Time is flying by!

This picture was just taken a few days ago. I love it. Kai wakes up starving. So we give him a bowl of dry cereal to eat in the morning so I get a chance to wake up and drink a half a cup of coffee. His is Kai wanting a refill and bringing all of it to me to get it! He had a little tumble down the stairs the day before. You'll notice the little bump on his head.
We made a trip downtown to the circle in Indy to put the letters to Santa in his special mailbox. Elizabeth is so full of magic this year!
Here they are in Kai's first experience with the sprinkler. He actually had a good time, although it is hard to tell by his face!
This smile was captured while we were visiting an old neighbor of ours. She was throwing his "Teddy" up the slide and Kai waited to catch him at the bottom. He thought this game was great!


I wanted to just put a couple of pictures on here for those of you that still sometimes check the blog. I had such good intentions to update it more, but just could not find the time. Before opening this post to work on it, I re-read the last post. I am truly amazed and just floored by how much Kai has changed.

He has grown so much and changed my life in so many huge ways. It is really too much and too emotional for me to really post here. I can say that I have never in my life felt so incredibly blessed and grateful. It feels so good to say this, because you know, if you have read the other posts that I promised to be honest and not sugar coat our experiences.

Let me just share a quick list of things that I think are just amazing:

1. We did take Kai to the International Adoption Clinic and had an appointment with the Pediatric Developmental Specialist there. I was so nervous for this appointment. Would he need therapies? Would she find other problems? The end result of our 2 hour appointment was that she and the woman from First Steps (government provided services for developmental therapies to children under 3), said that he is one of the best kiddos they have ever seen coming out of China and in an orphanage for 2 and a half years. There were a few question marks on Kai's initial referral that we had to take a leap of faith on. One being an issue with his ears. Most likely it was nothing the reviewing doctor had told us, but we had to be prepared for a possibility of hearing loss, a degree of deafness, etc. Do you know what it was? Ear wax. He has a lot of ear wax! There were a few other question marks that were resolved as well. I flew out of the office that day.

2. All of his blood work that had to be redone came back great. No vaccinations needed to be redone. He just needed the ones that China never gave him.

3. We had to consider the condition of his teeth. 2 and a half years in an orphanage with only rice and occasional fruit and egg can leave teeth soft. Many kiddos need a lot of expensive work on their teeth when they get to the United States. Kai's teeth are fine! Not only are they fine, but he has no cavities either. When we accepted Kai's referral we had no dental insurance. We knew that it could be a really big expense but we just said we'd make it work. Upon our returning home, Josh received a job offer which has great benefits, one being dental insurance!

4. Kai and Elizabeth-This relationship has been sort of rocky for the two of them. Elizabeth was working her little heart out, but still just found it so frustrating. Kai is trying to learn a new language, be a part of family, and learn all these new rules of our home. He was getting frustrated as well. I was worried and exhausted. Would my kids get along? I wanted so much for them to enjoy being together. I took a deep breath, regrouped and made a new plan. The last 2 or 3 weeks something in both of them and maybe myself as well, clicked. They are playing together and finding ways to resolve problems. Just this morning Elizabeth asked if she could sing a song to Kai before his nap and tell him a story. Kai has to have a hug and a kiss from Elizabeth before he can ever go to sleep. I am so proud of both of them. They still have their little fights, but there has been such a change.

5. Kai is sleeping through the night. He used to get up 2 sometimes 4 times a night and walk into our room. We would just pick him up and put him back to bed. He would fall right back asleep. We wondered if maybe he just needed to check and see if we were still here. In the last week, this has also stopped. He will get up around 4am now. I put him back down and he'll sleep until 5, then we get up together.

6. He is totally and completely our son. I share this because I am not the personality that immediately falls in love with anyone. Anyone I ever dated a tried NOT to first. I can remember people asking me when I was pregnant with Elizabeth "Oh, aren't you so in love already?" No, I wasn't. It was interesting, certainly a new experience, amazing and I was excited, but I didn't feel in love yet. I felt guilty about that and sort of worried. Was that wrong? I felt the same way with Kai. I was scared to death that first day with him. Would I love him as much as I loved Elizabeth? I do. It grows and I am there. I have been there for awhile. But I share this because I believe too many times we put others expectations on our shoulders. Others may fall in love immediately. It is ok to take a little bit more time.

7. He fits into our family beautifully. I prayed each night that he would transition well. I wondered what he would be like. We are a pretty affectionate family. Elizabeth loves to snuggle. I had read that many times it takes awhile for some children in orphanages to handle physical affection. It is so funny that I was concerned with that, as Kai loves hugs and kisses, giving raspberries and being held.

8. This is much longer than I meant it to be. One last comment. Last year at Christmas time I felt such a heaviness that we may have to wait another 12-18 months for our child. I wanted was another child so badly. This year I am so incredibly grateful for Kai the entire adoption experience. I could go on for pages and pages about the many blessings this experience has brought to our family. But maybe another time as I am already too long-winded!

Merry Christmas!
Kate

Dorothy says it so well, even if it is over-done...

I am sure that there are a million quotes about home, being home, no place like home, home being the core of who you are, etc. All I can think of is Dorothy clicking her heals with the “There’s no place like home.” Which is pretty trite and basic, but there you are.

We have been home for now over a week. It feels like a month. I will try to catch you up on the highlights of the last week. When I say highlights, I really mean sort of the extremes of the last week, the good, the great, the bad, the ugly. When I say ugly, I am thinking about 9:30 on Monday night when I called my mom hysterical, sleep deprived (4 hours in the last 48 and it looking like it would soon be 4 hours in 72) and ready to ship this little kiddo off just to get some sleep and to know that the heck we were doing. Ugly is me, with no sleep, having a hard time eating anything outside of bread, crackers and chicken noodle soup, telling Josh, “I just don’t know what else to do!”, listening to Kai scream in a scary, animal-like way, thinking, “Oh my gosh, what have we done.” We will get to that though.

When I say great, it is Kai, laughing while he lays in bed listening to me singing, “The Rocking Chair Song” part of it goes like this,

“Let’s go rocking in the rocking chair,
We’ll go rocking in the rocking chair,
We’re not really going anywhere, we’re just sitting here rocking in the rocking chair.”

Ok so here is the part he likes…

“We’ll rock high, high, high, just as high as the sky.
We’ll rock low, low, low, just as low as you go.”

(When I sing this part I sort of wrinkle my forehead and pucker up my lips to sing in a really exaggerated low voice. He thinks this is hilarious. And he laughs with his thumb loosely planted in his mouth as he watches intently. I can almost read his thoughts. I imagine something like, “Boy this lady is crazy. Who sings like that? Seriously? And she does it every night…oh well, it’s funny anyway. I’ll just sort of suck my thumb here and see what she does).

Great is realizing that he will fall asleep if we sit in the rocking chair by his bed and that he will still fall asleep if we move it about 2 more feet away each night. Great is him falling asleep for his nap today with the rocking chair just outside the doorway. Great is waking up at 7am and realizing he only woke up once during the night and your fabulous husband got up to sit in the rocking chair, so you slept through the night!

