I Feel Your Pain

I know, I know. There has been nothing on the blog lately. You keep checking and still nothing appears. Believe me, I feel your pain. I did it for three years, following adoption trips to China, before it was our turn to go. You're going along just fine, checking the blog each day for the newest adventure, and, suddenly, it feels like the ride is over, and it's time to get off. You're addicted, and you want more, but you're getting nothing. Now we're on the other side, and I know how it is for the returning travelers. It's not a matter of getting back to regular life, it's trying to find a new normal with a lot of jet lag thrown in. You're exhausted and want to do nothing, but mail starts coming, the grass keeps growing and everytime you turn around it's time to make something to eat for someone who doesn't want to eat anything you make. All the while you are reminding yourselves that you've only known each other for X number of days so, really, you're doing remarkably well. And, we are. Maryn is a brave girl, trusting us to take care of her more and more each day. We are blessed. She wants her mama in her sights at all times and loves her baba to make her laugh. We're still rough around the edges, but there is progress for all of us each day, and it's a beautiful thing to witness.

The top photo is the newest one we have. The bottom photo is one that was sent to us while we were waiting to travel. Look at that smile. Most of you had to wait until we met Maryn to see our beautiful baby. We knew she was adorable, and now you do, too.

Living Life

We're making strides working on a new normal, and this is what it looks like. She's doing a good job sleeping at bedtime and getting a nap, too. We aren't, but at least our camper is happy. We are attracting attention when we go around the block with the dog in the early evening, so sometimes it takes us a little while to make it out and back. It's wonderful to see how delighted everyone is to see her sweet face. Tonight we were later than we wanted to be, and we were hungry so Tom said, "Remember this while you're out there: don't talk to anyone." : ) The last three nights our neighbors have been so kind to have made us dinner, and one more is coming tomorrow. What a relief that has been. Eating is a bit of a challenge so by the time dinner rolls around, it's nice to warm up a delicious something that someone has already labored over. I have to give Maryn tons of credit because she is a very willing taster. Most things get rejected, but she gives them a try. That's more than most people would do. Somethings are good one day, not the next. The one thing that remains constant is the love of noodles. She wants Ramen noodles three times per day and eats the whole package. I try adding this and that to it and every now and then something slips past quality control. People say not to sweat the meals because she'll come around to eating what we're eating, and we aren't eating Ramen noodles.

I'm falling asleep here as I write, so it's time to go to bed. I've been lasting till 3 a.m. and getting out with Toby at 5:30. The problem is the earlier I get up, the earlier she gets up because she checks to see if I'm still sleeping in the bed, and if I'm not there, she gets up. Only a few short hours to go till she sends her periscope up.

She's an American Girl

We're home. We flew all night with a fantastic girl who waited until just after the wheels left the ground to fall asleep and stayed asleep the whole long leg of the trip. Flying at night was good planning on our part, and we want full credit for choosing our flights so wisely. Upon entry into the country, her passport was stamped with a temporary resident stamp awaiting her final paperwork for citizenship. An American girl. Our dear friends Sandi and Bruce picked us up at the crack of dawn this morning, and Maryn was not shy about meeting them. We came home to a driveway covered with Welcome Home Maryn messages from the kids in the neighborhood. You gotta love that, and we did. Thank you so much for the welcome. That was such a special treat to come home to. Sandi and Bruce filled the fridge with a variety of foods including watermelon and Ramen noodles. So far it's been noodles for breakfast, noodles for lunch, and I'll bet at dinner we'll hit the trifecta. Tomorrow night dinner will arrive at 6 p.m. from one of our neighbors. They have really rallyed around us, and it makes us feel great to be able to bring our daughter to a neighborhood filled with wonderful, caring families. Toby was well loved in our absense, and she and Maryn are getting to know each other, very cautiously on Maryn's part. She doesn't realize that Toby's only interest in her is as a potential food source, that is, one that has the potential to drop food on the floor.

Everyone says coming this direction is much harder on you, and I have to agree. We're tired, but we're going to try to tough it out until 10:30 p.m. The travel experts tell you to stay awake until midnight in the time zone where you are, but we can't stay awake till midnight on New Year's Eve, so that's not going to happen. I want to lay my head down as I'm writing this, but I must resist.

Maryn is napping right now in her own bed in her own home. What a heartwarming scene. Hope it works for going to bed later.

Goodbye Guangzhou

We're headed home, and it feels good.  Don't care how long the flight is, we'll eventually get to a place called home.  We took the trip of a lifetime, and it has made our lifetime a trip.  I'm a mom.  We've got a long way to go, but we're going to give it all we've got to be the best parents we can be to our daughter who deserves that and more.  Thank you, God, for showing us how to get here and for knowing it would work out this way even before we were born.  Thank you to Maryn for the courage you have had to show for one little 8 year old, and for the courage the future will require.  Thank you for your willingness to let us in to your life.  Thank you to our family and friends who have supported us all along.  Thank you to Children*s Hope Internat'l for making it your mission to bring families together.  Thank you to our neighbors and church family who have been so enthusiastic about Maryn's arrival.  Thank you, Bruce and Sandi, for taking care of our home and loving our sweet little Toby in our absense.  Thank you to all of you who have followed this leg of our journey.  It's been fun to have an audience with whom to share our little darling.  We'll see you soon on the other side of the world.  

