Gotcha Video

I tried attaching the video but it was too large so I zipped it in a file so not sure if this will work...but here goes....FAILED AGAIN.  I will attemot to post it on youtube.

Our little guy is sick...

It is never fun to have a sick kid, but having a kid who has only known you for 24 hours get sick in a foreign country and when he does not know how to tell you what is wrong is so heartbreaking.  Right after lunch he looked different- not as smiley and we decided that he just must be really tired so we laid him down and he went right to sleep so i was able to update the blog.  He slept for 2 hours and woke up still a little off but we got some smiles and he went down to the rec areaa near the pool to play with a ball with mommy while daddy was working out.  He did not play as much but did not seem  

 

I think one day we will think it was funny 

Brayden is feeling better...A Day at the Park

Brayden woke up feeling better this morning- thankfully! 

Its Wednesday in China

Sorry I never got around to blogging yesterday.  We sure have our hands full now.  We were joking about our life verse 2 Cor 5:13-14 and our new Nanna version is "If it seems we are crazy...it is because we are!" lol   We know this will pass...but yesterday sounded like Halloween around here-- the Chinese word for "no" is bu-- sounds like--Boo!  So we laughed that it was Halloween!  I thought I was a pro at spoiling children but KP's foster family has me beat!   I really like to spoil the kids at first as we get to know them, but KP has been hitting and spitting and acting out when we are in public and we just can't let that slide.  Yesterday he became officially our son and as the orphanage director tried to take our picture with a beautiful scroll they made for us (It says 'Big Love")  he was showering me with spit-- great shot!  

 

I could not help but think about how Christ was spit upon by those he loved and came to save.  He must have been so frustrated and yet He responded in love.  So I tried to continue to show love even as I wiped the spit from my face.  Now please don;t misunderstand-- there is a huge debate in the adoption community about "saving a child".  I do not believe that I am Christ or that I am saving these boys-- I am just a mom who has a heart to grow my family.  But I do strive to live in such a way that pleases my Savior and I ask myself how He would respond and I learn so much of His great love for me as I journey through each adoption.  And this time I have learned even more about rejection and the fear that keeps us trapped in what we think is a better life that we have made for ourselves instead of risking the great life to which we have been called and chosen and set apart!

 

It really sounds worse than it is -- most of the time.  he has told each of us that he loves us and can be the sweetest boy.  It is mainly in public.  He does not eat anything but sweets and milk and at restaurants he throws the chopsticks on the floor and just acts out.  Bo has had to take him out a few times.  It really is exhausting right now.  We are ready for Guangzhou.

 

Today is my birthday.  Thank you to my facebook friends who posted.  I get emails of your messages but I cannot respond now or see FB at all so I am missing hearing about everyone.  I am wondering if my cousin Lauren had her baby boy yet-- you know you are supposed to have it on my birthday-- someone please let me know.  And send me any other news-- I miss everyone.  we have been away for 2 weeks and it seems like an eternity.  We found a mall today and Bo bought me a Dairy Queen Sunday Waffle thing for my birthday-- it was really, really good!  The boys loved their ice cream cones too so I think they will fit right in.

 

I have to go before the room is destroyed.  We need to get out some more and tire these guys out.  Brayden is still struggling at night-- he cannot breathe and it wakes him      

Sunday in Guangzhou

I love Guangzhou!  It is a feeling of being at home even so far from home.  If I could just get all my friends and family to move here with me,I would never leave!  And Sundays are my favorite!

 

We enjoyed the awesome WS buffet breakfast and then went to the WS playroom for a little while.  When we walked in we met a RQ friend and her two new children.  We had talked so many times online that it felt like we knew each other.  It was so fun to put a name and face together!

Then we walked a block or less to the church that we visited when we adopted Kylee.  I think when we got Lily our times made it so we could not attend-- so it has been 4 1/2 years since we were there.  It is a three-self church called Christ Church Shamen.  It is approved by the government and yet we saw big changes.  The service is in English and Chinese so it is a lot of fun.  The boys did fairly well too but Brandon-KP did puch it a little.  There was a young guy with a guitar and they sang some praise songs-- we did not know them but they were newer than the style they had last time.  One one in particular the people got very excited and raised their hands to say "I am in your hands Jesus"  The Pastor spoke on John 10 about the Good Shepherd and it was very good.  Then they had an email address to send in a testimony and they would schedule you to speak.  So a man who had already done so was asked to speak and give a testimony and he explained how his grandfather had been a missionary to China from Germany and how his father was born in china and when they were all asked to leave his father wanted to come back.  So in 1980s when it reopened he wanted to return but they were only allowing foreigners to visit the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai and guangzhou.  So his dad got a train ticket from Guangzhou to Shanghai and decided to just gt off the train when they got to the province of his birth.  This caused a big scene and he was arrested but as he talked to the police, he was able to show that he just wanted to see his place of birth and was able to produce a card of himself at 15 yo with his chinese name so they decided that he was chinese (even with his big nose and Gernan looks) so they got him a driver to take him wherever he wanted to go and they found that during the 30 years or so that the missionaries left China that 'Jesus never left China."  It was so inspiring!   And as he shared, my frie3nd Judy held my arm and encouraged us to come back.  It was really awesome!.  I will post pictures of us with Judy outside of church.