Good is the fact that we see changes in him each day. Good is watching people meet him and witnessing their delighted reactions. Our neighbors have loved Elizabeth since the first day we moved into our home. We live in an older neighborhood and many of our neighbors have grown children who no longer live with them. Elizabeth is very social and loves to run over and chat up the neighbors as they rake their lawns or plant their flowers. When we returned home, all of our neighbors came out to meet Kai as soon as we ventured outside to play. Lucky for us, Kai is also a very social kiddo, and loves to chat with people outside too. Does it matter that he doesn’t really speak English yet? Apparently not!

Good is how wonderful our families are. I will not get too cheesy and gushy here. But honestly, Josh’s parents were so wonderful with Elizabeth for the 2 weeks that we were gone You know people who do things for you and then have to point out all that they did for you? Well, our parents are so kind and generous in such a understated way. My in laws did so much for Elizabeth, got her all kinds of treats and clothes, etc. I wouldn’t have known this, I just keep on finding things that “Gran and Papa got me.” Ann and Harry had a great dinner waiting for us when we got home from the airport as well.

Then my sister drove here to be with us that first weekend, dropped off the perfect age appropriate and high interest gifts for the kids and kept her “big- sister- eye” on me. Just having my sister here was so nice. I know that I cannot hide much from my sister or my mom. If there was a problem, I wouldn’t be able to hide it. My reinforcements would be there to talk it through, make me some food and allow me to get some rest, all the while finding some good laughs in there too.

And my mom…I have said over and over again, that my mom is a hard one to live up to. She made us a week’s worth of meals, took Elizabeth for us so we could sleep, and came over at night to help with what she could when Josh and I were are our wit’s end with Kai and trying to get him to sleep. There are people who complain about the bad parenting of their parents. Me, well, as a mother, I have a pretty high standard to live up to if I plan to follow in my mom’s footsteps. Each year I learn and appreciate how much our mom did for us in how she raised us and the loving patience which seems endless.

Harry, my father in law, kept Kai laughing on the way home from the airport. This is big deal as Kai was violently opposed to any kind of seat belt, so imagine a 5 point harness in a car seat? And my Dad was my wonderful Dad, laughing, telling stories, playing with Kai, giving me big hugs and letting me know how much we were missed, running errands and picking up things for me that I suddenly found I needed.

I do not know how people do this on their own without family close by. I am so glad that we didn’t have to find out. I imagine there would be much more items in my “ugly” category.

Ok, enough gushing. You want to hear about the plane ride don’t you? Oh, people love the gory stuff. As with most things in life, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Kai did scream for about 15 minutes, during which he proceeded to kick the seat in front of him. As hard and I tried I could not keep that kiddo’s legs down or keep myself from obsessively watching the man’s head whip back in a surely exaggerated movement, each and every time his foot even touched the back of that seat. The man did quite a bit of rubber-necking and eventually found another seat, upon which time Kai promptly stopped screaming and was just fine until it was time to land. The man moved back to him seat, and Kai, as if perfectly timed, began to scream and once again kick the seat. Poor guy!

And I have a confession to make as well. While we were in China we tried our best to try new foods. When I say we tried our best, it really means that we chickened out. We played it pretty safe. I was not a huge fan of the food there. Outside of the Thai restaurant with the green curry there, which was like one of the best things I have ever had, we didn’t experiment too much. So, flying home we had a layover in Tokyo. We needed to grab lunch and I spotted a McDonald’s sign. Oh, I wanted that McDonald’s so bad. All of the reading on healthy eating, watching, “Super Size Me” and feeling that I would never put that stuff into my body, aren’t I so aware and healthy attitude went so totally out the window. I wanted a burger and fries so badly that I was totally willing to throw out all good eating intentions. As I was thinking this Josh said, “So, where do you want to get lunch.” I came clean, “Josh, this is so bad, but I really want Mc Donald’s”

“Good,” he said, “because that is exactly what I want too.”

As we ate our horribly good junk food, we both commented that it was the best McDonald’s we had ever had, and that it tasting so good was pitiful, but we didn’t care! Kai was happy to lick ketchup off of the french fries, but didn’t seem to keen on eating them. I was actually trying to get him to eat french fries!

Over all, Kai slept most of the plane ride and did as well as could be expected.
I haven’t taken any pictures myself since we have been home, although our families have. I will be sure to post more pictures here and also try to update the blog a few more times as Kai grows and changes. We have his appointment at the International Adoption clinic this Friday. I hope that all goes well. I feel like I will breathe easier once he is cleared through the American doctors.

This is a monster-ly long post, so I will close. Ironically, I am actually once again at Starbucks doing this update. This time I am here in Carmel. I am so thankful to be home and the United States is wonderful, but I am pleasantly surprised to find that I do miss many things about China. To any of you who have taken the time to follow us through this whole journey. Thanks. This is sort of my therapy, my way to make it real and think through all that is going on, and all that has already happened. No one has to read it, it works just to get the words out for me to see them and sort them out. But hearing that people take time to read and are wishing us well, is just really neat. (Ok, so “neat” is lacking, but that’s all I’ve got right now.) Time for my “alone” time to end and head back home to Josh and “the kids”. I love saying that, “the kids”.

Day at the orphanage

Us with all the caretakers, in front of the orphanage.

This is Kai with the caretaker that often took him home. He is in this sign for the orphange.

“The caretaker tell him to show you his bed. He misunderstand. He thinks he staying.”-Our guide explaining to us why Kai suddenly started crying hard.

Today was the orphanage visit day. Josh said that today was the best day for him. I am not sure I share that view, just because it was sort of emotional, but still very good. It was nice for us to see where he has been living these past two years.

We started at the grocery store. Judy helped us pick out little treats for Kai to pass out to the kids once we arrived. Judy explained to Kai that we were going back to the orphanage just to visit, not to stay. He said, “Ok.” I wanted to climb into his head and see just what was going on there. We also bought many diapers to donate to the orphanage. Our guide said that diapers were really the only thing that they needed. Again, this orphanage is in a wealthy part of town and I guess they have things pretty good there.

When we arrived everyone came out to greet us. Kai immediately asked if his “favorite” caretaker was there. We found out that he calls her “Mama”. This is the same caretaker that took him home often. This felt so bitter sweet to me. He obviously loves this woman, but I cannot wait until he calls me “mama” and have it to really mean something. It was a blessing to meet her and to express our gratitude to her in person. Oh, also, I should mention that this orphanage is also different in that they allowed us to video tape and photograph anywhere that we wanted to go. Again, this was such a blessing for us, as we wanted to document everything that we could of Kai’s life before we met him.

We went into his little room first. This is when the caretaker showed him his bed. I guess they had just laid the children down to rest for a nap. Kai thought he was going to have to stay and take a nap. We were being shown around by the director and all of a sudden Kai was crying very hard. Both Josh and I were surprised, as the only time Kai really cries is right when we lay him down for bed. Even then, he only cries until I start singing, “The Rocking Chair” song. He seems to like that song as well and stops. At first, when our guide explained to us what happened, we misunderstood her. “He think he staying here.” We thought the caretaker had told him he had to leave and he wanted to stay. But then after a few more questions she explained that he wanted to leave with us, he thought he was going to have to go back to the orphanage.

