Home

I think I know why there are so many quotes, songs, stories, etc. about the beauty of HOME.  There is nothing like walking through your front door after being gone for a while.  This whole experience did not seem completely real until I saw our daughter unpacking her suitcase and putting everything away at 1:00 in the morning. 

Lorelei is doing really well overall.  She has adjusted to all of the changes better than we would have to be sure.  She has moments of sadness and frustration, of course, but she is trying so hard.  Please keep her in your prayers.

So far, this is what we've learned about Lorelei:

• She loves our dogs and is their new best friend.  She throws the ball for Indy more than he could ever want, and Panda will never be short of belly rubs.
• She has a keen fashion sense.  Loves skirts, dresses, headbands, and pretty shoes.  (No crocs for her!) 
• She is great at puzzles, and likes doing anything on the computer.
• She loves ketchup and french fries, actually ketchup with pretty much anything!
• She can drive a mean race car (think video games at Flight Deck!).
• Barbies?  Arts & crafts?  Jewelry?  Yes, yes, and yes!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story!

First night at home

Playing Barbies with our neighbor Mary

Sweet sign on our front porch from dear friends

August 22 & 23/Pearl River Cruise and saying goodbye

Wow, I can't believe how quickly our time here is coming to an end.  Perhaps it's because we are getting out and about more on our own and we're finding lots to do.  Yesterday we finally made it to our U.S. Consulate appointment and we are now approved to get on a plane bound for the states with Lorelei.  Later in the day we went on a night time dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  Guangzhou is all lit up at night for the river boats.  Really beautiful!

Oh, and yesterday we also went to a *huge* bookstore (six stories!! heaven!) and found books that are in Chinese and English and a few Disney movies in Chinese too.  Lorelei has already watched Snow White on baba's computer.  There is also a museum of a Han dynasty emperor just down the street from our hotel.  It was found intact about 20 years ago, so we headed there to check the excavation site and the many treasures that were found there.   Very cool!  Looking back, is it any wonder we were asleep before our heads hit the pillows last night?

Today all of the families in our travel groups met to take pictures and say goodbye, at least for now.  We are from all over the U.S., from all walks of life, but brought together by this shared experience of finding our children here.  Being here together and weathering the ups and downs has been such a wonderful thing... we can't imagine what this journey would have been like without them. 

riding the escalator at our hotel--every time we leave or return!

with our guide, Jason, who is now part of our family too

August 21/Sightseeing and shopping

Today we went on a tour with our fearless guide, Jason, and a whole bus-load of adopting families.  Our first stop was the Six Banyan's Temple, which is known for its pagoda.  There were many altars and different buddhas, including one female buddha!  Kyle and Lorelei enjoyed throwing coins into one altar.  Supposedly if you can get one to go through it, you will have good fortune.

Next we went to the Provincial Folk Art Museum, or Old Chen House.  It's also known as the Chen Clan Ancestral Temple.  The building itself is a work of art, the best preserved Qing Dynasty building in Guangdong Province.  Each room highlights a different type of art that Guangdong is known for, including carvings (brick, stone, wood, ivory), embroidery, and painting.  Chris was fascinated by "hand painting," which is done with no brushes, just hands and fingers.  Amazing! 

the entrance to the museum

a piece of the roofline/they have to repaint every five years or so

this wood carving is from one piece of wood!

 Last stop: the Guangdong Art and Craft Center.  Translation: shopping! We could have dropped some serious money here--there were so many beautiful things... tea sets, embroidery, jewelry, sculpture, porcelain figures.... but we stuck to my "list" of important things.  A traditional outfit for Lorelei and pieces of jade for Chris and I to wear.  The Chinese tradition is to pass down the jade from parent to child when the child is an adult, usually when he or she gets married.  So we will get to wear them for a few years at least!  Somehow a pretty fan and an embroidered purse for a certain young lady got purchased as well. 

Someone loves to shop!!

We ended the day with another wonderful meal with our group, this time Cantonese food.  Our Chinese food at home does not even come close to the food here; it is soooo good.  One thing we will definitely miss about being here!  (Although I have to admit...  a steak sounds really good right now.)

