Farewell, China

Good Evening!  We left China with mixed feelings this morning - so excited to be starting our journey home, but also some definite sadness for our time in China to be coming to an end.  We have treasured these first days together as a family of five, and are so thankful for the opportunities that we have all had here!

Our train trip was uneventful, except for the extremely busy toddler who shared the seat with me!  Audrey spent so many hours and days wanting only to be on my lap, but those days seem to be over already.  We are glad that she is feeling more comfortable in her surroundings, but that new found confidence may make for a verrrrrry long trip home.  Stay tuned on that! 

After arriving in Hong Kong, we headed back to the airport hotel where we had stayed our very first night, way back on December 19th.  Mark and I walked out into the airport area a little bit this afternoon, and commented that we remembered feeling overwhelmed that first night - so many restaurant signs in Chinese, such different smells, how will we figure this all out, etc.?  Today was so different - we knew where we were going, we picked out a restaurant from which to order congee for Audrey, we are used to hearing different languages everywhere, etc.  What a difference 12 days makes! 

New Year's Eve dinner was at a nice restaurant in the hotel.  The New Year's Eve decorations and party goods were all out.  We will not be staying up for the countdown to 2010!  Audrey had not eaten much all day, so I was hoping that she would join in and have a good dinner with us.  She did not disappoint!  Lobster bisque, bread, eggs, broccoli, steak, carrot, and key lime pie filled out her menu.  She was a very good girl at dinner, and is now out for the night - hopefully.  She was up coughing last night, and wanted nothing to do with her crib, so she spent the evening with me.  I didn't get much sleep. :)

We will be at the airport about 9:00am tomorrow, in time for an 11:30am flight.  That is 9:30pm Central Time Thursday night.  We are scheduled to arrive at Newark, NJ at 1:45pm Friday afternoon, and then on in to O'Hare at 7:20pm Friday night.  Yea! 

Thanks for following along and for all of the nice comments and emails!  They have kept us going on our trip!  This will be the last post from this side of the Pacific, since we head out so early in the morning.  We are continuing to pray for safe travel and good health as we fly home tomorrow.  We can't wait to be back on U.S. soil - the day is almost here when Audrey Comes Home! :)

Red Couch photos, Bronchitis, and Jade & Pearl Markets

This will have to be quick this evening.  We are packing up in Guangzhou, to be ready to take the early train to Hong Kong in the morning. 

Our day started with a feverish, coughing, wheezing baby. :(  We had given her some Tylenol and cough medicine last night, and that worked pretty well, so we gave her another dose of Tylenol until we could go see the doctor at the clinic in the hotel.  They have everything here!  Once the medicine kicked in, Audrey was really fine throughout the morning.  She ate well, and was stellar for the photos that we took for quite awhile this morning.  We had a fun time getting pictures taken on the red couch, and as you can see from the pictures, the babies did well, but Meiling was not happy to be on that couch without her mommy!  The babies from left to right are Meiling, Jan, Lucy, and Audrey. 

We went to visit the clinic doctor (with Shinko interpreting!!) after that, and she quickly diagnosed Audrey with bronchitis.  We had mentioned this between ourselves earlier in the morning, and were happy to know we were on target.  Her lungs just sound pretty crummy, but with some antibiotics, (approved back in the room via Skype by our favorite pharmacists back home- thank you, Johnsons!), she should be good as new soon.  We have some other Chinese meds, too, but aren't completely sure about them. :)  The doctor was an older woman, and was very nice to Audrey.  I was nervous going into the clinic, but it worked out fine.

Mark, Erica, and Ian headed off to the pearl and jade markets after lunch, and had interesting reports.  They saw lots of other things on their walk there and back, and Erica reported that the smells were overwhelming at times.  Audrey finished her nap here, and she and I shopped some on the island.  She woke up very happy and feeling well, and was just great in the carrier as I looked things over in the shops and walked around the island.  

We had a very nice Italian dinner tonight with Lisa, Lucy, and Jane, and had fun watching the girls in their high chairs together.  We are thrilled that we live just 2 hours away, and can stay in touch easily.  We spent the rest of the night packing, and will have our luggage ready to go in the morning at 8:45am. 