After that, Josh held him the whole time. He did not even want to pass out his candy treats. Our guide did this and Kai sort of just watched. After seeing his room and bed, we headed upstairs to the baby area. I knew that another family in our agency had committed to child at this orphanage. I found him and was able to take several pictures of him. He is so sweet and happy too, like Kai. I am excited to send these to the family. I know that I would have been so relieved and happy if I could have seen pictures of Kai in action before we came to get him. The caretakers took this little boy out of his walker and he smiled while they played with him.

I looked in the baby room. There were probably about 20 babies in there. Judy said that most of them are “heart” babies. I was able to touch them and walk around that room. It took a bit for me to keep the tears back. Judy told me that all of these babies would get adopted though. They all qualify for international adoption. At this orphanage, only children with special needs are able to be adopted internationally. Many of you know that Kai is considered special needs in China. He has a very minor medical condition that is easily correctable here in the United States. Kai’s condition was so minor that he was actually held back for domestic adoption. In China now, many orphanages are saving healthy children for domestic adoptions. I suspected this because of his age and his condition being so minor. So, after he was not adopted out domestically, he had to go through all the paperwork to be internationally adopted. Our guide was able to tell us this, and a police officer, that actually remembers the day Kai was found also told us about that as well.

After we left the orphanage we set off to find his “finding spot.” We were unable to find it, so Judy called the police station for help. The police officers remembered the day Kai was found. Can you believe that? Two and half years ago and they remember. Judy said abandonment is so unusual in this area, that they often are able to remember and tell you more. So we stopped by the police station. The officer hopped in our van and took us to Kai’s finding spot. It is basically a big field right now. It used to have a big restaurant next to the road. He was found right on the corner next to the restaurant that is no longer there. I appreciated the police officer taking the time to take us there. He told Kai that he was a lucky boy. He also told Judy that Kai is “so cute and smart.” I guess the police officers go there and help out, sort of volunteer there often and he knew Kai. I have been amazed by the community support of this orphanage. It does not seem like these children are tucked away and ignored.

The drive was about an hour long there and another hour back. The ride back home was pretty rough. Kai was past his naptime. When he gets tired he basically gets into everything and is very wound up. Oh man! Plus, throw a visit back to his orphanage in there, mix in the fact that he is a two year old, and it wasn’t much fun on the way home. Prayers for the plane ride please! Judy laughed when we said, “Oh 20 hours on the place with Kai should be a piece of cake.” “Oh my,” is all Judy could say.

Kai is sleeping now. Then we have to wake him up for our oath at the Chinese Consulate. Then our Wednesday will be over, which means just one more day here and we are flying home!

The truth about lobsters...

The monks leaving the ceremony.
Our blessing.

Our guide shared with us that Chinese legend or tradition says that if you can remove the ball from the lion's mouth, then the building is yours. So of course I had to try, it was prime real estate there! (No luck though)

Our boy in the tub. We had trouble with him not trying to drink the water. The poor guy had some tummy troubles that night. We think it was the water.
Kai wants to see the camera if you get too close.

(Josh in a whisper, across the bus aisle to me) “Kate, pearls don’t come from lobsters do they?”

Laughter just totally erupted from me. I could not stop laughing.

“Shhh, Kate, no wait, they don’t do they? Wait, don’t laugh at me, its not me, listen to why I ask.”

“All I can say is I have my quote for tomorrow’s blog!” I said.

“No, don’t use that as the quote, look at you laughing. You are so mean. Listen to why I ask that.”

Yesterday we did some shopping. One of the places we went to was the pearl market. Let me just say, that it was a mall type of place 5 stories high and it was packed with store after tiny store of jewelry. The mall was laid out in a basic circle, but then tiny hallways fingered out from the main circle. Seriously, for me, it was like a nightmare. Completely overwhelming and so packed with stuff. In the hallways between the stores you could barely fit a small stroller through. You can feel the population here in China so easily when you go out shopping. Places don’t have little corners for you to stand or go to, all the space is utilized. So when Kai leaked through his pull-up we had no where to change him. Actually, I found a bathroom, but the floor was wet with urine and puddles of water and they had the squatty potties and there was no space for me to stand him to change him. The smell was more than I could handle and people kept coming in, pushing forward in line. I had to get out of there. I was starting to feel sick. We ended up changing him out of the open pretty much, while a few people stood and starred at us.

We had 40 minutes in this mall, but Josh and I needed to get out, so we went to wait out on the street. We found that the rest of the group felt the same way, they were all waiting there. I guess, a woman in our group told Josh that she thought, “Stealing pearls from lobsters is a sin.” Now, she may have been joking, but Josh wanted to be sure he had it right, that pearls did not in fact come from lobsters. Regardless, it is a great quote for the day huh?

Before we went to the pearl market we went to another store. At this store, Kai charmed all of the attendants. Literally, they swarmed him and played and talked with him while we shopped. Very nice! The store was fancy and full with breakables, so it was nice that they spent so much time with him. Josh and I have talked about this issue, the attention he gets. We wonder if he gets so much attention because he is a boy, or because he talks so much, or just because we are friendly and open to stopping and talking to people too. The rest of our group didn’t have this in the store. Kai was loving it! It has really been interesting to watch though. A few times I have to remember that there are cultural differences with boundaries with children. Many of time the hotel attendants have taken him out to hold him and talk to him and they will walk away with him, or give him things without asking us, etc. It can be sort of strange to see him get whisked away like that sometimes!

Yesterday when we walked into the playroom the parents in there shouted, “It’s Kai!” We just laughed. People here have gotten to know him for sure! The other dads seem to like playing with him since many of the kids are girls and smaller than Kai. Kai will run around the laugh and talk to everyone.

We are going to the orphanage tomorrow. Judy is taking us. I am really looking forward to that, but I have mixed emotions. I hope Kai is not upset about going back, although I was told he knows that kids come back with their new parents. Hopefully he knows he isn’t going back there to live. We have the guide to help talk to him about all of that.

After tomorrow we have just one more day here until we fly home. I am so looking forward to coming home. Josh and I are both missing Elizabeth so much. We cannot wait to see everyone!

Buddhist Temple

“Many American adopt the ugly baby, you have handsome boy.”-Man on the street that stops each day to talk to me to practice his English. “James”

People say the darnedest things huh? I had to laugh at this comment! I apologize for no pictures today, I cannot get our camera to download them to the computer. We'll have to try it later.

Ok, so I will be the first to admit that I am a goal-oriented person with unrealistic expectations at times. But this trip I think I am doing pretty well. Before leaving for China, I really stopped to think about how I wanted to approach this trip mentally. Not some big daydream of me being this hard core, low maintenance traveler with unending flexibility and patience, but something I could really attain. In a previous blog entry I talked about how I wanted to genuinely love China. I envisioned myself flying into China with arms open wide, ready to take it all in. I think today I felt more of a true love for China. Today we visited a Buddhist Temple. On the way there our guide explained that most of the children that are adopted would have come from practicing Buddhist families. So they like the families to see a little bit about it.

