Day By Day

Time flies when you are having fun, or just trying to survive. Having four children, with three of them preschoolers is like trying to herd cats or nail Jello to a tree. My main goal is not losing any of them. Sound reasonable? Everyone seems to be healthy now and the virus that got everyone else avoided me. Thank you God! Mommy and Daddy are exhausted, but happy. We plan to have a family night tonight with movies, pizza and caramel apples. We had thought about a babysitter and going out, but we have been in constant motion since returning from China. We need a night to just hang out at home with no real agenda. Brodie is at basketball try-outs and will be done at 6:00. We will start our fun as soon as he gets home.

We have many doctor's appointments in the month of October. Emily will see a pediatric neurologist on Monday for a facial tic that had been getting worse. I think it is behavioral, but want to be sure. Timothy sees the urologist on Tuesday for a consult. Brodie goes to the orthodontist on the 9th. Mary gets a new crown on the 11th. Timothy will see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon on Oct. 25 and all three little ones go to the dentist on the 26th. Some time in the month, Timothy and Mary need to have blood drawn at the lab. Mary and Brodie need shots for the mission trip also. I think that is all. Mary had her annual physical and mammogram last week and Charlie had his FBI physical. Timothy and Mary both went to the doctor in Sept. as well. Timothy for a checkup and for vaccinations, Mary for a routine blood pressure check. Oh, and Mary went to the dentist to have the old crown removed. Phew. We will be tired of copays really shortly! Thankfully, most everything but the crown and the dental work Timothy will need is covered by insurance.

All of that is not the big news of the week. Yesterday, Brodie's soccer team won! It was 7-1 and several different people were able to score. We also took about 30 shots on goal that had potential to be scores. We need to work on our aim and timing. It was wonderful for them, as they normally are matched with teams that are all high school boys and we play co-ed, 5th through 11th graders. The kids have good attitudes despite the losing record. They are learning a lot and improving each game.

All of that is not the big news of the week either. On Wednesday, the three little ones and I were driving to get Brodie. Emily asked me when God was coming back. I told her that only He knew that. She then asked if Jesus was going to live on the earth with us. I replied that Jesus would take all the people who believe in Him to live with Him in heaven. So she inquired if we believed in Jesus. My response was that Mommy, Daddy and Brodie did. I proceeded to ask her several questions about believing. Do you believe that Jesus is God's Son? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Why did Jesus die on the cross? Are you a sinner? Can the blood of Jesus clean up your sins? Emily was able to answer all of my questions correctly. I told her that if she believed all of that, then all she needed to do was to pray to God and ask Him to forgive her. Then she needed to ask Jesus to live in her heart and be her Savior. When we got home, Emily sat on my bed with me and we talked about it again. I led her through a prayer of salvation, right there and then. She was so excited, and so was her mommy! We called Daddy at work to tell him. She told lots of people at church Wednesday night. We went and talked to the pastor about it yesterday. She was shy with him and didn't express what had happened very well. His advice was to wait a while before taking any further steps. I am so happy that Emily understands her need for a Savior at such a young age. I am also extremely grateful that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover any sin...those of a 5 year old and those of the worst serial killer and everyone in between. Praise You Jesus!

What a week!!!!

Pictures 9/26

The First Time

OK, I am getting hate mail because I haven't blogged on over a week. Good grief!

So Mr. Timothy has experienced many "firsts" in the last week. He went to his first two birthday parties. He had his first spaghetti. He went to the mall for the first time. He got his first belt for his pants so we don't have to see his skinny behind all the time. He was bitten by his sister for the first time (and second and third times.) He had his first shots in America (and didn't make a peep.) He slept all the way through the night for the first time, just once. And most importantly, he wore his first Virginia Tech jersey. What more could a boy ask for??

I do have other children who are noteworthy. Brodie continues to be my delight. He is preparing to go on his first mission trip in November. He and I will be going to Thailand for 11 days to minister to the Kui people and we are very excited. He is doing reasonably well in school and is having a great year in soccer. In fact, he played so well in today's game that he amazed both coaches and his mother. He is a big help with his siblings and I sure appreciate him.