I can't believe our time in China is coming to an end.  It has been such a great trip, and we feel blessed beyond measure.  We can't believe we are so lucky to have been called to be the parents of this precious little girl, and we can't wait to introduce her to you! :)

We have a 2 hour train ride to Hong Kong tomorrow morning, and then a relaxing afternoon, as we mentally prepare for the long flight home.  We would love continued prayers for good health for all 5 of us, safe travel, and not too many hang ups with the new security issues that have come up in the last week.  Many thanks! :)

Guangdong Folk Arts Museum and Ahead of Schedule at the U.S. Consulate

Today was another great day in Guangzhou!  We spent the morning at the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum, and got word this morning that, due to the New Year holiday, our U.S. Consulate swearing-in ceremony was moved up to this afternoon, instead of tomorrow.  If only we could get our plane tickets moved up, too! :)  That is not happening, but we are taking an earlier train back to Hong Kong on Thursday, so we will arrive there late afternoon instead of late evening.

Our group decided on the folk arts museum for our outing today, and it was a fascinating place.  It is housed in an academy built by the Chen Clan in 1894, and the building itself was something to be seen.  The museum had room after room of embroidery, fan weaving, glass etching, and carvings of all sorts.  We saw carvings made out of wood, bricks, stone, animal horns, olive nuts, coconuts, bone, jade, and probably others that I have forgotten.  Much of it was very intricate, and we all enjoyed the experience.  We were also able to shop a bit and one of the pictures is of an artist carving a stone chop with Audrey's Chinese and English names together.  He made it in about 10 minutes, and it is really fantastic.  A chop is a stamp to use in ink, which is used here kind of like a seal on a letter.  In ancient times, only royalty was allowed to use a chop, not the common people.  We'll just assume Audrey is royalty here. :)  

The U.S. Consulate swearing-in ceremony was a neat experience.  We rode about 40 minutes to the consulate, and it is in a large office building.  You can't tell from the outside that it is there at all.  And there are no cameras allowed, so therefore, no photos.  There were 34 families total there today, from all over the U.S.  We waited for Audrey's Chinese name to be called, and we proceeded to a window, where the staff person checked our passports, and we signed a document.  When all 34 families had been through that part of the process, the U.S. coordinator for Chinese adoptions (or something like that) came out and spoke to us.  She discussed the procedure for entering the U.S. and told us which line to go through at immigration at our port of entry into the U.S.  She then had us all stand, raise our right hands, and administered an oath, which we repeated.  We promised that our paperwork was all true, and some other things, which Mark and I can't seem to remember at the moment.  Nice.  I will say that it was an emotional experience.  Audrey is legally ours, in the eyes of both her homeland and her new home. 

The ride back to the hotel from the consulate was an experience.  Audrey chose that time, on a big bus full of people to have her first real full-blown temper tantrum.  I will say that I think the root of the problem was the fact that our appointment this afternoon was in direct conflict with naptime.  She had slept for an hour from 11:00am-12:00pm, but that was it.  Now, at 4:30, she was done, and let everyone know it.  She screamed, thrashed, and flailed around, and I just held her and did my best to calm her.  She eventually calmed down, ate dinner back in the room, and earned herself a 6:45pm bedtime.  She was out like a light!

At this point, I think we are all looking forward to heading home.  Mark is probably the only one of the five of us that is feeling 100%.  Audrey had a little cough and chest congestion when we got her, and I would say it has gotten worse.  She is in bed as I write, and coughing every now and then.  It may be a long night.  Ian felt better today, but Erica was not feeling great at dinnertime, and my stomach is not completely right, either.  Home will be nice. :)

Tomorrow is the jade and pearl market and our red couch photo. :)

 

Jumping for Joy!

This is how we wind down for bedtime in the Allender family. :) 

One week later....

...we have a happy, spunky, funny, active, entertaining toddler, with personality to spare.  We know there will be times that are not easy for Audrey as she continues to adjust to us, but we are so happy for how far she has come in a week.  Hard to believe she is the same baby!

