Guangzhou

We are enjoying our time in Guangzhou. It has changed a little bit since we were here last and it is fun exploring and walking around. There is now a Starbucks here!! Yay!! The coffee tastes just like it does at home. That's kind of nice when you are a little homesick :-).

Last night we took the kids on a river cruise down the Pearl River. We had a wonderful time and the city was lit up like Christmas!! It was really beautiful. The kids really enjoyed it too. We all had a wonderful time until Ren wanted to stick his head out the railing of the boat. I did not feel like jumping in the Pearl river to get him so I had to tell him no. Funny thing is he doesn't like to be told no. Mark (my hero) intervened and held Ren while he had a melt down, emotionally and literally. Unfortunately while Mark was holding him Ren also had a poopy diaper =O. Lets just say they both had to change their clothes. Mark was a very good sport about it and we all had a good laugh on the way home in the Taxi. I'm sure the Taxi driver thought we were crazy!

Ren's Mandarin for a 3.5 year old is incredible. He has long conversations with anyone he can and loves to talk to the Chinese girls. He is such a flirt ;-). He has gone from being able to communicate quite well to hardly at all with us. We tried to learn as much as we could before we came but it is very difficult for us to communicate in Mandarin so we have many tantrums. I can imagine how hard it is for him. We are also using sign language and he has picked up well on this and even makes up his own signs!!! He is a remarkable little boy. If anyone is wondering whether to learn Mandarin before being united with their older children I would say YES!

Today we go for Ren's medical exam and then more shopping.

Last Stop

We arrived late last night in Guangzhou which is the final stop in our journey. Ren loved the airplane ride! When the plane took off he turned to us and yelled"WOW!" Ren and Eden are getting along great. More later. Mark

Last Day in Nanjing

This is our last day in Nanjing! Nanjing is a very interesting city. We toured a brocade factory yesterday and saw incredible dresses and clothes. Then we went to the Nanjing city wall and walked around. I got a lot of pictures but I am not going to attempt to download them here today (sorry). I will try and post them later in Guangzhou. Hopefully my computer will work better there.

We had a wonderful celebratory dinner last night with our whole group and our guide Anna bought Mark a surprise birthday cake!! It was beautiful and very delicious!

Ren is doing wonderful. He is smart and absolutely adorable. He is adjusting more and more each day. He is still more attached to daddy though, which is OK. I am getting precious kisses now so I don't need anything else!!!!! He is starting to use more English also, I wouldn't say he is communicating in English but he is learning. He speaks mandarin so well that I think he thinks we should learn his language. He is such a sweetheart! He loves seeing his friends in our group and they all are sharing their food and make sure they all have something to eat. He sings and dances, I think they spent a lot of time in class learning things!

I was initially worried bout Eden and how well she would do on this trip. She has been an only child in the house for awhile. She is doing really well also. There is the normal sibling rivalry but nothing major. We do have to have 2 of everything for now though :-). She has been a great traveler and a very good big sister!

Eden wants to give a big shout out to Jenifer Elementary!!! She says hi and she misses you , she will see you when she gets back!!

Today we fly to Guangzhou and stay at the famous White Swan Hotel. Our whole group is looking forward to warmer weather. The weather in Nanjing has been nice actually just a little chilly at times. Guangzhou should be in the 70's!!

What A Day!

Waking up in China on any given day is exciting, but waking up in China on your 45th Birthday is especially cool! The best part is being with my family! Having such a beautiful wife and two of the cutest kids to share my birthday with make it the best ever, as far as I am concerned.

Today we are going to take a walking tour of Nanjing which should be cool. Ren is definitely a Daddy's boy! He wont let me out of his sight and yells "Bah Bah!" which means Daddy in Chinese.

Yea... I would say this is starting out to be the be the best birthday ever! I can hardly take it all in without getting a little choked up. Ren is already learning English words... Not bad for day three. He is a "charmer" Last night at dinner we were walking back to the table and he walked up to a pretty Chinese lady and smiled. She rubbed his cheek and told him what a handsome little boy he was. He knodded in agreement... I need to find out what the Chinese word for "little clown" is. He told the Nannies that he was Edens big brother, NOT her little brother. You could tell by the way Ren acted at the Orphanage, he pretty much ruled the roost during his tenure. Ren loves to see the other children that were adopted, and when he does, he talks to them and takes them food. Right now he is going through his photo album naming every person in the pictures. Did I mention this was the best birthday ever...

Mark

Internet Finally!

We had thought we would be able to post pictures and journal everyday, but I have not been able to get on the internet. Broadband is a "relative" term I will forego telling you all my frustration with it. I have so much to share i don't know where to start. This is the first day I have felt halfway human since we got here. Our whole group has been battling a weird array ailments since our arrival and are all doing better now. Yesterday we finalized our adoption of Ren! He and Eden are getting along like two siblings do. The play, hold hands, laugh, and then fight a little, its all pretty funny. Today we went to Ren's Orphanage and had lunch. I was expecting duck bill soup, but what I got was one of the best meals I have ever eaten in China (Pic above). By now you have probably figured out this is Mark posting this instead of Elaine because I am talking about food.