Emily is also doing well. She enjoys having Timothy to mother. Between her and Brodie, Charlie and I could leave the state and the two year olds would be well taken care of. She had some funny moments this week as well. The background is that the friends that the kids stayed with while we were in China have an 8 year old son named Hunter. My kids and I were all in the car and I said that I saw two doggies. Brodie replied, "I see London, I see France, I see dogs in their underpants." He was just being silly. I said back, "In underpants?" Emily, from the back seat inquired, "What's in Hunter's pants?" Of course I told her that she did not need to concern herself with the contents of a boy's underpants! Crazy kid!

Bethany is not so thrilled with the new addition. She is having a very hard time sharing Daddy, Mommy and the toys. She has become quite verbal over the last couple of months and has a cute munchkin voice since her tonsillectomy. Unfortunately, she has no volume control. She is either deafening or she is silent, rarely in between. She really likes to be outside and is trying to speak Chinese with Timothy. It is so cute.

My big kid Charlie is doing well. He has transitioned to a new role at his office and seems to be much happier about it. Of course, I can't go into detail here. He has a new partner in Sunday school since I left to teach Timothy and Bethany's class. He is enjoying the Hokie football season. He was really bummed with the Redskins losing to Dallas, and I didn't even gloat. Much.

We are trying to keep in contact with all those whom we travelled to China. I have heard from several and look forward to "talking" with others via email. We met so many wonderful people and feel blessed to share in the amazing experience that is adoption.

Please pray for my uncle, Jim Benedict. He has had cancer return. It is pretty bad in his throat. In addition he suffers with a heart condition. His wife, Nancy, has back problems and needs assistance with daily tasks, so all of this is a mess. They live in Winston-Salem, NC and would appreciate your prayers.

I will post pictures separately so you can have your fix.

Have a great night!

On the Road Again

We had a lovely day at church on Sunday. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Timothy and he was his normal charming self. He had fun in Sunday School (and so did Mommy) and even participated in the craft. When Stacey asked if they could say "Jesus" he chimed right in! That's my boy! He liked Mary Chewning a lot and told me good-bye when it was time for the service. He played toys and did fabulously. In the evening, though, he wanted nothing to do with the nursery, so Daddy kept him and Mommy went to the service.

Monday we were off and running, back into the routine. We took Brodie and Emily to school, then ran back home for a few minutes. Then we were out the door to Timothy's doctors appointment. Our doctor was pleased with his developmental level and overall health. He gave us referrals to a pediatric urologist and a pediactric orthopedic surgeon. We plan to have Timothy circumcised at some point. We also want to have his back x-rayed to make sure it does not need any further treatment. He has some curvature due to the surgery he had at one year of age. Timothy also needs a couple of "waxinations" which he will get on Friday. I am going to the doctor at the same time to have my BP checked. Hmmm....maybe not the best timing on that? After picking up Emily at noon, we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. It was yummy! Then home for a nap and off to pick up Brodie. On the way home, we went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on some groceries. All of this is a normal day in our lives (except the circumcision part).

All in all, the adjustment is going well. Bethany is having somewhat of a hard time, but that was going on before we left. She doesn't like other kids touching her or her stuff, especially her blanket. She will be OK in time, I am sure.

Here is my favorite picture I have taken recently.

Pictures Updated

Home, Home on the Range

Well, not on the range, but home at any rate. Timothy did well with the drive home and didn't fuss much about being strapped into a car seat. We took Mamaw home and got headed toward our house. By the time we got home, it was after 1 a.m.! We put the other three to bed and bathed Timothy. Daddy took care of brushing his teeth. By the way, we are going to completely fund our dentist's retirement with the dental work that Timothy will require. His teeth are awful! Anyway, I got a nice hot shower and sent Charlie off to bed. Timothy and I headed to the playroom to await sleep. I did give him a shot of Benadryl to speed up the process. He squealed with delight when he saw all the toys that were available to play with. Want to know what he played with first? Car? Truck? Legos? Nope, the purple stroller with a panda bear passenger. He had a blast. He likes the Little Tykes farm and the Weeble village. He did play with Legos eventually. Finally, at 3:08 he fell asleep. I just put him in bed with me that night. I went to sleep at 3:09, I am sure. He slept until around 6:30 a.m. and Charlie was nice enough to get him. We let the other kids sleep in a bit before getting ready for school. Yes, we sent them to school. We all went and had a live show and tell object for both Emily and Brodie's classes. We took Bethany and Timothy to Ukrop's (the greatest grocery store on the planet) for a few essentials. Mary hit the sleep wall and had to go to bed around 11:15. Charlie went to pick up Emily and took Bethany and Timothy with him. They all went down for a nap after lunch and at 3:15 we got up and departed for Brodie's soccer game. Timothy slept all the way there and all through the game. He continued to sleep until 6:30 p.m. He was one tired little boy! We picked up subs for dinner and had some play time. He went to bed around 11:30 and slept until 5:30. I got up with him, as I had a full night's sleep and we went out around 8 to do some shopping, just Timothy and me. He stayed up until after 1 p.m. and then took a nice nap. I am hoping that in the next few days we can get him back on a normal schedule. Please pray with us as we try to get him to sleep anywhere but our bed. He did sleep at the foot end of Bethany's bed for a while. We may have to move his toddler bed into our room for a while.
He has gotten to meet a few friends and neighbors. It will be interesting taking him to church tomorrow. I will post pictures separately.