Before I go into more detail about the temple though, let me say a few words about the other families in our group. It has been absolutely delightful to see the changes in everyone since getting their children. We all have chunky kids! One family is here getting their very first child. They are both now just literally glowing and so full of love. I cannot help but feel such a swell of gratitude each time I look over at them and their little girl. It has been a privilege to witness the transformation. You don’t really see it in yourself, but watching it in others is a pretty neat experience. There are so many moments on this trip where I find myself just thinking, “Thank you God.” Sometimes that is all there is to say.

I also met a woman today with so much courage that I find I cannot stop thinking about her. She is here with her teenage daughter. I started talking to her because they also have a 2 year old boy. We chatted at breakfast one morning. Today I ran into them again in the White Swan Playroom. This room has been a godsend for us! There, Kai can run and yell all he wants. This woman, I did not get her name, but she is the mother of 8, 4 biological and 4 adopted from China. She is here adopting the little 2 year old boy, Adam. Adam has a deformity with one of his legs. It stops pretty much after the knee. She shared a bit with me about Adam. After they accepted their referral of Adam, she met a woman in his province via the internet. Anyway, after this woman went to check up on Adam at the orphanage. He was only 17 pounds. This friend living in China took Adam into her home to be his foster mom. Anyway, she took him in until they could come and get him.

We have met so many amazing people. For me, this trip has been all about people. At the Temple I stayed right by our guide Judy and asked her many questions. While kneeling in front of the monk for our blessing, it just hit me so hard, that we are here, getting a blessing from this monk, with our son, in China, and I just felt such on overwhelming feeling of full happiness. Also, it was so cute, when we were blessed with the water, Kai shock it off his head and looked at the monk like, "Hey, what are you doing buddy?" I learned that at the temple, apples signify health, (an apple a day…)peanuts, safety (could this be why the serve peanuts on planes?), oranges equal wealth, and flowers are for beautiful and healthy children. Pretty neat. The temple was filled with incense, which reminded me of Josh in college always wanting to burn incense and me hating it, but not wanting to tell him that! We laughed about that.

You know on tours there is always a person who stays right by the guide and asks them a million questions, well that was me. I learned so much. We actually were lucky enough to be there on a special ceremony day, that only happens a few times a year! So we were able to see all the monks and hear and watch some of the chanting, Amazing.

The other moment of significance came later that afternoon, as we met Judy in a hotel room to go over paperwork. She pretty much told us exactly what to put where. It was such a relief to not have to study the forms by yourself and try to figure it out as I have done with all other forms. I so appreciated that! It hit me again in a new way, all that we have done to get to this point. All the paper, the tears, the long talks with family and friends regarding this adoption, and what a sweet, bright and beautiful boy we have, so full of life and just delightful. And soon, just a few days, we get to bring him home. Again, such gratitude filled my heart for all the people who have helped bring this little boy into our lives. We may be here in China picking him up, but it is our family, our friends, our church community at Orchard Park and all of those that I am not even aware of that have prayed for Kai and our family, those are the people that are truly bringing our sweet boy home. There is no way we could have done any of this without all of that support and all of those prayers.

Sometimes things are worse in the morning Mom!

Can you guess what these are? They are dried sea horses! They were thrown out on the sidewalk to dry after they had been scrubbed.

One of my favorite pictures at the market. Isn't this beautiful?

Live chickens for sale. One woman bought a chicken, they bound it's legs and she put it in her bike basket to take home! What a fresh meal huh? They also had ducks, rabbits and pigeons in those cages.

A rare moment that I actually "catch" his smile with the camera! He is so quick!
Men at the market, just thought they were interesting.
Bins of something, I think mushrooms at the market.

“It is not a good sign to be this frustrated at 6:45 in the morning.”-Kate

Today started out with the realization that our digital camera and the gifts we bought yesterday were gone. I assumed they were in our room, but after tearing it apart, we realized they were gone. Our guide has been very clear about being careful about pick-pocketers and to not carry much money, passports or anything of value with us too far. We tried to think about the last time we had them, but all the days here seem to blend together. I did remember that one time when I reached for the backpack that the zipper was part-way open. I thought it was weird and closed it. Ok, so you would think I would check to make sure everything was in tact. But I do possess the ability to put myself in a pleasant land of denial when I want to!

So, after we couldn’t find them, and the front desk said that nothing was turned in, we came to the sickening conclusion that they had been stolen while out on one of our many walks around the city. Luckily, we download all the pictures each day, so we didn’t lose any pictures, but I felt sick about losing the gifts we bought. I could go out and get more, but augh…more shopping. Oh, man! That idea just about sent me over the edge. Now, Josh and I have been really good this whole time as far as being patient, having a sense of humor, etc. But this morning we both were feeling a bit cranky and snappy. We were trying so hard to look at the bright side. “Well, if this is the worst thing that happens on our trip we are pretty lucky. We can always buy another camera, it’s just money, at least we aren’t sick, Kai is doing so well, etc.” But even though all those things are true, sometimes you are just cranky. Josh and I both said we want to keep our perspective on this trip and appreciate each day and moment. So this was a test for us. “Ok, let’s complain for 5 minutes to vent and then we’re done.” That was my deal. So, while walking back to our room we used up our complaining minutes.

When we stepped off the elevator the floor manager told us that housekeeping had found a camera and that they were going to call us about it. Anyway, housekeeping called asked us some questions and told us they would being the camera to our room to see if it was ours. Luckily, the camera still had our pictures on there, so we could prove that it was ours, as we were on there with Kai. I cried when we got the stuff back. I just felt so relieved. We had left it in the hotel playroom. Also knowing that we hadn’t been pick-pocketed was reassuring too.

Ok, back to China though. I have been trying to think about how to describe the sights and smells of China, the people, the air, the surroundings. While on a walk yesterday I asked Josh how he might describe the way China smells. He had a suggestion that I didn’t agree with, so you’ll have to take it from me. Ok, so when you walk out of the hotel, you are surrounded by a warm, somewhat heavy blanket of heat. Very tropical. The smell, sort of musty-sweet-greenhouse-meets-rainstorm-meets river-water-meets-something cooking-smell. That is the best I can do. I like the smell of China. I don’t know that it is a pleasant or unpleasant smell, it just is, I like it. A smell I do not like is what we encountered in the mall, and yesterday while passing new construction. There is some kind of factory, toxic fume smell that was pouring out of this door at the mall, which led to a dark basement of something. The same smell was coming out of the new hotel construction. It literally burned my nostrils. I worry about people getting very sick from the fumes there. I cannot imagine working in that environment. The smell shocked both Josh and I. I actually ran about half a block to get away from the smell.

Feeling energized with our camera and gifts returned and a nice conversation with my sister. (You are the best Jenny.) I usually talk to my sister about every other day. So not talking to her for very long has been hard. With today starting out with so much frustration, I told Josh. “I just need to talk to my sister.” Ok, now feeling better, Josh and I decided to cross the bridge and go over to the main area of the city, off Shaiman Island. Our guide told us about a genuine Chinese market we could go to. She told us to be careful and not take anything of value. I strapped our backpack on the front of me and we set off.

This Chinese market was amazing. Unlike the island which is solely geared to adopting families, the market was away from all of that. The most interesting thing that we saw I did not take a picture of, as I was unsure if what they were doing was legal and if they would be very angry if we tried to take a picture of them. Most people don’t mind, but earlier on our trip, we tried to take a picture of a man walking down the street with live turtles hanging from a string. He had tied a string around their shells to they were right side up with legs treading through the air. They looked like turtle puppets. Josh went to take a picture and he shouted, “NO! NO!” to him. Yikes!