Play By the Rules

No bugles allowed in the park! Strictly prohibited.
Sure, it's called riding paradise, but you can't even perform a variety show while on the ride. What's up with that?

And Then There Were Three

Only three families remain from our travel group.  We are all on the same flight tomorrow.  The rest have gone on.  A few went to Hong Kong yesterday to spend today at Hong Kong Disney.  Others went to Hong Kong today for an overnight before flying home tomorrow, and others are probably home by now.  Our turn comes tomorrow, and we are ready.  We had to entertain ourselves today, so we walked back to the park with the amusement rides.  Hit the merry-go-round, bumper cars and two others, one of which left Tom with a large bruise on both shins.  I caught it on video, but I was so distracted by filming that I didn't see it coming, not that I could have done anything about it.  It was a perfect example of how living behind a camera inhibits actually experiencing life.  I'm sure it was all Tom's fault, as he probably wasn't following the posted rules.

We had our last dinner in the hotel restaurant, and we have one more breakfast buffet in the morning.  We are going to have our guide tell Maryn she won't be seeing a buffet when we get home.  Good thing we probably put a pound on her while we were here because when we get home the choices will be fewer than she has experienced in this new life, and that's going to be hard for her to accept.  We have learned that she doesn't like a lot of things, but she does like watermelon, grapes, fried chicken, ramen type noodles with broth, boiled eggs, some dinner rolls but not all, and she can make short work of a crab leg and shrimp.  Don't think she was getting much crab or shrimp before, but she knows how to get to the meat of the matter.  Oh, and she likes MacDonald's french fries.  Can you believe I'm saying that?  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I asked Tom if he wanted me to take his picture eating that food, and he said, "Absolutely not."

We did much of our packing this afternoon, and it won't take long to finish it tomorrow.  That will be after we sweat through our t-shirts and shorts in the morning with another walk.  We'll add those things to the dirty clothes bag, clean ourselves up and zip the suitcases shut.  What a wonderful sound that will be.

A Day of Milestones

A kiss may be just a kiss but not when it's from your newly adopted 8 year old.  Then it's a milestone and a heartwarming, fireworks deserving sort of occasion.  She offered a kiss to me this afternoon so I took it on the cheek and she accepted one in return.  When I asked her if she'd give one to Baba, too, she was happy to pucker up.  I saw tears in his eyes, and the two of us shared what a huge breakthrough it was.  When we got together later with the rest of the people in our travel group, I shared the word with one other person, and the good news spread through the group.  We've all watched most of the children change right before our eyes over the days we have been together, and it's a wonderful thing to witness. 

We had a great time playing in the room today, many of the childhood standards: piggybacks and giddy up horsey among them.  What you have to remember is that these are wildly entertaining to someone who has made it past her 8th birthday without ever having played them before.  The favorite game right now is something we call hucheelai.  We asked our coordinator if she knew what something that sounds like that means, and, if I remember correctly, it's something like I don't want to stand up.  It involves us picking her up off the floor by her arms  You wouldn't even dream that something like that could be such fun, but it certainly is.  After several rounds of that we spend the rest of the afternoon saying, "No more hoocheelai," because I'm telling you it's hard to quit once you get started.  Give it a try.

This afternoon at 3:00, we all loaded onto two buses and rode to the American Consulate breezing past the long lines of people without US passports waiting to get to the correct windows to request visas.  Once inside they matched our faces to our passports and to the faces of the children we adopted.  A very nice woman spoke to us, and she even announced that there were a number of August birthdays to be celebrated in the group.  She then read the names of the children born in August.  When she read Maryn's name, all eyes in the room turned in our direction, and she may not have understood why, but she had a big smile when everyone said, "Yay!"  What a nice touch from a government worker.  She told us what would happen when we landed on American soil with our kids, and then we raised our right hands and swore or affirmed that all the information we had presented was true to the best of our knowledge.  But the best thing she said was, "Your work is done."  All the paperwork, all the updates, all the fingerprints, etc., It was quite a moment, and it makes me tear up just thinking about it.  No pictures from the occasion because you aren't allowed to take cameras inside the building, but the memory of it is etched in my brain.

Some of the families departed after today's ceremony.  The bus stopped at the train station so they could catch a train to Hong Kong.  Although it's hard to say goodbye, at this point nothing sounds sweeter than your own voice saying goodbye.

Today's photos were taken on Shamian Island.  The US Consulate was located there until recently, and that's where the White Swan Hotel, a current and former mecca for adoptive families, is located.  The physical examination is done on Shamian Island and there are many shops there catering to adoptive families and anyone else who has $ in their pockets.  Bargaining is expected and encouragement to come into the stores should be expected by you as well.