Lord, I'm Coming Home

OK, you blogaholics, here is an update. The trip was very, very long and hard. We were lucky enough to get bulkhead seats and the extra leg room was much appreciated. Unfortunately, you cannot put the armrests up in those seats, so it was impossible to lay Timothy down when he slept. He was held for about 24 hours straight. I also had a very hard time emotionally. I hope this comes out in a way that those who have never adopted can understand. Adoption is a very emotion-laden process. There is a big time investment getting tons of paperwork done. There is the money aspect, which brings out emotions in and of itself. Then there is the pure emotion of falling in love with the child and the hopes and dreams that go with any new child coming to a family. In China, as you are getting to know the child, whole new feelings come out. God, in His infinite wisdom and supreme planning, builds into every human the ability to love each new child without losing love for the others. There is an endless capacity. All of this is to say that I had somewhat of a meltdown on the airplane when I had invested all of my emotions into Timothy, only for him to only want to be with Liz. He would cry and hold his arms out for her if I held him and he was awake. It was very difficult for me. On top of that, Liz wasn't feeling tip-top and needed to rest. Timothy cried for two hours straight until he finally fell asleep. I had big plans that the melatonin was going to put him out. HAH! It ramped him up and made things worse. Somehow, we all survived and made it to Chicago. Once there, we had to go through Immigration with all of his sealed paperwork. That went pretty quickly. Then it was off to baggage claim to get our luggage in order to take it through Customs. I didn't know the baggage hold was so big! Of course one of my bags was the very last to come off the carousel. Our connecting flight was already boarding by this time and we still had to do Customs, re-check the bags and transfer terminals. We were told to take Timothy's paperwork to the Immigration officer in Customs and have a seat. It was nice to be able to tell each family good-bye as they got finished. On Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 4:25 p.m., Timothy Chang Sell became a U.S. citizen. Woo Hoo!!! We managed to get booked on a new flight getting in two hours later than originally planned. We contacted all those who were going to come to the airport and got them to slow down a bit. The flight from Chicago to Dulles was wonderful. I had a nice lady sitting next to me and we talked the entire way while Timothy slept again. We left the plane and were met at the baggage claim by one proud Daddy and three very happy children. With them were two grandmothers and one grandfather. Cameras were just flashing away and Mr. Personality suddenly got really shy. It didn't take long for him to be running around with his siblings while we waited for our bags. Let me say, it is really good to be home!

Last Tango in Paris

Or, last post from Guangzhou. It is hard to believe we have been in China for two weeks. In a lot of ways it went very quickly because we stayed so busy. The last couple of days have dragged and we are ready to be home. I really want to see Brodie, Emily and Bethany and to see them interact with Timothy.

Timothy continues to be quite the funny little guy. He plays hard to get when you want him to talk, but will talk to complete strangers. He had several nice conversations with various shopkeepers over the last two days. He told one that he liked me because I gave him cookies. Hey, whatever works. Today, I gave him a 1 yuan coin and he thought that was the greatest. He gave it to the cashier at 7-11 to pay for his first Pringles. He has picked up many more words and phrases in English. Now he goes around saying, "knees and toes" all the time. He made half the bus go "Awwww" when he said "I love you Mommy." I am so thrilled with him. I am a bit nervous at how it will go with all the kids in the house. I am sure that a pecking order will be established. Emperor Pu Yi here evidently was alpha male in his room at the orphanage, despite not being the oldest or biggest. I am looking forward to him understanding English enough for him to realize that Daddy and Mommy are in charge and him starting to be obedient. Please continue to pray for him as he develops relationships within the family. Pray also for the girls to not feel left out as I work with Timothy over the weeks and months to come.
We must have our bags out at 9:30 tonight and depart the hotel at 5:45 in the morning. I look forward to seeing all of our family and friends in the days to come.