Audrey had her medical appointment this morning, and it was a very basic physical. She weighed in at 22.5 pounds, which included clothes and her diaper.  She got her hearing checked by seeing if she would turn her head towards two different sounds, and in another room, a doctor looked her over and measured her head circumference.  We signed some papers at that office, and off we went. 

Ian was not feeling great today - some tummy issues (his blood sugars are good, though) - so he, Audrey, and I stayed home while Mark and Erica visited a garden and then went up a nearby mountain for the views and a cable car ride.  They said it was very nice. 

Audrey royally entertained us all at bedtime by realizing that she enjoyed jumping on the bed, while holding on to my hands.  She laughed and laughed, took a moment's rest, and then started all over again.  It was a riot, but did not do much to calm her down for bed. :)  Stay tuned for some video on that.  Each night at bedtime, she has really gone down quite nicely - until tonight.  I usually just hold her and sing to her a bit, and then lay her down.  She has babbled a little in the crib, but has really fallen asleep quite easily each night.  Tonight, she was sitting up, playing with the beads on her crib, when I looked over my shoulder at her.  She saw me and laid back down immediately.  This went on a few more times - she knew exactly what she was supposed to be doing. :)  I had a hard time not laughing at her, so I went into the kids room to let her settle down.  She did eventually. :) 

Tomorrow is a trip to the jade and pearl market, and Echo and Shinko submit our paperwork to the U.S. Consulate for us.  I thought we had to go do that, but they take care of it.  Yea!

Not much else to report tonight from Guangzhou - I'm pretty tired and need to rest up for new adventures tomorrow. :)

Oh, I did just remember three big accomplishments for Audrey today - she used a fork for the first time at breakfast today.  She needed a little help stabbing the food, but then she was so proud to be able to take it to her mouth and eat it herself.  Also, she had been struggling some with the sippy cup I had given her, but we switched to a different kind today, and she was pretty pleased with that, too!  And this afternoon, she let me put her down to walk with me holding her hand.  We made a couple of laps around our hotel floor walking this way.  She really hasn't walked much for us at all - so much happier to be held - so this was a pretty big deal, too.  Such a big girl with so many 'firsts' already this week! :)

P.S. The green scaffolding that you can see in the picture of the rooftop garden is everywhere on the island.  Guangzhou is hosting the 16th Asian Games next November, and much of the city is getting a big makeover.  The construction makes getting around the island a little tricky, and most of the buildings here are covered, so we can't see much of what things look like here. 

Those eyes.....

Happy Birthday, Mark!

We celebrated Mark's birthday today in fine style.  Delicious breakfast buffet, church, a nap, a happy baby, and a Thai dinner.  What could be better?

We had read about and had been told about the great breakfast buffet at the White Swan Hotel, and let me tell you, it definitely lived up to the hype!  At one point in the meal, Ian said, "Ahhh - this is paradise."  We had debated before we left whether or not to lug our sugar-free syrup 8,000 miles to the other side of the world, and this morning we determined that we made the right decision to bring it along.  Ian enjoyed French Toast with good old sugar-free Mrs. Butterworth's from home.  He thoroughly enjoyed it, along with the rest of his heaping plate.  Our days of peanut butter and crackers and oatmeal in the hotel room ended when we left Nanning. :)

We worshiped this morning at the Shamian Christ Church.  The service was in Mandarin and English.  It was very nice and the sanctuary was full.  There a few other caucasians there, but not many.  We sang a couple of Christmas carols, and then listened to two songs in Mandarin.  They were beautiful, and I regret not recording at least a little of them.  Mark and I both said we feel weird recording things in church, but I wish I had a little of them to remember.  (The words were on the screen, just like at home.  :))  The sermon was on Matthew 22:37-40. Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

Always lots of good food for thought with those verses.  I felt very privileged to able to worship this morning in a country that does not have full religious freedom.  The gospel was spoken for sure, and it was a memorable experience.  The pastor spoke a sentence or two in Mandarin, and then the interpreter would speak in English.  The service lasted about an hour and a half.  Audrey lasted for about an hour of that, and was then escorted out by her father.  Her busy-ness got the best of her, and she was much better off back in the room. :)  We all said that it was a good insight into what sitting through church at home would be like.  We'll be bringing lots of Cheerios to church and sitting in the back row!

