Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, today is my birthday and I am now officially younger than my grown daughters.  We celebrated the day with a trip to the park, a ramen noodle lunch, and a lovely cake delivered by the hotel.  It was quite tasty though a little unusual.  It was beautifully decorated with melon balls, little red tomatoes, and parsley.  The cake was very light with chunks of pinneapple and orange baked in and the icing was whipped cream.  After a short nap for Teegan, we climbed on a bus for a 30 minute, stomach lurching bus ride to the American Consulate.  It was total chaos as 43 families strained to hear their child's Chinese name called above the din of crying babies.  After all parents had been called forward to sign official papers, we listened to a short speech and repeated our oaths.  I had a moment of horror during the speech when they gave special recognition to September birthdays, complete with name and age.  I was poised to cause a distraction if my name was announced but fortunately they only announced children's birthdays.  Whew!  I really dislike having my age or weight announced publically.  That's one of the many reasons I could never play football.  We took another heart stopping, stomach lurching bus trip back and had dinner at the Thai restaurant, again.

Tomorrow night we head to Hong Kong, where, if we are lucky, we will get a couple of hours sleep.  At the least, we will get a really expensive shower before climbing aboard our plane to Detroit.  We are ready to come home.  Teegan has no idea what is in store for him.  I'm sure he will be lots of fun on the trip home, sigh.

Winding Down in Guangzhou

Today we passed our visa appointment with flying colors! That means there were no problems with our paperwork and we are now just waiting around for Teegan's visa.  I'm sitting here in a dark room while Teegan naps and Tara explores Shamian Island and surroundings.  Teegan's behavior has smoothed out a little today with fewer tantrums.  We spent much of the day in the room while our guides presented our paperwork at the consulate.  We had to be available in case there were questions but were free to roam about and search for lunch  by 11:30.

At this point in the trip, I am always more than ready to return home.  Not that I'm looking forward to 24 hours of flying and hanging out in airports with a cranky toddler.  I miss my girls, my husband, my family, my friends, my house (especially my bed), my pets, my washing machine and dryer, fresh water, fresh air...  And I'm very tired of Chinese food.  I want to eat lettuce and tomatoes again without fear of dysentery.  (So glad I'm done with that.)

I do love visiting China, learning about its people and customs and the history.  Oh my gosh, the history, we just think we have history!  But now it is time to get this boy home and begin his adjustment to us and our adjustment to him.  I hope this part goes as smoothly as his adoption has.  I can't wait to see him and his sisters interact.  They each have such unique and strong personalities. What a trio they are going to make!  Look out world!

Two Teegans

We had  Sweet Teegan and somewhere between Guangzhou and Zhengzhou we found we also had Mean Stinker Teegan.  Mean Stinker Teegan is quick to tantrum, spit on you, scream, hit, and can destroy a hotel room in seconds flat.  Just when you are feeling exhausted, Sweet Teegan will come back and give you a kiss on the cheek.  Oh yeah, Mean Stinker Teegan will throw vegetables across the room to avoid eating them but Sweet Teegan loves vegetables.  He's exhibiting pretty typical two-year old behavior but imagine a two-year old who has parents and jie jies too dumb to understand what he is trying to tell them and you have one frustrated two-year old.  We've taken him from the only life he has ever known, across China through sights he has never seen, away from everything and everyone he is familiar with.  Of course he's having tantrums.  I would worry if he didn't.  And oh yeah, we gave him six shots and a TB test.  Those six shots made him run fever for two days and I imagine he felt pretty bad also.  Good news, he doesn't have TB and I have that shot record in English with SmithKlineGlaxo lot numbers.  We should not have to repeat any shots in the US.

In additon to completing more paper work for Teegan's visa, we've been going outside, going on tours, and just walking around so that we don't have to endure tantrums in close quarters.  It is also nice to get a break from the hotel room.  We went to a buddhist temple, the famous Chin family house, shopping at jade and pearl markets.  The "pearl market" was a six story mall with nothing but jewelry for sale.  Today we went to the Zoo and sweated until we couldn't. After another lunch of, guess what?, more Chinese food!, we came back to nap.  Actually, Tara went on her daily trek in search of interesting photos--stay tuned for the Chinese medicine market pictures on her blog. Teegan and I woke from our nap to a thunderstorm and a wet Tara, so no playing in the park this afternoon.

Here are some pictures of my Teegans.