Ok, are you ready?...A person was selling tiger paws. Real tiger paws,actually more like the lower limb or the tiger. The tendons were dried up and then they left the fur and claws on the paw. I felt such a sense of sadness when I saw this. I faintly remember some stories on NPR regarding tigers and how they are hunted for these things. The man showed Josh a tiger tooth for sale as well. Josh and I thought it could not be legal, but on our way back, a police car stopped to talk to them and they did not pack up and leave. Could this be legal in China? Most of the people in this market paid absolutely no attention to us, which was really refreshing at this point. We were able to look freely without following a guide around, or being approached by sales people from the shops for adopting parents.

The rest of our group gets here later today. Tomorrow we go to a Buddist Temple and somewhere else, which I forget. Should be a good day.

"Nobody there!"-Kai

Kai reading to himself.

The city area where we shopped.
Just thought the signs were cool.

The women writing up the receipts for our stuff.

Day #2 with Kai. We were able to capture a smile. He is so busy, it can be hard to catch him for pictures!
Kai after his first trip to the pool. He sure loved it. Thought Josh was hilarious!

A view from the street where we were shopping.

“Nobody there!”-Kai (thrust out arm with open hand to the sky in a “Ta-Da” gesture.)

While waiting to apply for Kai’s Visa the other day, Kai got a little antsy. He wanted to go over to the other end of the waiting area and look at a door with an exit sign over it. As we approached the other side and he realized that there wasn’t much to see, I put my arm out and sang, “Nobody’s there!” He immediately repeated me, “Nobody there!” Except add a huge smile with a dimpled check on the right side! All of the families in the waiting room thought this to be very humorous. He has already been assumed as American as he sings out “Hello” and “Bye Bye” and “Thank you” to those we pass, at the appropriate times too! (Are we officially parents to this boy yet? We think he is the most charming and smart kiddo around!)

Yesterday was a really good day. It seemed that Kai opens up more and more each day. I am finding this whole process very interesting as far as how you feel about things and how your mind, or at least my mind, has changed. For example, when I first arrived here, the whole White Swan swarming with adoptive families sort of almost freaked me out. Can you imagine such a thing in a big city in the US? Before we received Kai, I felt that they must all have it so easy, all comfy and cozy in their new families, while Josh and I anxiously waited to see just what our son would be like. Certainly no one else felt so scared?

Now, after having Kai for a few days, I appreciate having other families here so much. It is nice to go down to the White Swan play room and find out where children are from, how they are doing, what different triumphs and challenges have already occurred. It also doesn’t hurt that most families are delighted with Kai. “What a cool little boy.” Were the words of one woman. I find it amazing now, how vulnerable we all chose to be in order to have a child. Some of the kiddos are tiny for their age, have different skin rashes, are not eating, are crying and grieving, love playing with their shoes, enjoy taking walks, are laughing are giving first hugs and kisses, it is just amazing to see.

Today at breakfast I noticed another couple next to our table watching us with Kai. We started talking to them, and they too are in the last phase of waiting, the last couple of days before they get their daughter, in their case a 5 year old. They noticed us using signs with Kai and asked us about them. We taught them a few of the signs. They are such a nice couple. Everyone that we have met and talked to so far has been so nice and kind. We all feel that everyone’s child is beautiful and wonderful.

Kai has the sign for “eat” and “more” down. This kid loves to eat. So, at meals you can see him tapping his palm with his pointer finger for another bite. He can also say, “more please”. Oh, but we did find something he doesn’t like to eat, yogurt. Uncle August, if you are reading this, I thought of you. If I remember right you hate yogurt for a number of reasons…

Anyway, I could see Josh and I in the faces of this couple,their body language, and general interactions. It seems that Josh and I, and Kai have all come very far already. It is almost like different stages of labor, expect both parents share in the contractions before the child comes!

Ok, back to yesterday. We were supposed to do a lot of shopping that day. We went to one mall and bought Kai some new clothes. Judy, our guide sort of laughed at us because we had a list, got that stuff and then, we were ready to go. She asked if we wanted to shop anywhere else and we said “No thanks.” That was the best decision. We were then able to just come home and hang out with Kai. If you think about it, here you are, in China, adopting a child, but also realizing that you are IN CHINA. You want to see and do all that you can, but also, you need to be able to not climb in and out of a van all day long to just BE with each other. So that is just what we did.

I so appreciate this time to just be with Kai before we go home. The rest of the group will meet up with us on Sunday. We will do more sight seeing that day. I look forward to seeing just how all of the families are doing.

"OK, yeah"-Kai

I start today with a quote from Kai. Ok-yeah is what he says a lot. We think that is just him saying ok. It is cute though, sort of Jamaican-ish. It is hard to know where to start today. I feel like I have been all over the map of expected and unexpected emotions. Let's start with an update on Kai.

Oh my, this little boy loves to talk, he is quite loud as well! When we go down to have breakfast at the White Swan there are all of these families with their babies and children. Most of them hardly say one peep. Actually, as I write this, I can say that I have seen other babies and kids cry, but not talk. Then you have Mr. Kai, talking to all of the servers, yelling to babies across the room, laughing, throwing his napkin, grabbing our coffee cups, wanting to eat more and more food. I cannot tell you how many laughs we've gotten. He is very funny, lots and lots of energy. Just thinking about the plane ride home is enough to give me an ulcer! Jenny, you are going to have to tutor me in the ways of boys!

We took him to the pool for the first time yesterday. He was a bit hesitant at first, but after about 10 minutes he was sticking his face in the water and just laughing away. We had to watch his to make sure he didn't drink the water.

Big news too, Josh was the first to receive a kiss, unsolicited too. Josh was holding him and talking to him, when Kai just puckered up his big lips and gave him a kiss. This was so delightful to see. One of the neat things about this adoption for me, has been that Josh and I can equally share the parenting from the start. He loves to be with both of us and will go to either. I got my first kiss this morning. So sweet. Since Kai was taken home with his caretakers often, I wonder if he thinks that this is just an extended stay for him. I am not sure if he knows for sure that he is staying with us for good. It is nice to see him open up more and more to us.

We also know that he knows his manners. Yesterday, Josh went to the deli next door to get some lunch for us and on the way out Kai yelled something to the ladies and they laughed. Josh asked them what he said, "He says "Thanks a lot."" Pretty neat. This brings me to the next point of the adoption, it is very strange and sort of difficult to be a new parent to a toddler who talks a lot to everyone, and they talk back to him, and you have no idea what is being said. And the Chinese people know this. Many of the people have laughed and smiled at what Kai says. Many of the Chinese have laughed at us period. Sometimes this is fine, sometimes you just want to be able to struggle through on your own without such an audience.