In the afternoon we visited the White Swan's- amazing tropical pool.  It was hot outside but the water was a little chilly and KP was not too sure about it, but Brayden was happy as long as dad was around!  I will put a few pics of that as well.  We really enjoyed meeting and talking with other families around the pool and hearing about how God had placed these children on our hearts and how He worked to get us all to this point and how the struggles were so real at times even now with these children who have gone through so much!

Then in the evening friends of Sophia wanted to take us to dinner.  They took us to the Moon Carol Cafe Guangzhou. short ride in their car-- would be worth getting a taxi -- beats Lucy's by a mile-- grilled steaks and chicken, pork and garlic bread, pastas...can also get chinese or Thai. They said they thought we would be tired of chinese food after 2 1/2 weeks so they took us there. They insisted on buying-- we were so humbled by their generosity. Their 10year old son was so cute. He arm wrestled Bo and KP really enjoyed talking to him. By the end of the evening we were all 'good friends'. We were so impressed with how kind and friendly they all were. It is so amazing how you can find people who you can meet and become good friends in one

New friends-- nice -- great western food

　

 

Girls Night Out

Monday night Bo ordered a pizza for himself and the boys and Sophia invited me to go with her and her friend to have some girl-time. They took me to get a massage-  I was nervous- esp since the first time I ever had a massage was in 2006 when we adopted Kylee and I had thumb-print bruises down my back for weeks.  Sophia promised that she would be with me and tell them to ease up if needed.  And we had a really nice time together and it was a really great massage by two very sweet women. 

We left there in search of a restaurant that the ladies recommended and the first one we came to was closing so we walked a little further.  I found it humorous that when Sophia asked someone if it was a safe area to walk-- they said fairly safe....so I was a little unsure.

But just ahead was a busy beauty salon with lots of people around and I commented to Sophia that that had always looked like fun but I was too afraid of not being able to communicate and that it must cost a lot.  She assured me that it was very cheap and that she would be with me so we took a detour and had the best time!  When they shampoo your hair it is right in the chair with lots of lather and it goes on for a good 10-15 minutes.  They even wash your ears and clean them with q-tips- ever so gently.  They also give you a neck, back and arm massage and then you go back

So..about those pictures I promised...

We did take some great red couch photos and some other pics, but my memory card was full-- I had a year or so of pics on the camera and I got this really bright idea since it is pretty inexpensive to have photos put onto a CD here so they did that for me this afternoon and when I got back my memory card-- it is blank!  All I can say is those pics better be on the CDs (which i cannot check on this computer)  I know what you are thinking-- really smart, huh? 

 

The good news is that most of the pictures were already down-loaded onto the computer so it is just the last few that would be missing and they should be on the CD we got.  But you will have to wait for more pictures-- the boys are napping now.

 

Thsi morning bright and early we went to the consulate and they reviewed our paperwork and gave us the oath confirming that the information about us and the boys was true and correct.   So we have our brown envelopes that we will give to the USCIS in Newark and our boys will become US citizens when we touch down on US soil.  The boys did really well this morning.  everyone is settling into a routine of sorts.  Brandon-KP has changed so much.  He needs lots of praise and loves to please.  He makes sure everyone takes off their shoes when we come into the room and makes sure we know about it so we can tell him how obedient he is!  He tells us whenever his di-di (pronounced D-D- little brother) does anything like touch something he shouldn't.  He loves Sophia and I am sure he will miss her, but he has done OK with her not being around as much and she has been preparing him that she w

Sunday in Taiyuan

I am happy to say that I am feeling much better and Brayden seems better as well.  We found a church on google and found a taxi to take us to the address.  We were not sure what we would find but we looked around and saw a cross and wondered in.  The service was completely in Chinese except for the choir special-- the first verse and chorus were in English-- it was "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus".  The pastor seemed exciting and said a few things that got a laugh from the audience. At the end several people lined the altars.  I am not sure what all happened but it was nice to be in a place where the name of Jesus is proclaimed!

 

We saw that there were a few foreigners in the crowd and we talked with them after the service.  One is an Englich teacher and