Headed for Guangzhou

We're headed out to Guangzhou at 6:00 (pm for us, am for you). Teegan is still doing great. He's learned to say goodbye, nose, sock, and nut (BaBa called him a nut). He eats all the time and plays hard.  He has kissed me on the cheek, shared his cold with me, and told me "ai ni," which means love you.  He's also punched me, pinched me, and yelled at me in Mandarin.  So he's starting to show a little anger, which is a good thing.  He needs to work through all his feelings at being whisked away by old white people.  He has stopped calling me nai nai (grandmother) and referring to BaBa as YeYe (grandfather).  I told him if we kick the bucket, he can get him some younger parents.  He is still Mr. Personality and soooo cute, you can hardly stand it.  We've managed to keep him from reprogramming the safe again and throwing stuff out the window but pretty much let him have fun.  Our carpet barely shows through the cracker crumbs but we will have a new room to trash soon.  I'll post pictures later; my photographer is out photographing the town.  Be sure to catch her latest blog on funny signs at allhisblessings.blogspot.com.

See ya in Guangzhou.

Hangin in Zhengzhou

We are just hanging out in Zhengzhou, mostly staying close to the hotel since my stomach is not a good traveler.  We've completed all the adoption paperwork and Teegan is now legally ours.  Yea!  We are just waiting on his passport.  Completing the paperwork involved riding around on a hot bus to even hotter official buildings, signing papers, doing thumb prints (in Teegan's case, handprint) and returning to our even hotter hotel.  We've previously been in China in January and on this trip I found out that China is not air-conditioned.  Not even slightly.  They have the equipment but our 5-star hotel turned off the air-conditioning.

Teegan is a trouper.  You can tell that he has been well-loved and has had excellent care.  He's very smart and picks up things quickly.  He should be able to hold his own with the Hendon girls.  He loves to clown around and will do anything to get a laugh.  At dinner last night he picked up his french fry (yes, we found some) and put it between two fingers and pretended to smoke.  It was an excellent parody, right down to the narrowed eyes as he blew out pretend smoke.  He looked like a little, old, serious Chinese man. Well, hopefully we can get the french fry grease out of his lungs and teach him some good habits after we get him home.  Everyone in China smokes and they smoke everywhere so he's had plenty of experience observing that behavior.  He hasn't acted sad or cried yet.  It was my worst fear that he would reject us immediately and do a lot of crying.  This still may happen.  He's so good natured and has obviously been well prepared--as much as you can prepare a 2-year old--for this transition.  He woke up the first morning and pointed at each of us in turn saying, MaMa, BaBa, Jie Jie (big sister).  He has been a little mischievous at times, doing things like throwing my drying laundry, which happened to be underwear, out our hotel window, along with his spoon and some markers (all at different times).  He has the lightening fast stealth of any 2-year old.  BaBa was able to retrieve it all.

BaBa has just left us to begin his journey back to the States so it is just us women and the baby here now.  BaBa was a good pack mule, bank, translator, underwear retriever, and loving support and we will miss him.  He's got a very important job though, he's going back to take care of Teegan's big sisters.

Teegan!

Teegan is beautiful and perfect.  He is so sweet and smart, fun and easygoing, just a wonderful happy baby.  We are so in love!

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We Are In Zhengzhou

We arrived in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan, around noon today and have finally had an afternoon to rest and collect our thoughts (and blog).  After a loooong flight and several airplanes, we arrived in Beijing at around 2:00 am on Friday to begin China Bootcamp, otherwise known as touring.  With jet lag and 4 hours sleep we and our group of other adoptive families met in the hotel lobby at 9:00 am.  The first order of business was to take a bus to rent a rickshaw to tour the Hutong District.  This is a very old, traditional section of Beijing.  I felt very sorry for the small Chinese man who pedaled us around the neighborhood, but he was tough and didn't even get winded.  We gave him a couple of breaks as we walked around and took pictures.  We visited a traditional family home with a center courtyard and separate buildings for the men and women.  I kind of like that idea, as long as they clean their own bathrooms.  Actually the bathroom was communal, situated downwind according to the guide and we decided not to look in there.

We also visited a silk factory and learned about silk from A-Z and most importantly were given a chance to buy expensive silk items.  It was all beautiful but before you get too excited about any gifts we may bring back, none will be from the silk factory.  Next we went to an excellent Thai restaurant, complete with belly dancers.

After the lunch we went to Tiananmen Square where our old friend Daryl, who lives in China, met up with us.  We marveled at the size of the square and that we were actually in such a historical place.  They claim that one million Chinese people could fit in the square and we were glad they weren't trying that out while we were visiting it.

Next we went to my favorite, the Forbidden City.  Here one million people and us tried to fit through the entry at one time.  I've seen this place in many movies, most recently, Kung Fu Panda, and was awed that I was there.  The Forbidden City has 999,999 and one half rooms.  We had time to peek in about 10 of them.  You can't actually go inside the rooms but can view them from the outside.