We went to that Thai restaurant yesterday to get some good food. This was the end of a long day, we had also gone shopping at a big mall earlier, I'll get back to that later, but I will say now, Mom and Jenny, I missed you so much, I am no match and not well-equipped for all this shopping. Anyway, again, everyone in the restaurant was very quiet, and Kai was wound up and totally overstimulated I think. At many of the restaurants, the servers stand right by your table as you eat, I mean right by you. So Kai kept yelling and talking to them, pounding his highchair, squirming to get out, and the servers would talk to him, laugh, try to hid their smiles behind their hands and stare at us. There was a Chinese family next to us with perfectly behaved kids and I felt like they were saying, "Ah, these American families...they do not know how to handle children." We ended up needing to leave. Josh had them pack everything up and we went back to the hotel to put him to bed.

Last night was the first night of real tears from Kai. It did not last long, but it broke my heart. He cried and screamed and looked at me like, "I am just so tired and can't do this anymore." I just rocked him and told him that is was ok to be sad, that I knew this was so much for him, it was a lot for everyone. Just cry, it is ok. he seemed to get this and somehow each time I said it was ok to cry, he seemed to relax. This was the first time that I felt some of my reading paid off. I read that instead of encouraging them to stop, that you need to hold them and let them grieve and be sad. It broke my heart though.

I was also overstimulated and exhausted. Those of you that know me know that I hate to shop. Judy took us to this mall that is like a Wal-mart, sort of yesterday. It was packed! I mean, like take maybe the day before Thanksgiving, and that is what you have in these malls. Just tons of people everywhere. I am really starting to appreciate the blessing of space that we have in the United States. You can understand the population of China when you go out and try to shop or do anything that is not tourist-y. I know that I should have bought more at this mall, but I just did not have it in me. My eyes were probably like saucers the whole time. I had to laugh though, Judy took me to get this coupon at a service desk and told Josh to wait there with the cart. As we walked back in this throng of people, you could immediately spot Josh. Here, Josh is taller than most of the men and his Caucasian head is easy to spot! I just had to laugh, he was just waiting patiently with all these people milling around him.

I am starting to miss home. It seems crazy that we still have over a week to go. I am anxious to get Kai home and start to get him into a routine there. Although, I am also pretty nervous about the plane ride home! Oh goodness. If only they made tranquillizers for kids! He is so very curious. Seriously, he is like Curious George. Thank you so much to all of you that are emailing us, it helps so much. We are so lucky.

We can only email from Starbucks, so if I do not write back it is just because of time, not because I don't want to. I also just realized that Josh has the camera and is out walking Kai around. We have to take turns doing this as he obviously is not going to sit or play quietly in a Starbucks!

I will post a bunch of pictures tomorrow. Hopefully that will be a day just to do nothing and relax a bit.

I can't read Chinese...

Entrance to Forbidden City...notice Chairman Mao...
The emporer's chair at the Forbidden City
This symbol means double happiness and something to do with love...it is supposed to be good luck in love. Josh and I love that stuff!
Pre-Italian ladies at the wall...
How cool is this? We are actually at the Great Wall of China!

So I cannnot figure out how to go back and put the pictures into the other posts, so this will just be some pictures

"I think I am having some culture shock"-Kate

Well, sure enough, you start patting yourself on the back about what a good traveler you are and how you love the world and then you smack into a large and painful wall, called "culture shock." I have some pictures that I will be sure to post here today. I will try to get through as much as I can to explain all that has happened in the last few days, and I also plan to be honest. (Although I much prefer "Kate the world traveler".)

Ok, so yesterday we had to wait until 2:30 to get Kai. What a long day! When we finally got into the car and headed towards the Civil Affairs Bureau I was already almost sick with anticipation. Good though. I cannot describe driving through the city streets to get there. The streets are the size of our alleys, lined withe open shops, people on bikes and walking around. We were curving and swerving and you could not see the sky for all the high rise apartment buildings that line the streets. When we got there we walked down this alley and all of a sudden 3 nanny's carrying baby girls ran across the street while a group of about 20 couples ran out of the building clutching their babies wide eyed. I didn't realize it was sprinkling and they were running to get out of the rain, it just seemed like this massive baby race.

This stunned me. But then we got on the elevator and headed up to the room to receive Kai. He came toddling out, wearing a brand new outfit and a Colts hat waving hello, huge smile on his face. He immediately came to Josh and I, no crying, no problem, all smiles. When I took off his hat I noticed that his head was sort of misshaped. (Cue the massive panic please.)

I asked about his head. Our guide and his Nanny looked at it and laughed, "Chinese head" they said. I guess this is very common in the Chinese culture period but even more common with children from orphanages. But all of a sudden, just what we were doing hit me very hard and scared the crap out of me. This is our son, he is ours now. We had waited so long, worked so hard, anticipated so much. My brain was on overload. And so, as we drove back home, Kai laughed with Josh, talked away, and did fine. Meanwhile, my face turned bright red and I felt a strong desire to you-know-what. Kai was adorable, happy and very well-adjusted and I was feeling scared.

Anyway, I called my parents and they talked to me. I have the best parents in the world! Josh and I are so fortunate to have the parents we do. Dad suggested that maybe I had seen "more of the real China" and was having culture shock. As I surveyed how I was feeling, I realized he was exactly right.

This morning things are much better. We talked to our coordinator and she also said this is very common. Plus, Kai has been charming the pants off of everyone. To prepare for this trip I read every book I could get my hands on about bonding and adjustment. And this kid seems to have made the transition seamlessly. So much for research! Let me share a bit with you about him.

1. He is quick to giggle and laugh. He has a raspy little voice.

2. He loves to play and already says many English words.

3. When we went into the hotel playroom for the kids he played so sweetly with a little baby boy, so gentle. All the families in there could not believe that we hadn't had him 24 hours yet.

4. He talks to every waitress and person we see. Many people are stopping us on the street to talk to him.

5. He does suck his thumb to fall asleep and makes little slurping noises.

6. He is eating A LOT. I am trying to make sure he doesn't get sick. With my nerves he has out eaten me at every meal so far. He is not picky and likes everything we have given him.

Ok, so why the easy transition? Judy, our guide has shared more with us about his orphange. It is located in Foshan, a very rich city. The orphanage is very small and very well supported by the community and the large industry there. I guess the caretakers and the director are paid very well there, and so theyare happy. The caretakers often take the children home with them for a night. Judy asked Kai if he had been out for an overnight stay before. He has. I guess they get very good care. Since this is such a prominent place, usually only children with special needs are given up for adoption. So, it is very small. Kai has said the name of a child that was adopted two months ago many times. He was seven years old and close to Kai. I guess all of them are very close. Pretty neat.

Well, that is about all I have time for today. We'll post again tomorrow. We are using our computer from the Starbucks here. Pretty nice.

We miss you all so much!

"Oh yes, he is good...big eater"-Judy

For those of you that are keeping track, we get Kai today. Yesterday we flew into Guangzhou and met our new guide, Judy. I felt a bit apprehensive about meeting our new guide. Catherine, our guide in Beijing, was just so amazing and sweet and funny. Could we get that lucky again? I had read blogs where people got sort of annoyed with their guides...

