put it in your shoes. i.e. They don’t make you take off your shoes to go through security in China…but they will confiscate your PLASTIC toy nerf gun! It was meant to be Brandon’s birthday gift, so that was extra frustrating. I told them to take it home and give it to their kids instead of throwing it away!
· Being pushy and having no personal space is just a way of life here. And if you’re going to use the subway, you better join right in.
· Lots of people stare at us and some tend to stare at Andrew (the blond boy) in particular. Today some teenagers took a picture of him. What was funny though, is that the teenage boy who was pointing at Andrew’s hair had orange hair himself (not to mention several earrings)! We decided that if anyone stared at us longer than “4” seconds, we would smile and say Hi or Ni hao.
· God’s grace is sufficient…and we are so blessed to know Jesus! Adoption has so many correlations with the gospel… We are all orphans until we meet Jesus… We can’t reach our full potential without our Father’s help… We may have had a rough beginning, but we were chosen… Assimilating into a family (or into God’s family) is a process and takes time. Bonding doesn’t usually happen instantly…we need to intentionally spend time together. The future may be a big question mark, but we know Who holds the future. Walking by faith means continually stepping out there even when you don’t know where the next step will land. Yes, adoption and the Christian life have many correlations!
TRIVIAL TIDBITS
· On this trip we’ve used planes, bullet trains, subways, taxis, black taxis (“illegal” taxi), metro taxis, vans, cable cars, city bus, and our own 2 feet!
· Squatty potty: I (Amy) try to avoid these, but have had to use 2 or 3 so far. It always feels like a first time, as you just never get used to those. Quite frankly, the western toilets (where available) are usually much dirtier than squatties…apparently the Chinese can’t stand to sit on them, so they “hover”and make a mess! It’s very annoying. Ok, I’m sure that’s TMI (too much information)!
· Toothbrushing 101 is coming along well. Unfortunately, now that we’ve established one method, it’s time to go home and learn a new one. i.e. We can’t use tap water here, so we boil the water to rinse our mouth and rinse our toothbrush. They still do a LOT of spitting since they don’t like the taste of Crest. Definitely going to get to the Dentist soon!
· Eric and Andrew (and sometimes Brandon) constantly play the “winner” game. Anything and everything can be turned into a race…going up the steps, getting to the elevator, etc. etc., so the first one there says “winner”! On the LONG trip home (in airports, etc.) we’re going to have to eliminate this game though, as we don’t want to lose track of anyone!
· Brandon and Eric enjoy talking at bedtime when the lights are out. We can’t seem to shut them up. And they choose to not understand what the word “whisper” means. I’m sure there is some good bonding going on, but Andrew is worried how he will ever get to sleep once we are home (as all 3 will share a room). We may just have to put them to bed early so they can get their talk time in. :)
· Religion: Brandon is being exposed to both Protestant and Catholic Christianity. So he bows his head while we pray…and then crosses himself when finished (just like Eric does).
· Airport security: If you want to sneak something through security in the US, put it in your carry on. In China, put it in your shoes. i.e. They don’t make you take off your shoes to go through security in China…but they will confiscate your PLASTIC toy nerf gun! It was meant to be Brandon’s birthday gift, so that was extra frustrating. I told them to take it home and give it to their kids instead of throwing it away!
· Being pushy and having no personal space is just a way of life here. And if you’re going to use the subway, you better join right in.
· Lots of people stare at us and some tend to stare at Andrew (the blond boy) in particular. Today some teenagers took a picture of him. What was funny though, is that the teenage boy who was pointing at Andrew’s hair had orange hair himself (not to mention several earrings)! We decided that if anyone stared at us longer than “4” seconds, we would smile and say Hi or Ni hao.
· God’s grace is sufficient…and we are so blessed to know Jesus! Adoption has so many correlations with the gospel… We are all orphans until we meet Jesus… We can’t reach our full potential without our Father’s help… We may have had a rough beginning, but we were chosen… Assimilating into a family (or into God’s family) is a process and takes time. Bonding doesn’t usually happen instantly…we need to intentionally spend time together. The future may be a big question mark, but we know Who holds the future. Walking by faith means continually stepping out there even when you don’t know where the next step will land. Yes, adoption and the Christian life have many correlations!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Zoo Pictures
Above: the whole gang
Above: the famous panda bear
Above: Amy and the boys
Above: an elephant ;)UPDATE
Today was a free day. So we spent the day visiting the Guangzhou zoo. This was Brandon’s choice as he had never been to a zoo before. Both boys greatly enjoyed themselves and took lots of pictures. It also seemed to wear out all 3 boys which is helpful. At times it can be challenging keeping 3 sixth graders occupied and reasonably controlled in a hotel room. They are all doing great but it will be good to be home so they can burn energy playing basketball, jumping on the trampoline, riding skateboards/ripsticks, etc.
It has been fun this trip experiencing the public transportation systems in Beijing, Shanghai, and now Guangzhou (taxis, subways, city buses and bullet trains). Guangzhou has a fairly new subway system and is relatively easy to use. It is amazing how many people they move each day – the subways are quite full even in the middle of the day. One day we were riding in Guangzhou close to rush hour and it was pretty full, but our guide said it would be even worse in another ½ hour – packed so that you could hardly move – we were glad to not be part of that. It is also amazing how many people are walking and riding bikes. It is little wonder why you don’t see many overweight people here with all the exercise they get walking around!
We are waiting for the results of Eric and Brandon's TB tests (go back on Wednesday). Our final steps are Thursday we have an appointment at the US Consulate to do paperwork to request Eric and Brandon’s Visas for entry into the US and then Friday we will receive their passports with the needed Visa.
It has been fun this trip experiencing the public transportation systems in Beijing, Shanghai, and now Guangzhou (taxis, subways, city buses and bullet trains). Guangzhou has a fairly new subway system and is relatively easy to use. It is amazing how many people they move each day – the subways are quite full even in the middle of the day. One day we were riding in Guangzhou close to rush hour and it was pretty full, but our guide said it would be even worse in another ½ hour – packed so that you could hardly move – we were glad to not be part of that. It is also amazing how many people are walking and riding bikes. It is little wonder why you don’t see many overweight people here with all the exercise they get walking around!
We are waiting for the results of Eric and Brandon's TB tests (go back on Wednesday). Our final steps are Thursday we have an appointment at the US Consulate to do paperwork to request Eric and Brandon’s Visas for entry into the US and then Friday we will receive their passports with the needed Visa.
Monday, March 12, 2012
PICTURES
Above: Brandon, Andrew, and Eric skyping us back home!!
Above: Eric getting a check up
Above: Brandon getting a check up
Above: Brandon getting his eyesight checked
Above: Andrew with a (chinese) basketball. Surprise, Surprise!! :)
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