UPDATE

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!

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.

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!! :)

MEDICALS AND SHOTS

Ok, this was not a fun experience. It was frustrating, and I’m so glad to be done with it. Fortunately the boys only needed 2 shots each…flu and tetanus. But they tried to say they needed 3 or 4!…until I argued. It’s not supposed to be debatable. It should be black and white…only what they need. So it was very frustrating to even have to attempt to argue. Oh, and they got their TB test done today. So we go back on Wed. to have it checked. (Eric didn’t like any of the shots.) Please pray that they won’t show a reaction and have to have a chest x-ray. Their medical exam was also rather intrusive to the boys, so we are all glad to have this day behind us. We plan to go to the zoo tomorrow (trusting it won’t rain) which will be a first for Brandon. Had a brief English lesson today and realize we have a long road ahead of us. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d say Eric is about a 2 or 2.5 and Brandon is barely a 1. Both are teachable though, so I know it will come with time and intentionality.

TOLERANCE: Two weeks is normally the longest a typical adoption trip takes. Ours (with 2 boys in 2 provinces) is almost 3 weeks. Needless to say, my tolerance level is dwindling. I guess this is preparing us for going home. Appreciate your prayers for patience, endurance, continued good health, no TB reactions, and 4 more days of bonding with our boys before we get back to a full house.

Church in China

On Shamian Island in Guanzhou.

These observations belong to Andrew… Today we went to Shamian island, that is about 30 minutes from our hotel. We went shopping at a few different stores on the side of the road there. One of which is named Andy’s shop. I got a picture in front of the sign. The things I miss most of my everyday life includes playing Basketball in the driveway, playing basketball on the trampoline, just doing different things on the trampoline, and, kind of a weird one, the music I listen to… K-love and KVNE. Probably most of all, although even if I was in White Oak I still wouldn’t be able to participate in, is my Basketball team. Every day of the week I would look forward to our 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 o clock games (but don’t mention the practices, I’m just joking, they were challenging but fun). The league just ended so I’m sure all of my friends/teammates are missing it to. The food isn’t that bad, but I do like dumplings better than noodles.The now Chinese/American,Andrew

CHURCH IN CHINA

We went to Shamian Island today in hopes that we could attend the same church we had attended on Jaiden’s adoption trip. Fortunately, they still meet there and provide a service that is in both Chinese and English. It was packed again. Although we did not hear the “gospel”, it had a good message and a good testimony by a lady who had become a believer. After the service we discovered a wonderful bookstore that the church apparently runs where we found several Chinese/English Bibles and books for way cheaper than we could in the US. Then we shopped some more and found a great deal on a Samsonite suitcase to help us take our extra Bibles and books home. J Shamian Island is definitely the place to buy luggage! We felt “at home” on Shamian Island because this is a little Island (just across the Pearl River from Guangzhou) that caters to adoptive families. This is where our hotel was on our 2 previous adoption trips, so we knew our way around fairly well. We came across a man that looked familiar and asked him if he was Andy (one of the shop owners). Instead, he was Jordan (another one of the shop owners that we had met on a previous trip.) You’ll never guess who recognized him! Amy…the one who can’t remember anything! He then led us to his shop to give the kids a free calligraphy picture of their name and meaning. We shopped at his shop and visited, and he helped teach the boys how to use one of his toys. We bought one and have enjoyed perfecting its use here in our hotel room. Fortunately, it hasn’t broken anything… yet! Jordan (the shop owner) is a Christian, so we had that in common too. Then we intentionally ate at Lucy’s, for old-time-sake, and picked up a few souvenirs before heading back to our hotel. Unfortunately, it was quite cool and rainy, so we aren’t warming up in Guangzhou like we thought we would be.

Pictures

Sorry these are so much later than the post but finally have time to put them on. The descriptions are on the last post. Hope you like them!! i did! :) (amanda)