Ren is a little "ham" and even marched up to the bell hop at the Hotel and gave him a salute. The salute was a little weak, but I will will work on it with him LOL. Ren is defininitely the right kid for us! Last night he told our tour guides that he tried steak once and liked it! He has a great appetite and will know if he wants or doesnt want something.

One thing I forgot was that sooo many people smoke over here in lobbies and restaraunts. It is a little hard on the eyes and lungs when you are not used to it.

Tomorow we are going on a walking tour of Nanjing. This city is beautiful! lots of hustle and bustle, people with all their possesions on a bicycle, but somehow its flow is a a symphony of chaos. Sorry for the internet problems (common here). We will try to post more tomorrow.

Mark

Gotcha Day video

Our Day

Wow! I don't even know where to start. He does Kung Fu, I am not kidding. He has a smile that is dangerous. He didn't stop moving till he fell asleep. He is bigger than I thought he would be and is stocky, and strong. He talks up a storm, too bad I have no way of knowing what he is saying. He told some waiters today he tried steak an liked it! He tells me Bu and Bu yao alot, this means NO and stop it! He has a little temper, well who wouldn't when you were taken away from everything familiar. He loves to play hide and seek and has the sweetest giggle. He had his picure book we had sent him and knew us when he saw us! He also is aware of Caleb, Rachel and Christian as his guh guhs (brothers) and jie jie (sister). He is full of life. He ate like a horse and shared it with his friends. i am typing this in my sleep but wanted to post something before I go to bed. This little guy is going to give me a run for my money. I am hoping he was just over stimulated today and that is why he was so active ha ha ha! Here are some pictures. Mark is still really sick but got some antibiotics today so hopefully is on the mend now. I will have him post some gotcha day video later. (Whoops looks like mark took mostly video of gotcha day and not many pictures. Sorry for the teaser I will make him post some video soon!!!)

We get Ren in a few hours!!

Hello to All! I have had a really hard time getting on the internet. Hopefully it won't be like this all the time! LOL! We are in Nanjing and get Ren today at 1:30!!! We are very excited. Keep praying for our health. Mark is still sick and we are going to try and see a Dr. today. Eden and I are better but still coughing. We don't want to pass any germs onto Ren! There are others in our group who are also not feeling well. We all need to get better :-).

Nanjing is a very interesting city. We arrived last night an walked around a little bit. I will try and post more after we get Ren. I have askedd Rachel to also post to my blog in case I can't get back on.

Eden wants to say Hi to Emma and her teachers and class back at Jenifer Elementary! She is having fun and misses you all!

Sat morning in China

I had trouble signing into my blog and could not post or download pictures. But here I am! We had a wonderful day at the Great Wall yesterday. It was sunny and cool, beautiful weather. Mark climbed the wall but Eden and I just went a short ways. She was very intimidated but the steepness and height. I was content to walk around with her and take pictures and enjoy the view. It was amazing to actually be there. Here are some pictures we took.

Today we are going to an acrobat show, and then packing up to fly to Nanjing tomorrow! 2 days till we meet Ren! Mark is still under the weather, but feeling better. Eden is feeling much better also. We all came back and slept from about 3 in the afternoon till 4 AM this morning. We probably set ourselves backward as far as our jet lag goes, but Mark and Eden needed to rest. We love Beijing and experiencing all the city life here. We hope to get out and walk around the city today.

More from yesterday

I stayed up till 8:30 last night and was so proud of myself. I thought I had gotten a running jump on my jet lag. I slept for a good while and woke up refreshed at 11:30 PM! Ha so much for beating jet lag LOL! I made myself stay in bed till 4 AM and actually feel good today. So I found some free time to blog.

Since my photographer was under the weather yesterday my choice of pictures are pretty sparse, but I will have good ones later!

Below are 2 travel weary travelers who have just arrived at the Beijing airport. I feel totally busted now for having used my old skinnier photos on my profile and such. ACK! Here is Eden and her travel pal Tristan. Have Leapsters will travel! These 2 got along so well and entertained each other for hours! They both did sooo well for such a long flight! We are going to be with Tristan's family on this trip. They are a wonderful family and are adopting a little girl :-)! Praise God for good friends.

We are staying at a very nice hotel in downtown Beijing. Here is a picture of some really cool amenities we have in our hotel room.

I just had to post this picture. At first glance I did not know what was in these cans. They are actually masks in case of fire.

Eden and I made a trip out to the local Kentucky Fried Chicken by ourselves last night. It was fun. I actually crossed 4 streets all by myself with Eden in tow unscathed. OK well 2 streets it was 4 times around one one traffic light because I went the wrong way. Quite the experience if you have never done it. The lights are red the crosswalk is telling you to go and the cars, buses, and bicycles, scooters and carts do not stop. We were literally inches away from the moving cars and buses . Now that will get your heart rate up ;-).

Eden is feeling better today and Mark is on the mend. I am soo exited to meet Ren, 3 more days Wooo Hoooo! I can only think about this. I think I would enjoy the Great Wall more if we got Ren first and then went to the Wall (LOL), but I will do my best ;-).