Settling in...

I would like to be more patient. More gentle. Less frustrated. Less irritable.

Oh! And proper perspective all of the time. Easypeasy.

This last one is key...because overall, Ava-Yin has done AMAZING...and I mean, super, duper amazing. I didn't realize what a blessing the timing of the travel would be, but because it was over the Christmas/New Year season, Lee has not had to return to work yet-that happens on Thursday. Eeeek!

So...we've been able to totally focus on getting her into a routine. Did you know I like routine? It makes me blissfully happy, content, and feel in control when everyone in the household follows THE (aka MY) routine. I was so excited that we recovered from jet lag within a few days. Those 3:45am wake ups were killer! Once we had that hurdle jumped it was time to schedule her naps and bed times. 

She was all for it... HAHAHAHA!!

Look at this picture...aren't they cute?

Yeah, well, this took two hours...from 8-10...to get to this point. Not a part of the routine.

After a couple of nights of wild party in the girl's room, we decided to bunk their beds. Ava-Yin is on the top bunk, bc we figured she'd be less likely to try to climb down. Instead, she fell off five minutes after I walked out of the room. This was the first time she cried from being in pain. Whoops. No serious injuries though, and back up she went. She fell asleep after that.

Since then, at nap time and bed time, I post myself outside of their room until Ava-Yin is asleep. The goal is to not let them get riled up. So in and out I go. It seems like a really long time of persistent, tender-loving good nights...but it's really only been 15-30 minutes tops. <insert above wish list>

We do have immediate tears any time she is told no, or doesn't get her way. But, she suffers quietly,  and it's a great opportunity to snuggle and love on her. Sometimes, she seems to love us right back. Other times, she is barely tolerating us...hard to believe, isn't it? And then other times, she wants nothing to do with anyone...

When we aren't forcing slumber on her, we are playing and doing our daily chores and such. We've only left the house three times for very short in-town trips, and she's done well each time. It is a juggle trying to be sure all four of the kiddos are given good attention. Briton, Zoe and Ava-Yin demand it-usually at the same time, and usually about food. Sometimes I wonder if I've even spoken to Caleb during the day! Poor Bub!

At the end of the day, though, I can look back and be confident that this house is full of JOY. Thank you, Lord for joy.

Lee has just politely reminded me it's 7:02. Wish me luck! I'll be pacing outside a certain bedroom if anyone needs me!

JOY-Caleb and Ava-Yin.

The Day They First Met.

Aunt Mandy brought Caleb, Briton and Zoe home from Ga where they had been staying with Lee's parents for almost three weeks. HUGE SHOUT OUT to Ed and Ellen Kirkland and Mandy Cook for taking excellent care of these three while we were in China. Ed was our full-time care giver day in and day out....he's probably still sleeping and trying to recover. Ellen would work long hours at school and then come home and be the amazing Mamo she is to them all evening and all weekend long. I swear she never gets tired! And then Mandy drove all the way down from Newnan on several occasions to be an extra set of hands. You all are amazing and we thank you so much!

We put Ava-Yin down for an early nap and just let her sleep it out-hoping that would help to reset her clock- maybe then she'd sleep later than 3:15am the next morning. She had gone to sleep around 10am, and it was now 2, so we decided to get her up to get ready to meet her brothers and sister. Trouble is, you don't  actually wake Ava-Yin up. She sleeps so hard, that when forced awake, she's literally in a fog for quite some time.

And this was her state when the siblings arrived. Comatose standing up and eyes open. The boys spoke very gently to her and handed her small toys and did really well entering into her life. I just don't think she was awake to see it. Zoe didn't have too much to do with her. She gave me a huge hug, then ran outside to play. Ava-Yin stood by Lee or me and just watched. For a good hour. 

Then, like a light switch, she woke up out of her daze and began interacting with her new family. It was really fun to watch unfold. Even little Zoe, opened up and began talking to her big sister. The four played with toys, ran up and down the stairs, and played on the playground all afternoon and evening. Lots of joyful sounds.

Then the girls really became fast friends at bedtime! Took me an hour and being stationed outside their room on the stairs to finally get them settled down! I guess that's good for their bonding...even if it is teaming up against me!

Stateside

We couldn't have asked for a better travel buddy! Ava-Yin did great. We left our hotel at 8:30am and flew out of Guangzhou and into Beijing.

SECURITY was thorough at this place. At least four different checkpoints. We even had one on the bridge leading into the aircraft!!