We spent this afternoon taking our laundry to be done, looking around a little more in the shops, and relaxing.  Audrey had a good two-hour nap and woke up happy.  We played in the room until it was time for dinner.  The river cruise did not happen - it was a cold, windy, and rainy day.  It was unpleasant enough to be walking around, let alone out on an open air boat!  Mark chose a Thai restaurant for his birthday dinner, and it was fantastic.  The kids - all 3! - were eager to try things, and we had a great meal, along with Lisa, Lucy, and Jane. 

Audrey has really eaten complete meals for the first time today, and she has eaten a lot!  I hope we haven't overdone it on her little tummy, but she had egg, bread, bacon, pineapple, mushrooms, and hash browns for breakfast.  At dinner she ate more egg, chicken, noodles, cauliflower, broccoli, and Cheerios. :)  And then she had a full bottle right after dinner, before heading to bed at 7:30.  Hopefully this great culinary day will not come back to haunt us tomorrow!

Audrey continues to let her guard down a little more each day.  She was willing to sit on the bed and play, instead of on my lap.  We also stood her on the floor for a bit, seeing if she was interested in walking around to explore the room.  She was not overly pleased, but she did walk a little - right back to my lap. :)  She also let Erica and Ian hold her - very briefly.  They were happy with that! :)   We know that for her attachment to us that we are to be the only caregivers and holders for awhile,  but we figured a few brief seconds on brother and sister's laps would be ok.  :)   

Favorite Quote of the Day

There are quite a few other American families here at the White Swan hotel, all going through their U.S. visa process this week also.  We saw many of them at breakfast this morning, and were commenting on the cute babies, etc.  Ian said, "I'm sure all of the other families think their baby is the cutest, just like we do with Audrey.  But Audrey actually IS the cutest!"  He is becoming a great big brother!  :) 

Good Day, Safe Travels

Our day started early, with a very specifically timed routine of settling the hotel bill, having our luggage ready in the hall, and meeting our guides Echo and Shinko to head to the Nanning airport. We left for the airport on time, but slow traffic in Nanning and long lines at the airport left us hustling to the plane, wondering if we were going to make it on time.  We did - whew - and let me tell you - all of the American airlines could take a lesson from China Southern on speediness.  We got on, sat down, and the plane started rolling back before we were really settled.  They did a few safety checks, and we took off almost immediately.  It was great. 

Audrey was a perfect passenger for the short flight.  I had her in the carrier all the way from the hotel, and just kept her in it throughout the flight.  I like the carrier for the little bit of safety that it provides on the bus (or plane!), but have also decided it is the best way to keep Miss Wiggle Worm still when she needs to be.  She watched everything that went on around her during the flight, entertained all of us very well, and loved the crackers that they handed out for snacks.  We all loved the crackers!  One big highlight for the day happened on the flight, after I handed her a cracker.  I said, "Say thank you - xie xie."  She repeated it: "Xie xie"  We had been told that this was one of the words she could say, and it was soooo fun to hear her say that, in perfect context.  Mark and I both heard her, and then she said it again later when Erica and Ian were nearby.  That was fun. :)   We are also pretty impressed that she has gone from not being able to hand feed herself or knowing how to bite anything at the beginning of the week to today being able to hold a cracker for herself and eat it. 

Our first impression of Guangzhou and Shamian Island is good.  (And that has nothing to do with the fact that there was Subway and Haagen Daz for dinner! :))  The White Swan Hotel is beautiful, and I will try and get a picture tomorrow of the giant Christmas tree.  It's huge!  There are shops all around, right outside the door of the hotel.  We had to go across the street this afternoon to get Audrey's picture taken for her U.S. visa, and we then looked around just a tiny bit.  We saw lots of squeaky shoes, silk dresses, Chinese art, etc, and then also many things geared towards adopting families - strollers, diapers, etc. for sale.  Tomorrow morning we are going to church nearby and then celebrating Mark's birthday on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  That is, if it is not too cold.  It is supposed to be in the 50's and rainy tomorrow, which is not exactly nice river cruise weather. 