I Want Candy

I finally found what Timothy repeats over and over. He says, "I want to eat candy." He is the biggest sugar addict I have ever seen!

Today we had his medical exam for the emigration paperwork. It went well and the doctor even says that his repair was better than most she has seen. We will still have him evaluated when we get home though. He weighs 29.4 pounds and is 35.25 inches tall. After the exam, we spent several hours shopping. We had a nice lunch on Shamian Island and then spent the rest of the day at the hotel. We ordered dinner from Danny's Bagels. Danny is a New Yorker who opened a restaurant for the US crowd who need a home cooking fix. It is not quite home, but it is close.

Tomorrow is a completely free day. We are supposed to stay in our rooms from 9:30-10:30 in case the consulate has any questions about our paperwork. We plan to return to Shamian Island to pick up a purchase I made. We might have lunch at the same restaurant because it was excellent.

Timothy found pillow fights absolutely hilarious this afternoon. He knows which room is ours when we get off the elevator. He will be good pals with Emily as he loved playing with the doctor's stethoscope. It was really laid back today, so not much else to report.

Oh, we found out something interesting today. There is a couple here adopting in our group that are just so sweet. Someone else told me to google the husband's name. His name is Billy Foote. So, I googled him and found out that he and his wife are Christian music performers and he has written several of the praise and worship songs that we sing! They are so humble and have not talked about their profession at all that I have heard. Wow!

More tomorrow. We can't wait to be home!!!!!

Pictures from Sunday

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

And that is what it is going to take to contain this little boy of ours. In case you haven't grasped his brilliance, let me give you a bit of insight. Today, to use up some time, Timothy and I went to ride the elevator and the escalator. He calls the elevator the ding dong, because a bell rings as it is called and as it arrives. Anyway, we rode down to the bottom floor. He then led me to the stairs and walked up one flight. He immediately turned left and led me to his favorite hangout, Starbucks. He walked in and stood there as if to say, "Well, are you going to buy me a cup of coffee, or not?" So,Brodie will have a fellow coffee fiend in the family. He has picked up several English words. He can count to five. He can say Timothy, Liz, Brodie, Emily, Bethany, OK, no problem, Nate, and most importantly, Go Hokies! He continues to amuse the Chinese ladies with the things he says in Chinese. Tonight on the way to dinner, he told Nate to get out of his way or he was going to beat him up. We happened to be walking with Amy, one of our guides. She had a little chat with him about being nicer. It didn't last long.

Our sightseeing today was to the Chen clan temple. It is a historic temple and used to be a local school for the arts. In addition to the buildings and rooms, there were some local artisans selling their wares. After that, we went to the Friendship Store, which is a 6 floor department store including an upper scale grocery. We got some provisions to last us for a few more days.

Timothy loves to play with the controls for the lights and the tv and radio. They are located on a central console between the two beds. He delights in turning off the lights when you are trying to read something. Tonight, he wanted to turn off the light by the front door, but there is no button for that on the console, only one on the wall. In his ever so ingenious way, he dragged a chair all the way across the room to stand on and turn the light off. Once there, he discovered that there were some cookies on the counter. He put up quite a fuss over only getting one. He is a big time sugar addict. He would drink coke and eat cookies and ice cream all day long. I am looking forward to regular meals and drinks at home!

Well, enough rambling for tonight. Here are a few pictures from the sightseeing.

Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Saturday was a travel day. I don't think I took any pictures, so you just get to read my ramblings. We had a 0500 wake up call (that is before the sun for you non-military types) and out to the bus at 0620. Yuck. Timothy did very well with the whole travel thing, other than needing to be bao (held) all the time. He loves to fly! He squealed with delight on each take off and about split his face smiling. Once again he kept everyone around us entertained with his chattering in Chinese. The man in front of us spoke English, so he translated some of what Timothy was saying. Sitting next to the Serby's was a very nice older lady. She was the perfect Grandma type. She was traveling to Guangzhou and told us she would help us in the airport at Huangzhou where we had a short layover. We didn't have to change planes but were required to deplane. Just as we were about to touch down in Huangzhou, the pilot cranked up the throttle and took off again. We made a big circle back into the landing pattern and landed about 20 minutes later. We are not sure of the reason for the touch and go, but it was skillfully performed and people were only slightly concerned. When we did land, he got a round of applause. It was much hotter in Guangzhou than in Changchun by about 30 degrees. It was good to see the other families with their babies and some with older children. Oh, about the flight to Guangzhou...as soon as we pushed back from the gate Zachary Serby announced that he needed to go pee. He couldn't get up to use the facility as we were close to take off. So, the lady next to them, the grandma one, talked him into peeing into Mike's tea bottle which was about half full already. It took a lot of convincing, but Zachary finally did it and was much relieved. The funniest thing about the whole event is that the lady is a high ranking government official from Changchun who was traveling on government business. I guess she took Chairman Mao's command for the government workers to serve the people quite literally. What a hoot! They ended up leaving the bottle in the seat pocket. We hoped none of the cleaning crew got thirsty as they were cleaning up.
Timothy remains the little emperor. He is so smart and inquisitive. I am sure you all will have a good time getting to know him. I feel sorry for his Sunday school teachers. Oh wait, that would be me wouldn't it? Hmmm....Ronnie can I change my mind???
More later with pictures.

More pictures from Friday

Let the Little Children Come to Me

Today was an absolutely amazing day! We started out with sadness over Charlie leaving. Luckily, Timothy slept in, so he missed Daddy's departure. He was fine with just Mommy all day. After breakfast, we headed out on the bus to the orphanage that Timothy and Noah were in. It was about 40 minutes away, in what Steve called the suburbs. We would call it poor The road was part cement, part dirt and was under construction most of the way. It had rained early in the morning with loud claps of thunder, so the road was really muddy. When we got to the orphanage, Timothy announced in no uncertain terms that there was no way he was going in that building. He clung to me and cried pitifully. So, I sent my camera in with Nate and Timothy and I walked around outside and hung out in the bus. The others stayed inside for a little over 30 minutes. We did get some nice pictures and a great one of Timothy and I with his nanny. We found out that Timothy and Noah had beds beside each other in the orphanage. On the way back, we wanted to take pictures of the provincial school for orphans. The bus had already passed it, but the driver graciously turned around and took us back. We got out to take pictures of the gate and surroundings. There were kids who appeared to be having free time. Many of the kids came up to the gate to say "hello". They were so sweet! Their ages ranged from around 6 to 16. Steve began to talk to them and asked if visitors were allowed in. The oldest boy in the group went to get the headmaster. A few minutes later the headmaster's assistant came out. After Steve explained who we were and that we were not spies, we were graciously invited inside. We first went into the girls' dormitory. There were clothes drying on a line in the hallway. Each room was spotless and well maintained. They each had 8 sets of bunkbeds and the girls were so proud to show us where they lived. There were posters on the walls and decorations hanging from the ceiling. In the first room, there was a poster of Jackie Chan. We had been teasing Steve all week that he looked just like Jackie Chan. To our amazement, we were told that Jackie Chan had been there to visit last year and in fact, his agents were in the headmaster's office at that very moment! He evidently wanted to make a large donation to the school. The school houses and educates about 600 students. They are in the midst of building a completely new facility for 3000 students. We were taken to the headmaster's office where there was a museum of sorts. Several girls were present and with great poise presented the history of the school. All throughout the tour, we felt so blessed to have the opportunity to meet these wonderful children. It was very emotional for all of us. We left after having been given three books each about the school and promising to let the world know of these amazing kids. So I wonder if Charlie will let me come back for an older kid??? Just kidding!
We will check out very early tomorrow morning and fly down to Guangzhou. I will try to post tomorrow evening.

Once again, the pictures are not loading. I will put them in a separate post.

Scenery Thursday

Pictures from Thursday

OK, the Moon River title makes more sense if you have this picture.