Our flight to Detroit was 13 hours. She played, watched the tv screens, ate, etc. until 2am and then finally crashed for the last couple of hours.

We got put at the front of our very own customs line, so we avoided major wait times and gridlocks. And just like that, she became an American citizen! And we were done with our international travel.

From landing to our hotel shuttle was approximately 30 mins. Waaaay faster than I was expecting;)

We stayed up until 9pm and managed to sleep til 3:15am. Jet lag. Blah.

 We're hanging around the hotel for a while longer and then head to the airport for our final hop home!!

Consulate appt: wet docs and throw up

The day after we arrived in Guangzhou, we met with our guide, Miko, and spent a good hour going over the official documents that would be submitted to the consulate today.

Once we were done filling out and compiling the necessary paperwork, we were to place everything in a plastic envelope, place in the safe and NOT open again. Easy enough...AKA these are very important. DON'T TOUCH!! This much I understand!!

We were also instructed to put child's snack and water in a clear plastic bag. No watches, bags, cameras, or purses allowed in the Consulate. 

It was raining today, so I got the bright idea to put EVERYTHING in our plastic ziplock: official docs folder, snacks and water bottles.

We got to the lobby after jumping puddles and dodging umbrellas only to find that Ava-Yin's water bottle had leaked, in its entirety, all over our official docs. They were dripping wet. We called Miko over so she could assess the situation. Lee, Miko, and our traveling buddy, Jeff, grabbed tissues and start drying off the water. Patting. Not wiping. We wouldn't want to smudge the ink!!

Meanwhile, Ava-Yin is not willing to unleash me since we are outside of the hotel. So I'm knelt down holding her when Miko points and says 'she sick?'

You got it. In the midst of frantically trying to spare our consulate papers, ava-yin throws up in the lobby. Thankfully, it wasn't a lot and I was able to clean us up with baby wipes.

As with everything else in China, we were in a time crunch. Miko put our docs back in correct order, stuffed them back in the plastic envelope and off we went to the consulate. Wet and smelly were we.

Finally, it was our turn at 'the window.' I decided there really was no point in launching into a huge explanation of what had led up to the baptism of our official papers. So I basically handed them to our officer and said, 'ummm...these are wet.' He looked at us with a questioning glance and then began pealing our papers a part. He was very nice, and thankfully the most importance piece of paper was fairly dry, and so he pushed our paperwork through the process.

Miko assured us we are the first family with this issue. She will, from now on, advise families not to place their docs in the same bag as the sippy cup.

Ava-Yin has not thrown up since.

Shopping and naps

Shopping here in Guangzhou is SO fun! Cool stuff everywhere at crazy affordable prices!!

That's what we've done the past couple of mornings. I'm not a very good shopper, but this has been fun. We've bought Jewelry, clothes, scrolls, swords, chopsticks, ornaments, and other odds and ends. All for around $500!!!! CRAAAAZY! This kind of shopping I can get used to!!

We've been getting back to the hotel room around 1 and Ava-Yin takes her nap. She's still been very clingy to me once we leave the hotel room, and today she wanted me to carry her everywhere. So by the time we get back here, we're both pretty tired. It's so nice that she falls right to sleep. Lee and I eat lunch together, then read, Facebook, blog, whatever we want...we feel very spoiled by this little one so far.

This afternoon we have to stay in our rooms from 2-4. We will receive a phone call if there's an issue with her TB test. No phone call is a good thing. We're 45 mins in...

From Beijing to Guangzhou. From dad to mom.

Has it really almost been a week??! How is that even possible??!

We did do a few more tours in Beijing...and then headed down south to Guangzhou.  This was the day that Ava-Yin began to change her alligence somewhat.

Up until this point, Lee was pretty favored. She would still go to me, but she definitely preferred Lee. I knew this was not unusual and So, I would sit and watch them play, he would hold her hand or carry her while we were out. i tried mainly to be available, but also non-threatening and not pushy. I knew it would just be a matter of time before she succumbed to my charm;)

It happened at the airport. I think the environment made her a little nervous-I make her feel safe. Lee's fun to play with...but I provide security. I kinda like it.

She was pretty clingy to me when we went shopping today...should be interesting to see how long this trend goes. 

Gotcha day!

She was waiting for us in the office. All bundled up and sitting in a chair. I knelt down in front of her and wiggled her feet and gently patted her legs. Took out her new stuffed bear from her book bag.  Slowly, I sat beside her and stroked her hair.