We are amazed at the difference in Audrey in just a few short days.  She is relaxing with us just a bit more each day, and she seems to fit in to the Allender mix perfectly.  She's opinionated, that's for sure, so she'll be able to hold her own in this family just fine. :)  We are thankful to at this point in our journey, and look forward to exploring our new surroundings a bit more tomorrow.

Erica on the town!

Here is a short video featuring Erica dancing with the Chinese students at the ethnic minority museum.  What is not on camera is the cheer that erupted when Erica and Lisa ran out to join in the dance.  Hope you enjoy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ni hao!   And Merry Christmas to everyone!  We have had a very low-key Christmas, but that was great with us today.  We started the day with breakfast at the usual hotel buffet, and we listened to Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Mandarin.  Very festive! :)  There is also a giant Santa in the middle of the buffet table, so there is some festive spirit around.  We closed our eyes for a moment at breakfast and imagined we were eating Heath Bar coffeecake and Sausage Egg casserole, and that was nice to think about. :)

One of the big highlights for the day was experiencing our Champaign church's Christmas Eve service via Skype.  The Johnsons took a laptop and just sat it on their lap, facing the front, and it was almost as good as being there.  Thanks, Johnsons - that was awesome!! :)  We sang along in our hotel room, prayed with them, and then got to say hi to friends after the service.  Just like a regular day at church! :)  Being able to worship here on Christmas morning is something I will never forget!

On to the Audrey news for the day!  Her news for the day involves letting us hear her voice.  The first thing we heard was as Mark was taking her from me to give her a bottle first thing this morning, and she very distinctly cried, "Maaa maaa!"  Now, we don't know for sure if she was crying for me, or if that's just what she says when she's mad, but it definitely sounded like Mama.  I have witnesses, if you need to ask them. :)  And she got her way, and came back to me for the bottle.  The next sounds were lots of happy babbling, sitting on my lap watching the Christmas Eve service.  Lots of da, da, da, and ba, ba, ba.  I also got a raspberry with her tongue this afternoon.  It is, of course, very cute. :)   I would say we saw more and more personality as the day progressed.  She was very happy to throw each of the stacking cups from the bed on to the floor, but then not willing to leave her perch on my lap to go get them.  She threw her head back in disgust and angst, and her dear brother rescued her and picked them all up.  She sat on my lap during dinner, and was the busiest we have seen her yet.  Wanted the spoon, the chopstick, the bowls, etc.  We have a busy toddler on our hands! :)

We headed out this afternoon to do a bit of shopping.  We wanted to find some neat items from her province, and we really did.  We shopped at a museum shop here in Nanning.  The museum is an Ethnic Minority Museum.  There are 56 minority groups in China, and 12 in Guangxi.  The ladies at the shop were able to take a guess on what group they thought Audrey and Lucy belong to, based on their high foreheads.  They thought they were part of the Zhuang group.  Each group has a distinct traditional dress, and they had dolls from each group, so we definitely needed one of those for Audrey!  One of the neatest parts of the afternoon was coming across a large school group which was at the museum for a field trip.  They were there to learn about the minority groups, and we sat and watched for quite awhile.  There was a presentation that they all listened to, then a fashion show from the different ethnic groups, as well as singing and dancing.  It was so fun to watch, and something we just happened upon.  At the very end, they were up dancing, and came over wanting us to dance with them.  Erica and Lisa got up to dance with them and were big time celebrities.  Many of the kids were excited to practice their English with us, and we got a lot of "Hello's!"  It was a very memorable afternoon.

We had Christmas dinner at the nearby restaurant, with some BBQ pork, rolls, noodles, beef, and turkey.  The turkey was a special for the day because of Christmas.  It tasted good.  We decided to forego the brasied intestines, tripe, snails, and the whole chicken with its head still on. :) 

May you each have a blessed Christmas.  We are truly blessed!