Moon River

Where do I begin? The day started with Timothy taking off his shirt and throwing it in the bath tub. He then turned the water on to wash it. Needless to say we had to start over on the dressing. When we went outside to meet the bus, he decided to drop his pants and "niao niao" on the sidewalk. Charlie aborted that mission and took him to the toilet to do his business. We had a big day of touring Changchun and it was so much fun. We started out at the Puppet Palace, where Emperor Pu Yi resided after he escaped from Beijing. It was very interesting and I took about 200 pictures. We saw the palace buildings and an awesome garden. We dressed up in traditional dress and took pictures. Charlie and Liz were the emperor and empress. I was a mere concubine. Timothy refused to participate. He actually told someone that mama was not paying him any attention because she was off playing. I can see his mouth will get him in a lot of trouble in the future. When we left there, we talked our guide Steve into dropping us off at a real Chinese shopping district where the locals shop. It was quite the educational experience. Nate, the 11 year old boy in the group, wanted to see the meat section. We saw every kind of animal imaginable and every part displayed for your viewing and purchasing pleasure. I will not post the dog meat pictures because some of you have squeamish stomachs. The smell cannot be described. I do not generally experience nausea, but the McDonald's we had just had for lunch was near the surface by the time we departed that area. We met Steve part way through and eventually headed for the bus. After a block or so, Timothy announced his need to relieve himself. Steve graciously took him outside the bus and formed a stool for Timothy to use right beside the bus. Everyone got a good view of urology in action.

OK, I have tried four times to put pictures in. I will post the pictures separately.

His Love Still Amazes Me

It has been a lazy day here in Changchun. It was a much needed free day. We did manage to drop off our laundry at a local cleaners. It will be ready on Friday and costs less than a third of the hotel's laundry. It was a fun experience and we are so glad that Mike Serby speaks Mandarin. We wandered around for a while near the hotel, with plans to go to another area of the city. We decided before we got a taxi that all three boys needed a rest. I had a nice two hour nap. It was delightful! We are now hanging out in all four rooms and the kids are all playing so nicely together.
We had a major breakthrough in our family unit. I was able to take Timothy for a walk without daddy. He has somewhat decided that I am ok, especially since I let him drink my Diet Coke. He loves sodas and candy and anything sweet. He eats like a horse. For lunch he had a whole banana, half an apple, a hot dog inside a large sweet roll and part of Jason Merrell's cheese bread. He has to be told to stop eating.
We don't have much else to report, so I will just post a few pictures and will add more tomorrow. He came to us with the "do rag" and it is perfect for his personality.

I Need Thee, Lord, I Need Thee

Oh my goodness! There is no way that Charlie and I can raise this child in our own strength. BUT, we are children of the living God who can do anything. Our little emperor is going to require much discipline and training. Evidently at his foster home he could do whatever he wanted. He likes to spit on the floor and throw things off the dinner table. Those two behaviors must go. He struts around like he owns the world and expects that you will be following. He had every female employee of the restaurant come talk to him at breakfast. They would talk to him and he would wiggle his eyebrows at them and then show the dimples and act coy. When it is time to go, he says in Chinese "Come on!" He says bye and blows a kiss to the room. He oozes personality. I told Brodie, he is a lot like Bethany but turbo charged. He finally hit the wall around noon and went down for a nap beside his baba (daddy). They have moved their twin beds side by side and are both snoozing. I am already beginning to pray about flying on an airplane with this child. It will definitely be interesting. Now, where did I put the tranquilizer darts?? He is going to give Emily and Bethany a run for their money! He has such a sweet voice and I just wish I knew what he was going on about. Some of it the guide says is just child talk, but he is very smart. He is interested in everything and nothing escapes him. He is very fastidious...he lines up his crayons precisely and makes sure they all point the same direction. The bathroom door must be closed and you must never put his shoes on the bed. What a riot!

I haven't taken many pictures today. I hope to transfer Liz's to show you Mr. Personality in action. For now, here are four more from yesterday.

Pictures for Real

OK, it is now morning in China. Timothy awakened around 2 looking for his mama (not the Caucasian one). He got in bed with daddy and slept for a little while. They got up for good at 4. He made friends with the cab drivers parked in front of the hotel. He has had his first bath, which he enjoyed, but he did put up a fight over taking his clothes off. He looks so cute!