That night I fell in bed, exhausted, at about 7:30, with no dinner and slept until about 3:30 the next morning.  That's part of the joy of jet lag.

The next morning we were surprised with a trip to a jade factory and learned how to tell real jade from fake jade.  Apparently, there are many unsuspecting tourists in China who have become very angry about paying a lot of money for glass baubles.  Anyway, with a piece of glass and a marble, I can test your jade for you.  We also learned how jade carvings are made.  There were many beautiful, intricately carved pieces in the factory and more expensive things for sale.

Next on the itinerary was to visit and climb a section of the Great Wall.  Things started to go downhill at this point for me.  I had felt a little off at the jade factory and by the time we got to the Great Wall, I realized why.  Montezuma was touring with me and getting his revenge.  I bummed Imodium off several people, since I had left mine back at the hotel.  I tried, I really tried, to climb the Great Wall with Tara and George but finally they deposited me in one of the towers along the way up.  The view was magnificent so I didn't really mind sitting there as waves of nausea rolled over me.  I was contemplating puking over the side of the Great Wall when I was joined by a family of Chinese people.  The gave a little laugh when they first saw me but then proceeded to conduct some sort of ritual or meditation.  They cupped their hands, one over the top of the other and moved them in a circular motion as if they were rolling a small ball around.  After achieving something with this motion, they moved on to outspread arms and cupping the face motions.  It was all done in complete solemn silence.  It was kind of peaceful sitting there, hunched up against a wall that smelled a little of urine, trying not to ruin their moment with my upset stomach.  At some point, I began to lurch my way back down the Great Wall carrying my back pack and George's, which he left with me.  Some kind Chinese gentlemen took pity on me and carried the backpacks.  I rewarded them by posing, at their insistence, in their family photos.  Three generations and one old very pale white woman, not sure what that was about.

After leaving the Great Wall, we went to dinner where I pretended to eat.  The restaurant was at a Cloisonne factory with more expensive things to buy and demonstrations on this technique.  This is all a blur to me.

After dinner we went to a local acrobatic show which was very entertaining, almost Cirque du Soliel quality (or at least talent).  I started to feel well enough to watch the show without worrying about where the closest squatty potty was located.

Now the touring is over and tomorrow is when we get Teegan.  The long wait is almost over.

PS.  To see pictures and another viewpoint of our adventures see allhisblessings.blogspot.com.  I will post some later.

We’re Going to China!

It has been almost a year since we first saw his little face on our agency’s website and we are finally GOING TO CHINA! We depart September 1st and will change planes 300 times before landing in Beijing on September 2nd. Our agency hasn’t supplied the in China portion of our travel yet but I do know that we will get to meet Teegan on September 6th, Labor Day. How appropriate is that? George will leave for home on the 8th to rescue our wonderful sitters from our two beautiful (but wild) girls. Tara and I will continue on to Guangzhou to complete the medical and visa stuff. After that we will take 300 more flights back to the US where we most likely will miss half our flights. It won’t matter by then because we will be so numb with travel that we won’t feel anything.


Meanwhile, back home on the ranch, the girls will be starting their 2nd week of school as we depart for China. I’m afraid of the repercussions that might occur when a kindergartener and a first grader begin the school year with Mommy and Daddy in China and with the anticipation of a new sibling. Pray for their teachers and sitters!



Stay tuned for more exciting pre-travel details, like packing!

August or September?

We're almost done waiting. It looks like we might travel in August or September. We have our LOA and I800 approval (for those of you who are up on international adoption lingo). I have started some serious nesting activities and am ready to begin filling suitcases, well, almost. There's still some shopping left to do. I've chosen a sitter for the girls. Thank you Logan and Mr. Mike for opening your home to our girls!

We're all very excited about bringing Teegan home but we have tried to keep busy while waiting.

We got haircuts and some of us cut our own hair but still managed to look adorable:

We celebrated the Dragon Festival in N.C. in the very bright sunshine:

We did a little of this:

And some of this:

And watched beautiful girls compete for Miss Asia:

We tried a bed of nails:

Built fabulous castles with blocks:

And had a really fun time with the grandsons (nephews!):

We graduated:

We visited the beach in Pensacola before the oil did:

We've hung out with the grandgirls (nieces), gone to the beach, had yard sales, had fireworks, cried about the scary cow at Chick-Fil-A (and why does he always appear when we eat there?) and just had a good time. We can't wait to add Teegan to the mix.