August 20/Red couch photo

Today we went back to Shamian Island to have Lorelei's TB test read.  While we were there, we stopped in at the White Swan hotel to have a look around.  This hotel is famous in adoption circles because many families have stayed there.  I have heard about the "red couch photo" since we started the adoption process, where the babies are dressed in traditional Chinese clothes and lined up on the couch together for a picture.  Well, despite not having any Chinese clothing or babies, we got a family "red couch" memory.

the waterfall in the middle of the White Swan hotel

one of many jade sculptures

August 19/Safari Park and a new perspective on parenting

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”

I'm borrowing this from a church friend's Facebook wall because I needed it today--COURAGE.  Courage in the face of huge changes that will be expected of me in order to parent this precious girl in the way that she needs.  Courage to allow my need to be in charge to take a backseat to her need for a bit of control.  Courage to believe--in the challenging moments when it's easy to feel overwhelmed--that things will get better. 

Not to worry... we are all doing fine in the aftermath of our first little "storm."   And each day is "fresh with no mistakes in it", to borrow a line from Anne of Green Gables.  That thought has never been more comforting to me!

Now, onto the Safari Park.  Wow!  We all enjoyed it, the kids especially.  It seemed like a completely new experience to Lorelei; she really liked the safari ride through the park.  Our girl does not like to be hot and sweaty (neither does her mama), so by the end she was ready to go.

Next to figure out how to get enough dinner in her today.  Last night she downed three bowls of fried rice, five dumplings, and an entire plate of an asparagus-like vegetable!  And I think she could have kept on going!

August 18/Medical Exam and Pearls :-)

Today we took Lorelei to have her medical exam and she did great, although her mama was a little worse for wear by the end.  The clinic here was definitely an experience.  I am SO grateful for our CCAI guide, Jason.  He is a wonder!  He navigates us through all of our hurdles and requirements like he's done this a thousand times.  (Actually, he has--he told us that he has helped 2600 families since starting with CCAI.)  Lorelei was not sure about getting her visa photo taken today; we ended up mugging around for the camera to help her feel comfortable, and that is how this photo happened! This is my badge of motherhood picture!

Afterwards we headed to the pearl market to do some shopping.  The market is actually hundreds of small jewelry stores in one multi-story building.  Jason guided us to a reputable store and Lorelei now has pearls for someday. 

the pearl market

Our paperwork process is almost done.  After our consulate appointment on Monday, we will have done everything we need to come home.  In the meantime, we will do some more sightseeing and touring.  Tomorrow... the safari park!  It's supposed to be fantastic (and they have pandas!).

at Yue Xiu park near our hotel

August 17/Day 2 in Family Age

I have been reading a book about international adoption that says you should think about how old your child is in her "family age," or how long she has been with you.  This is helpful when considering how much Lorelei has to learn about being part of our family.  I think she is doing remarkably well so far.  There have been moments when I could tell she felt scared or uncertain about the situation, but for the most part, she is trusting us in those moments.  I am just amazed by that! 

Today we went to a city park close to our hotel for a few hours.  It was beautiful (and HOT), but the neatest thing was a playground that was for exercise!  All ages, young and old, playing and exercising together.  There were also groups doing tai chi and dance lessons in other areas.  Later in the day, we went to apply for Lorelei's Chinese passport to come to the U.S.  Each piece of paperwork is one day closer to coming home!
Tomorrow we go for her medical exam, but thank goodness, we found out today that she does not have to get immunizations here.  Please pray that she does well!

A ride in the park

She has figured out how to use our video camera!

Shutterfly link

If you are interested in seeing more of our pictures, go to http://williamsfamilytochina.shutterfly.com/

August 16/It's official! We are family!

Today we went back to the Guangdong Civil Affairs Office to file the official adoption paperwork with the Chinese government.  We met with the registrar, the notary, and had a family picture taken.  Lorelei got a bit upset before taking the photograph (perhaps she was not sure about the high chair in the room?) and she withdrew into a corner and didn't want to talk for a while.  I have to admit....  I was scared.  One of the things she was supposed to do is sign her name when they ask her if she wanted to be adopted and come to America with us.  (And for a few minutes... I wasn't sure what she would do.)  Both Chris and I were sending up some prayers!  As it turned out, a sticker book that I brought with me was just the thing to restart the communication.  After that, she was back "with" us and she did great.  By the way, her handwriting in Chinese characters is just beautiful!

Our official family photo! (For the government--only parents and adopted child)

The Williams Family: Chris, Jennifer, Lorelei, & Kyle

Afterwards, we went with our travel group to Carrefour to pick up some supplies to help us make it another 8 days here.  Carrefour is a bit like Walmart, just divided into different floors.  Lorelei didn't know what to make of it at first, but then she caught on that what was going in the cart, was coming home with us.  The other families were there for strollers, diapers, formula.... us, we ended up with jump ropes, snacks, and swimming pool toys! 