God is Good, All the Time

We made it safely to Changchun (pronounced Chahng chwin) this morning, arriving around 9:15. It is a beautiful area of mostly corn fields, with mountains in the background. At arrival it was 54 degrees and sunny. We all got our bags and headed to the hotel with our guide, Steve. We checked in and had about 3 hours before we were to meet in the lobby to go to the Civil Affairs office, so we unpacked some of our luggage and prepared the gifts we would need to give today. Then we did what every American would do and went to Wal-Mart. There is a W-M Supercenter on the next block over from our hotel. We purchased water, Cheerios, juice and some M&M's for Charlie. We decided to have lunch before returning to the hotel and ended up eating at KFC which was interesting to say the least. When we got back to the hotel, we had about 30 minutes left and used that time to gather everything we needed. In the last few minutes we had an awesome prayer time with most of the family members present. There are only 3 families here and each has 3 people. I guess Liz is the kid we brought along. Steve called during the time to tell us to hurry up and get to the bus. The boys had already arrived at Civil Affairs! We hurried off and climbed up three flights of stairs. That doesn't sound like much, but after the hundreds of steps on the Great Wall, it was somewhat painful. We walked into a conference room and there were three adorable boys, all dressed in red sweatsuits. The officials were there, as were the orphanage representatives. These were not the actual caretakers, but the administrative staff. So, on to Timothy. He looks a lot like Bethany, but moves at Mach speed. He sat pretty quietly at first. He likes Skittles, orange juice and animal crackers. Oh, he also likes Pez and oyster crackers. He played with the car I brought and with the toy cell phone. He was fine until the orphanage worker started to leave. She had been talking to him, evidently telling him that we were his "mama" and "baba" and that he was going to be OK. He cried pitifully for about 15 minutes until she actually left. He calmed down after a while and started exploring. By the end of the hour and a half, he was wide open. He can unscrew the lid off of a coke type bottle and pour liquid into a cup. He tried to climb out an open 11th story window. He escaped twice from the conference room. He weighs more than Bethany, but may not be as tall. I can't quite tell, but will know after his medical exam next week. After all the paperwork was done there, we went to the notary's office. The notary is equivalent to a district judge. While there, Timothy talked nonstop, charmed an entire office of ladies (he is like his daddy) and entertained the notary. He can blow kisses and waves and says "Bye!" For now, he is all daddy's boy, wanting nothing to do with me, though he will give me a high five. He liked me when I gave him a flashlight and coloring book. We went out to dinner with just part of the group and he really can pack away the food. He fell asleep with a chopstick in his mouth and then I got to hold him.

Every Tongue Shall Confess

OK, I know what info you really want, but I did not get a chance to blog yesterday and I wanted to capture it here. We started our day by attending church at the Beijing International Fellowship. It was so moving to see and hear people from around the world singing and worshipping together. We sang several songs in Chinese and then a couple in English. The sermon was about doing church as a team. All I kept thinking through the whole service was that it was the perfect picture of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. I cried through most of it.
Next we went to the jade factory. Robin and Colleen, I have your items. They were about $1000 each. Just kidding!
After lunch and a huge government owned "Friendship Store" we went to the Great Wall. It was cloudy and cool, but still magnificent. I will post pictures at the bottom.
After the Wall, we had dinner and went back to the hotel. Waiting for me was the most handsome man on the planet. It was so good for me to have Charlie join me here in China to share this experience.
We had just a few minutes to get organized and then we were off to the Chinese acrobatic show. Once again I was amazed at the flexibility and strength of the children in the troupe.
We had to have our bags packed and out of our rooms by 10 p.m. We were told to meet in the lobby at 5:40 a.m. for our departure to the airport. Because of all of that, no blogging happened yesterday.

Pictures from yesterday and today

OK, I put pictures in the last post, but they did not show up. And, the text posted twice. That was weird. Anyway, here are some pictures of Liz and I together. The first on is in the SF airport waiting to board. The last picture is the bus driver for the other half of the group. His shirt amused me. Our bus driver is nicknamed James because he drives like James Bond. He is the one in the brown shirt by "Louie" the FBI driver.