Judy met us at baggage claim. She was a little quiet at first, but then once we got in the car we started talking more. And here is the total highlight and wonderful blessing for me so far...We started asking her questions about Kai. Did she know anything about him? "Oh yes," she said. "I go to that orphanage often. Very good, one of my favorites, small. Nanny's good to the children, not many children." Then we asked how he was doing and she immediately laughed and said, " Oh yes, he is good...big eater." Dad, I couldn't help but think of you. Did God pick the right kid for our family or what? Anyway, then she told us a bit more about the kids there. She said that the children at this orphanage are very energetic and clever. " They have much humor." is also what she said. I felt that her knowing of the orphanage and that she has seen him, just last week as a matter of fact, created such a huge sense of relief for us. I cannot believe our luck that our guide just happens to be the one that visits Kai's orphanage and often works with the staff there. Actually, I do not believe it is luck, I believe this is a direct result of all the prayers you are all saying for us.

We meet Kai in just a few hours as I write this. I felt like I would be super nervous or so excited that I would puke, but right now I feel very calm and it just feels good and right. Josh and I went to workout this morning at the hotel's gym, very nice. I couldn't help but think, before we had Elizabeth I took a nap, (the epidural was taking effect and I felt no pain, natural labor is for the birds!) now before we have Kai, I am working out. I wonder if that will be an indicator of how it will be like to parent them as well? Who knows? Just kind of a funny thought. Ok, one more funny random thought, while we were working out, a few people came in to workout as well. One woman, not American I don't think, was running on the treadmill holding her "chest" shall we say the whole time. I just thought that was sort of interesting. Who needs a sports bra anyway? Ok, again, not at all important, but interesting...

Other neat people that we saw today, an older couple dancing in the middle of this park, a set of little children, from a school I believe, all in uniform, out for their morning walk. I think these kids were about 3 years old, a young man who stopped us on the street to speak with us and practice his English, "Excuse me sir, do you mind if I practice my English with you." He is studying computers and wants to go to the States.

Guangzhou has a population of 15 million people! The drive from the airport to the hotel was eye-opening. For miles and miles all your can see are high rise apartment buildings. It is like nothing either Josh or I have ever seen before, even in Chicago. Our guide said that in 2003 the population was 12 million. She said there are a lot of jobs here and people get paid much more. In the small towns you can get about 80 American dollars a month, in Guangzhou, you can expect to make 800-1,000 per month. And you receive raises after you accumulate experience, in a surrounding town you can work 5 years with no raise.

I am so surprised by how much we love it here. Not that I thought I would NOT like it, but I truly love it. The people are just beautiful, the customer service is amazing no matter where you go, there is so much here that I want to see and learn more about. It makes me want to go and live in another country. If we like China this much, what other places around the world are there also many lessons to learn and people to see? I have never thought of myself as a good traveler at all, but we seem to be doing so well together. Josh and I are a good team.

Last night we went out to eat at a Thai restaurant. It was SOOOOOOO yummy! We are trying to taste new and different things each day. I was actually so proud of myself yesterday, as I had Chinese noodles for breakfast. It sounded good to me, and that is what they eat here for breakfast. Anyway, we really enjoyed dinner last night. When we arrived the place was empty, but then literally the entire place filled with a group of adoptive families. A good 100 people. Everywhere you look there are families with little baby girls. I haven't seen any boys yet. So we will be the special ones. I also haven't seen many older children either.

So, our guide, Judy is going to take us to get a USB cord today as long as Kai is doing ok. Oh, and she also said that when we go visit the orphanage we can take all the kids snacks and some toys if we want, so we are also going to go to a toy market before our visit there. I am so excited to see where Kai has lived all this time. Plus, since the orphanage is really small, I think we will be able to see most of it.

Also, I want to just thank everyone for all the praying for us you have done. I believe without a doubt that your prayers are being felt and that is why we are feeling so good and happy and loving this trip so much. We honestly feel like such a blessed couple. We are hoping that Kai (Lun, Lun) pronounced like loon loon, does ok with meeting us. Getting ready this morning I told Josh I feel like I am going on a first date with someone.

Ok, next time we write we will have more to tell you about our little boy!

We love you guys!

Kate and Josh

ps- Jenny, we got your message, you are the best sister ever! I love you and we'll talk to you soon! Ann and Harry-Sorry we missed you guys too. Sounds like you are having fun. We love you! Mom and Dad, we'll talk to you soon. And our beautiful girl Elizabeth, we are missing you like crazy. We have found many little things that you will like that we will bring home to you sweet pea. I hear you are having a great time. We love you around the world and back. "Your my little, your my little, your my little girl...." Remember how that song goes? I'll sing it to you when we get home! Have tons of fun! We know you are!

"That Italian lady kept pushing me."-Josh

I have to start today's post with a story about Josh at the Great Wall. First of all, I absolutely have no idea how to portray the Great Wall. I wish I had my USB cord to post some pictures, but we have been unlucky with that. I promise we will find a way to get one by the time we get Kai, Oh which reminds me we learned more information about Kai, that is more important, so let me digress from the Josh story for a minute, as good as it is...

We got this little questionnaire from our coordinator yesterday. Here is what we learned about Kai:

His nick name-Lun Lun

He has a small birthmark on his back.

He can use a spoon to eat.

He likes to suck his finger while sleeping. His nanny's tell him not to do this, as they feel the drool gets into his ear to cause an ear infection. So that answered the ear question we had about him, it was an ear infection. This made me sort of sad to think of him trying to self sooth and them not letting him. Hopefully he will like the little stuffed animals and quilt we have for him.

He does not throw temper tantrums for no reason. He is a good boy. When he gets fussy you can hold him for awhile or take him to play outside. (He sounds like an outdoor kid! Yes!)

He is an active boy and can sometimes push other kids to play. We'll see how that goes!

So, that is what we know now. Pretty exciting.

So, back to Josh and the Italian ladies. Well, the fabulous part of the Great Wall, outside of the structure itself, was that it was such a global place. There were people there from all over the world there. Anywhere you turned you could hear, German, French, Italian, etc. The thing about some of these women, they were climbing the wall in skirts and dresses and high heals! Crazy! The wall is very steep and the stairs are pretty high. So, you really have to lunge up to get up some of the stairs. Anyway, when you get to a certain point, you can stop and get certification that you climbed the Great Wall. Of course we stopped for that. You get to chose from a plaque with your name carved in it, or your picture taken on a "hero card". We wanted both so Josh did the picture and I did the plaque. A group of lovely Italian women stopped at the same time as we did. To paint a picture for you, one woman had a big white straw hat with a little battery operated fan somehow installed in the front. She was very tan and was singing a song when we first stopped.
The other woman, the "pushy one" had red hair with a thick blond streak framing the front of her face. They all had pearly eye shadow, lots of eye liner and painted toe nails with dressy high healed sandals. Poor Josh, love him to death, but he isn't the most assertive in a crowd. So, while I held my own with the ladies on the plaque side, once they moved to the picture side, Josh, who was there first, didn't have a chance. They swarmed in and pushed forward. I waited and watched and tried hard not to laugh. Which totally did not work, it was way too funny. Once they had their cards in hand, Josh was able to get his. As we started the climb to the next watch tower, I was still laughing as Josh said, "That Italian Lady pushed me... twice!"

The wall is just breath taking. I wish we would have had more time to climb there. I would have loved to climb all the way to the top.