Yes, the carts go up and down the escalators!

We are loving the emails and comments on the blog.  We can feel the love and support from here... you all are the best.

August 15/The rest of the story

We went to the McDonalds (right across the street from our hotel) and a good time and full bellies were had by all.  Lorelei knew exactly what she wanted, and it wasn't a hamburger!  (That was what we thought was her favorite food.)  She pointed at the strawberry milkshake several times and seemed to know that of course, mama and baba would get that for her.  She also really liked the spicy fried chicken.  (McDonalds is a *little* different than at home, mild is NOT in their vocabulary!)

Once we were back to the room, taking showers, and skyping with grandma, before we knew it, it was time for bed.  I think all of us were tired after the day!  Especially our sweet girl, who had a long bus ride yesterday followed by a lot of excitement.

We were able to talk for a bit with the woman who brought her yesterday, which was absolutely great.  She told our guide that it was good that Lorelei was talking with us, not being shy at all.  She tends to get quiet and withdraw when she feels unsafe or uncomfortable.  The orphanage staff have prepared her well to come to us.

She enjoyed showing us all of her pictures and her things she brought with her.  The orphanage also sent a cd of pictures from Shantou and some other keepsakes.  They obviously cared about her very much!  We are so grateful for that.

the playground at our hotel

She LOVED Kyle's MP3 player--Chris got her a pair of headphones,
but I think she will need her own music soon as well.

August 15/ And now we are four

Ready to leave for the Civil Affairs Office

Mommy and daughter

Dad and Anxiang mugging for the camera

Can we say...two peas in a pod?

We are doing great so far... lots of silliness and fun!  We may not speak the same language yet, but we are definitely kindred spirits!  Will tell more story later because I've got some hungry people here!

August 15/This is the day!

Words don't come easy for all that we are feeling today.  We are literally hours away from meeting our sweet girl!  We are thinking about how she is doing... riding on a bus from her city to here.  We are wondering if we will live up to her expectations.  We are excited... so excited... to finally have her with us!  In the midst, I hear His voice, telling me that He has "got this."  Not to worry.

"But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:31

The train ride from Hong Kong to Guangzhou yesterday was a great time for us to get to know our group a bit.  The other four families are all adopting babies from Yangtze.  A few are first time parents who have been waiting over five years for their "due date."  I can't wait to see their first meetings today too.

Guangzhou feels like the "real" China in comparison to Hong Kong.  Looking forward to seeing more of this beautiful country in the next week.

Kyle finally gave out yesterday afternoon

I will post pictures as soon as I can!  Love to you all!

August 13/Adventures in Hong Kong

Today we were up nice and early to go on a tour with the travel groups from our adoption agency. Lots of nice families, several with kids along for the ride too. Here are some highlights:

on a sampan boat cruising through a fishing village/the building behind
us is a huge floating restaurant

the view of Hong Kong from Victoria peak

at a jewelry factory

We had a delicious dim sum lunch, which was a new experience for us.  Hong Kong is known for its dim sum.  Kyle liked the dumplings best, but he tried everything.  I’m really proud of him for how well he’s handling our trip so far. 

Later, after a good nap, we caught up with Stewart Hughes, a young man from our church who is studying here in Hong Kong.  He seemed REALLY glad to see us, judging by the big hugs we got!  He showed us some of his favorite places (and foods!) here…

a night-time laser show on the harbor...

...the Hubble IMAX movie at the Hong Kong space museum...

...the Star Ferry to downtown Hong Kong...

...Bubble Tea!  It is this chai-style tea with licorice "bubbles" at the bottom. 

His favorite noodle place in the Mong Kok market… here we are walking behind the vendor stalls to get to it…

Thanks Stewart for showing us the town!

Next stop… Guangzhou!  We will be taking the train there tomorrow. 

August 12/We are here!

A few really good things….

               *We survived an almost 15-hour flight with our sanity intact!  (Thank you Korean Air for the wonderful in-flight entertainment—highly recommend flying with them if you are coming to Asia.)

               *All of our luggage got here too.  Yeah!!!

               *Our agency, CCAI, has got fantastic people working for them here.  Kudos to Matthew for waiting at our hotel until we arrived at 1 a.m.!

We will be touring Hong Kong tomorrow and seeing Stewart!

One of the really big planes (the other one was an Airbus! Chris loved that!)

Kyle making a lotus flower fan in the Seoul airport: a neat way to spend a layover