Logged In

Great news since my last post. The US decided that we will be fit parents for Teegan and we were able to submit our dossier to China. Our log in date or LID, in adoption vernacular, is 4/12/10!!! (There will be a test on adoption acronyms later so pay attention, please.)  I was so excited to finally reach this milestone!!! The information from our agency accompanying this terrific bit of news also stated that we would travel in 4 to 6 months. Sigh. So, now we wait for our Letter of Approval (LOA) from China, which means that we have been approved to adopt. Then we have to submit some more paperwork begging the US to let Teegan immigrate. Then we have to wait some more. After we get our US forms approved, we wait to get our travel approval (TA) from China, and wait to get the date for our consulate appointment, and then we can book our travel! After that we can be teleported to Henan to adopt our child. Well, I was hoping they would invent that before this trip. Instead, after navigating scary airports and loosing our dignity by allowing airport personnel to view all the secrets normally disguised by our clothing, we can count on about 24 hours of squeezing ourselves into tiny seats made for elves, eating unfamiliar squid cuisine, watching movies that wouldn’t hold your attention if you had ANYTHING else to do, listening to a cacophony of human sounds, and praying. Praying that the plane will make it, that you won’t catch any of the diseases that your fellow passengers are hacking up, and that your new child will tolerate your presence.

When I look at this sad little face, I know that none of the rest matters. I want to see a smile on that face, here, at home.

Congratulations, It's A Boy!

We got an update on Teegan, no pictures, just words. At 1 year and 8 months he weighed 12 kg, which in my language is about 26 pounds. Tabitha may get her wish in the last post since she only weighs 27 lbs. That measurement includes clothing so probably 22 pounds is closer to the truth. He was 80 cm tall or 31.5 inches tall. He has all his teeth and is healthy. Do you notice anything different about Teegan? Yes, he is a boy! At least that is what the orphanage is saying now. So switch gears. I guess I can’t use all those Tabi hand-me-downs I was counting on. Oh well.


We’re still waiting on Grandpa’s fingerprints to clear USCIS. We’re stalled for the moment in the world of paperwork. Wow, who would have thought there would be a snag with the US gov? Hmmm, there’s sarcasm dripping down my blog.

She Ain't Heavy, She's My Sister

We had a wonderful, crazy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. I had different permutations of 5 of my children and all my grandchildren at different points over all the holidays. It was glorious, frantic, busy, loud, happy and I enjoyed it all. Tobianna was quick to point out that this was her first (insert holiday) and that made it special. And, indeed, they were special. Never mind that she was removed, by a (ahem) well-meaning organizer-person, from the Christmas play at church for being a human perpetual motion machine at odds with the planned choreography (it was her first stage appearance, also). She questioned us endlessly on the hows and whys of Christmas, including the story of Christ. She always makes sure that she knows the procedure for celebrating each holiday and takes us to task when she thinks we aren’t following the rules. The prospect of camping on Thanksgiving was almost more than she could stand. I guess she couldn’t reconcile it with the pictures she had seen in “Good Housekeeping,” although she loved every minute of the actual trip. I tried to reassure her that Thanksgiving camping is our family’s tradition. Her and her little sister’s anticipation of Christmas grew from Thanksgiving and was almost palpable by the time Christmas morning arrived. Neither girl had big expectations of expensive or numerous gifts, which is a good thing for many reasons. They were just plain excited about the holiday. Since Doc T and her family came to visit on New Year’s, we had another round of present opening and festivities. This time we celebrated at Tara’s new digs with a big bonfire, hotdogs, and chili. Tobi was good with the bonfire celebration but did wonder why we didn’t pitch a tent. All the grandchildren and the little Ts played so hard that my girls fell fast asleep before we could get them buckled in their car seats for the trip home.

Now all that’s left of our celebrations is memories and a few errant strands of tinsel. Tobianna was sad as we put it all away lamenting that, “now our house isn’t fancy anymore.” Wise Tabitha reassured her that Christmas would come again and, “soon we have to buy Easter dresses and purses.” Let’s not forget about Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day and our Forever Family Day and several birthdays!

Somewhere in all the celebrations and more mundane days, we hope to bring Teegan home. In my mind’s eye, I saw her Christmas morning, opening presents with her sisters. In reality, I know that Christ’s birthday was more than likely not noticed by her foster family and that she passed the holidays unaware of the family that waits for her. Her sisters talk of her often and have already made room in their lives for her. They plan where she will sit, what she will eat, or what she will play with, and Tobianna even put “clothes for baby Teegan” on her Christmas list. As I picked Tabitha up this morning to hug her goodbye I noted aloud, “My you are getting heavy, almost too heavy to pick up!” Tabitha, who already knows what it means to welcome a new sister into the family answered, “Well, I hope my baby sister is heavy, too.”