Last night I woke up at 1 am and couldn't sleep just thinking about Kai and hoping it all goes well. Our coordinator, Catherine, also said that they are told that they are being adopted and probably already know. Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou. I am looking forward to getting settled in there and then getting Kai (Lun Lun). We so appreciate all emails. I miss everyone a lot and getting email is really nice. Thank you for your continued prayers as well.

Till next time!

I am not calling housekeeping to figure out how to turn the lights on.

Hello from China! First, I need to apologize, I forgot our USB cord, so we'll have to buy one here, until then, no pictures.

The blogging site is also all in Chinese, so hopefully this comes out ok. Having warned you of that, let's chat...

Our trip went beautifully! We made all our flights and the time went by very quickly. Emily and Bob, we were laughing through "Wedding Crashers" for part of our trip thanks to you guys!
Interestingly though, I found that my feet and ankles swelled up about half way through our traveling! You should have seen my toes! They were like fat little sausages. It sort of concerned me. My body isn't used to sitting that long I guess. Josh had me doing toe raises and calf stretches to try and get the blood circulating! No headaches and no puking, no even close to it! I will take fat feet over puking any day! Seriously though, the traveling was a piece of cake. We were amazed at the ease of it all!

So here is now I am going to do this. I want to start each blog with a quote. Today's is about when we first got to the hotel. Which is very swanky! Unbelieveable! Everyone is wearing uniforms. The women are all beautiful, like models, here at the hotel! Anyway, we got to our room last night around 11pm. And we could not figure out how to get the lights to turn on. We would get them on and then about 30 seconds later they would flip off again. We have our pride you know, neither one of us would call to figure out how to use the lights! Josh finally figured it out. What you do is slide your room key into this slot and leave it there, then you have to flick on this master switch and the lights will work. If you take the key out the room thinks you are gone and turns the lights off. Great energy conservation! It took us awhile to figure that out. For while we had to open the door and let the hall lights provide us enough light to see things!

We have an easy day today. We were able to walk around Bejing today. It is just beautiful and I so love it already. I imagined myself entering China with open arms, trying to absorb everything that I can. And that is precisely what I intend to do! We went to a department store that is walking distance from the hotel. 4 women dressed again in an elaborate uniform come out of the doors and make this presentation to the crowd before openning up the doors. Then they line the walkway when you walk in, bow and say something to you and you walk past. The employees also line the escalators, bow and say something to you as you get on. Very formal. They had a person standing at attention in front of every section of the department. When you walk into their section, they will approach you and assist you with anything. Neat! Everything so far has been very clean. We also found the "night life" street. It has a bunch of pubs. Josh and I want to go there one night and get a drink, just to check it out. Of course Josh is looking to try a new beer or two. There was a group of guys sitting out on the street there as we walked by, I didn't hear it, but one of the guys lit a cigarette and said, "Hey, Hot Mama!" to me! HA! Funny! That made me laugh. Josh got a kick out of it.

Today we meet two other couples here and we'll go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, then on the an Acrobatic Show. I cannot wait. I am feeling really good today. Josh is sleeping now. He woke up early, excited, and had trouble getting back to sleep.

Oh, also, I found my contacts. For the family we've already emailed. YAY! AND to my mom and Dad and all of you that put together the beautiful book for Josh and I, thank you so much! We openned it today. We love you guys so much. We chose to read a page a day!

Ok, I will write more soon!

Kate

Whoops, this ended up down here. But Josh and I also thought we would chose a person or two a day that really caught our attention.

Our favorite person so far today: Man on the roadside fixing a bike. He had like a little station set up there down this one side street. I wanted to take a picture of him, but didn't, I worry that people won't like it. Need to get over that. The bikes here are like this graceful flow of people gliding by. I could sit on a bench and just watch people ride their bikes along. For example, an older man almost got hit by a car, but he just made a swift and smooth swerve, not jerky or annoyed at all... just a slide to the side, a wide arch, and then off again, without bating an eye. The car didn't honk, just slipped past the bike. Really, for a big city, there isn't the craziness that I expected. It is also very quiet I feel like. I don't know, so far, I love it.

"So, do you think you'll throw up when we get to China?"

The conversation each night between Josh and I has been about our trip to China. Does Kai have any idea that we are coming? How will I be able to sit on a flight for 18+ hours? What will we feel like when we step off the plane into China? AND of course, "Will you throw up when we get to China?"

Interestly enough, according to my mom, my dad asked her a version of this same question about me when they were discussing our trip as well. Ah, what a beautiful reputation I have. My answer to this question, "Probably." I am known to be a tad bit neurotic, but what I like to think of, in an endearing way. Like funny Ha, Ha, neurotic, not anal retentive-high strung-tight lipped-get a migraine and start puking uncontrollably- neurotic. Unfortunately, history would claim me as the later category.

I love to day dream of myself as a globally aware, adventure driven, open minded, dive into in type of person. I definitely married a "dive into it" person. In reality, I am more of a "Let's read about it, research it, make a list about it, develop a plan for it, get ready to execute that plan and suddenly maybe start to change my mind and feel like 'What was I thinking in the first place?' Then, I tend to want to sit on it for awhile, just to be sure how I really feel. This is when being married to Josh is great, as he gently will say, "OK, here we go. " And will calmly help me push forward, or at least hold my hair back while I puke.

My last delve into international travel didn't go so well. I did part of my student teaching overseas in Ireland. I was so excited about this endeavor, but rather nervous as well. On the flight over I started seeing the dreaded "floaters", a sure sign of an impending migraine. Sure enough, an impressively massive migraine headache swooped in, and while other passengers blissfully drooled on their mini-airplane pillows, I spent the flight walking back and forth to the closet bathroom, puking into the stainless steel-hole. When I finally got off the plane and found my way to where my host family was supposed to be, it took them awhile to pick me out as Mary, my host mother said, "You were literally green. We kept looking at your picture, looking at you, and trying to figure out if it was indeed you."

I have a history of getting sick as a kid when we traveled other places as well. So, having said this, I am really hoping to overcome this little trend of mine. My plan is the following, (yes I have a plan, of course I have plan!)

1. Try to not make too many plans and really focus on the present moment. (This plan does not count though)

2. Keep a good sense of humor about myself and this trip. I know that this trip is a big deal, but I do want to laugh a lot and go with the flow of things. "Our tickets aren't showing up on the computer? Oh my... won't this make a good story some day!" See, I am practicing!

3. Be kind to myself and try not to kill myself with unrealistic expectations. Sometimes I put myself through boot camp for no apparent reason. So, if I make a mistake I plan to be gentle with myself about it. I tend to research things to death, hoping I won't make any mistakes then. So, I plan to make lots of mistakes and be OK with it!

So, there you go, my three rules for myself for this travel. I'm also including a couple of pictures from this week. One is of the quilt my mom made for Kai. It is a tradition in our family that my mom makes an unique quilt for each of the grandchildren. I cannot wait to wrap Kai up in this lovely quilt.




The next one is a few of Elizabeth playing catch with Josh in our backyard this week. I had to capture this as I am fiercely proud of her. Seeing her dressed up in all her jeweled flip-flops, skirt and tutu while throwing a baseball with such power and force, (you should see this girl throw!), well, I just felt so proud. How wonderful to live in a time where a girl can dress up to her heart's content and still exert athleticism and power. The feminist in me just swelled watching her.