Start spreading the news

Where do I start? It was a wonderful, if long and busy day. I got up around 5:20 (yes, this is Mary) and slowly got ready for the 9 a.m. departure for Beijing touring. I would have slept later, but the sawmill in the bed next to me prevented further sleep. I hope she doesn't kill me for telling the world! We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and loaded up on the bus. Today we saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. We had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant and toured the pearl factory. On the way to lunch, our guide Sherry was telling us what we would be having to eat. She said that it would be Kung Pao Chihuahua. She went on to explain that there would not be any dog on the menu as that is a winter dish only. We then went on and toured the silk factory, where I spent most of the kids' college tuitions on silk comforters. After all of that, we had a Peking duck dinner. I was the object of much laughter when some of my food fell off my chopsticks. I was somewhat startled when it rolled down my leg and into my sandal. Jason Merrell was sitting across from me and asked what happened. I had to tell the whole table that I had a pea in my shoe. Of course, they all thought I said I had peed in my shoe. I was quite embarrassed. Oh, speaking of which, I was the brave one who used the squatty potty and almost got left at the Summer Palace. The entire group was standing there waiting for me to finish and come out. Also quite embarrassing! All in all it was a fun day. The weather was warm, but not unbearable. Unfortunately it was extremely smoggy and the pictures will reflect that.
Charlie is on the airplane now on his way to this side of the planet. I am looking forward to him being able to meet the gang. That reminds me...yesterday at the SF airport, I asked Liz to be on the lookout for red bandanas on carry on bags. She asked my if that was how I could locate my gang members. I told her all my homies would have them.
Tomorrow we will attend a church service at the Beijing International Fellowship, climb the Great Wall and go to the jade factory. After dinner we will be able to see a Chinese acrobatic show. Charlie should be here in time for the dinner and show. Early Monday we will be off to Changchun and should have Timothy in the early afternoon China time. Please continue to pray for us. We have had some opportunity to show the love of Christ and look forward to having more as the days go by.

Start spreading the news

Where do I start? It was a wonderful, if long and busy day. I got up around 5:20 (yes, this is Mary) and slowly got ready for the 9 a.m. departure for Beijing touring. I would have slept later, but the sawmill in the bed next to me prevented further sleep. I hope she doesn't kill me for telling the world! We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and loaded up on the bus. Today we saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. We had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant and toured the pearl factory. On the way to lunch, our guide Sherry was telling us what we would be having to eat. She said that it would be Kung Pao Chihuahua. She went on to explain that there would not be any dog on the menu as that is a winter dish only. We then went on and toured the silk factory, where I spent most of the kids' college tuitions on silk comforters. After all of that, we had a Peking duck dinner. I was the object of much laughter when some of my food fell off my chopsticks. I was somewhat startled when it rolled down my leg and into my sandal. Jason Merrell was sitting across from me and asked what happened. I had to tell the whole table that I had a pea in my shoe. Of course, they all thought I said I had peed in my shoe. I was quite embarrassed. Oh, speaking of which, I was the brave one who used the squatty potty and almost got left at the Summer Palace. The entire group was standing there waiting for me to finish and come out. Also quite embarrassing! All in all it was a fun day. The weather was warm, but not unbearable. Unfortunately it was extremely smoggy and the pictures will reflect that.
Charlie is on the airplane now on his way to this side of the planet. I am looking forward to him being able to meet the gang. That reminds me...yesterday at the SF airport, I asked Liz to be on the lookout for red bandanas on carry on bags. She asked my if that was how I could locate my gang members. I told her all my homies would have them.
Tomorrow we will attend a church service at the Beijing International Fellowship, climb the Great Wall and go to the jade factory. After dinner we will be able to see a Chinese acrobatic show. Charlie should be here in time for the dinner and show. Early Monday we will be off to Changchun and should have Timothy in the early afternoon China time. Please continue to pray for us. We have had some opportunity to show the love of Christ and look forward to having more as the days go by.

What's it all about?

We made it to Beijing safe and sound!!! Well, mostly sound. The flights were great and the luggage made it. We had several good laughs today, which always makes traveling more fun. When we got to San Francisco, Liz decided that a neck pillow was a good idea after all. So, we went in search of one. I asked her what type she wanted, like foam or microbead. She said she wanted an alfalfa one. I was totally confused until I figured out she wanted a buckwheat one. Boy did I laugh about that one! At least they are characters from the same show. Liz purchased a green one and promptly named it "Alfie".

We had 8 families all on the same flight from SF to Beijing. We met 5 of them in SF and did not know about the other two until we got to China. Everyone did great and only 4 bags got lost. They expect them to arrive tomorrow.

Well, we left the house at 4:15 a.m. on Thursday morning after only three hours of sleep (and those were not consecutive hours). It is now 9:30 a.m. Friday for you east coasters and time to go to bed. We have unpacked, purchased water and other essentials (Skittles and Snickers) and Liz is showered and in jammies. I am headed for the shower as soon as I hit send.

Note to Brodie, Emily and Bethany: Mommy loves you all and misses you already. I will call you at dinner time. Be good for the Martins and have a great weekend!