I really tried to be non-threatening and to gently insert myself into her life. Her nannies had a different approach. They were very excited and would point and say 'mama! Baba!' Then they had her kiss each of us. Even though I wasn't comfortable with them coercing her like this, we just rolled with it.

I eventually got her on my lap and she soon began to cry. A lot was going on around us, and I think she knew she was leaving soon. I rocked her and we cried together. She got pretty loud at one point, and when we left she really got upset. But the Lord instilled such peace in my heart. I knew this was giving me my first opportunity to bond and comfort her. 

The crying lasted a good while. We tried a lollipop, crackers, juice...she would take it all, but still cry.

At this point we were at the notary office. I brought out the bubbles. HA! SUCCESS! She never smiled, but she would pop the bubbles and she stopped crying. After a while, she gave it all up and fell asleep in my arms. Ahhhh....we're gonna be ok...

The Orphanage visit and chicken pox drama

I really had no idea what we would see once we were inside the orphanage. You hear horror stories about some places, and I had not heard much about Ava-Yin's. I was pleasantly surprised.

There are several buildings that make up this SWI (Social Welfare Institute) and they were surrounded by big playgrounds and a nice-looking garden area.

We didn't get to see where she slept or ate. Instead they took us to the classrooms. Each room was dedicated to a specific area of learning and/or development: music, dancing, art, computers, physical therapy, fine motor skills, math, and more. We couldn't take pictures, but I remember thinking that every room was clean, organized, colorful and fun! I even told Lee "she's gonna be bored at home"!:) There seemed to be 3-5 caregivers for each small group of children. Again, we didn't see every area, or everyone, but what we did see was very positive to me.

Our drama: when we got Ava-Yin, I asked if she was taking any meds. They told me no, and then a few minutes later handed me several medicine samples. I wrote how many times/day she was to take each one...but I never understood what they were for. We foud out later-Chicken pox. She didn't have many on her face and she was all bundled up, so we didn't realize til later that the breakout was all over her back and tummy. Great. Lee and I have already had them, and the family we're traveling with was fine...except for their new daughter-not vaccinated. Helen called folks at our adoption agency and they immediately took steps to separate our two families

:((((...this just stinks because we've really enjoyed the Maddoxs. Totally awesome family.

Anyway...the 'quarantine' has not been a huge deal, BUT, since she's only had the virus since Sunday, we're concerned the doctor who clears us to leave for the US, may want us to stay in-country for a while longer. We won't know til Saturday, I believe. You know what's next: please pray the virus is running its course now and she'll be cleared on Saturday. 

Other than this little hiccup, she is doing so well!!

Orphanage visit and chicken pox drama

How to cross the road:

You could play frogger and run up and down, side to side and hope for the best. But I've never been very good at frogger, so my new and almost proven method of crossing the road is The Human Shield. Yup...find an unsuspecting road-crosser and hide behind him and walk when he walks and stand when he stands. This actually works until The Shield breaks out in a sprint and you're left standing there unprotected. Can you say HOOD ORNAMENT??!

Today was a fun day of touring Tiananmen Square, forbidden city, and temple of heaven. We ate an authentic Chinese meal for lunch, got our money exchanged at the bank and then got back to our hotel by 3pm. We then walked 10 mins down the road and walked all over the mall for the remainder of the evening. 

Jet lag has not been too bad...made it til 9pm tonight!

No bumps in the road

Seriously couldn't have asked for a better, smoother travel day. We left our house at 4:15am on Thursday and arrived in Beijing at 4 on Friday afternoon.  Our guide, Flora, was waiting for us with Mr. Li, the van driver, and we took off for the Inner Mongolia Hotel.

There, we were introduced to a mom and her newly adopted daughter-SO SWEET!! 

Our only glitch was that our hotel wouldn't accept and exchange the brand new $100 bills. So.... We didn't have any money for supper...but honestly, we were both so tired it really didn't matter.

We were both OUT by 7pm...and then awake at 11:30pm...but went back to sleep and slept pretty well until 6 this morning.

We ate a huge breakfast with our new friends. A buffet with cereals, pastries, breads, eggs, meats, fruit and sheep entrails...guess which we didn't eat??!

Midway through the day, I looked at lee and said, can't you just feel the prayers of everyone surrounding us? We really,  truly can.