She's coming home!!

Good Monday Morning from Guangzhou!

Haddie is coming home WITH us on the 4th! Her (and everyone in our group) TB test was negative! Praise the Lord! Thank you for your prayers and your emails of encouragement. If you can't tell we were more than excited as was everyone on our bus. God worked everything out. Our next hurdle is with the US consulate and obtaining her VISA & US citizenship - which is fairly simple (not the paper work but the waiting process).

Haddie's legs are getting stronger and she is able to sit up by her self as well as turn over in bed. On the bus tonight she was pulling herself up using her hands and legs. She loves to walk! She's been walking back and forth in our room between Colette and I (approx 6 feet apart). She just giggles as she approaches either of us. Her face lights and you can see joy swelling deep inside of her. We can't wait for Noah and Hannah to meet her and play with her.

About her diet, it is sort of apparent that her previous care givers did not feed her anything beyond the basics. We just need to get her home to her mom's good cooking and get her on a regular schedule...

We ended the day with great shopping! There is something to be said for haggling....in some ways I wish we could do more of it back home.

Until next time,

- Bob

Sunday Update

We attended the bi-lingual service at Christ Church Shamian. Awesome! We (the only non-Asian people there) sang 2 songs in English and the local attenders knew it well. The service lasted for about an hour and a half and the Word of God was definitely preached. The funny thing was people just kept coming in...and coming in and coming in! It was packed. They packed in at least 150 + people in a very small worship area. They had a little A/C and very hard wooden pews.

- Bob

Videos

Saturday

Well, today was the medical exam. It was a long affair with a lot of time standing in lines. Many adoptive families trying to accomplish the same objective today. All went well and they will read the TB test on Monday so please don't stop praying. We spent the entire afternoon shopping and even ate Hamburgers and Fries for Lunch (yes for you adoptive folks it was at Lucy's - but you can not say we are not adventurous after eating alligator the other night!)

Haddie's legs are getting stronger each day and she is enjoying walking more. She still holds onto our finger when walking down the hall or out in public but has gotten much more brave when walking between Bob and I in the room. Tonight she was giggling and cackling as she walked between us when she would lose her balance a little and wobble. Earlier this week, she would have clung to the nearest stationary object and cried. What a difference a few days make! She now gives kisses and does this hilarious fish face. Today she was sitting with Bob at the computer and spent almost 1/2 an hour just cooing. She definitely hears more than we were led to believe she did. She signs "light" when we wait for the elevator because there is a light there that lights up to tell us which one is coming. When we were at the zoo yesterday - I signed and said "lion" to her at the lion cage and she signed the word "light." Very interesting that she could hear the "li" and respond. But then again, when she saw the pandas - she signed Dad . Maybe they look alike to her - all soft and cuddly!

Thank you so much for your prayers for me and my cough. Chinese herbs are a wonder! I feel 100% better.

We would greatly appreciate your prayers for another family who joined our group today. They are adopting a healthy girl, Anna, who is 22 months old. They have waited (I believe I am correct on this) 3 years. During the medical exam they found a heart murmur. Without all the medical details to share, all I can tell you is she is now labeled a Special Needs child. This family did not put in for a special needs child and although they already love her as their own and want to take her home - immigration will not allow it at this point because they do not have the proper paperwork stating they are qualified to adopt her. It is a heartbreaking and scary time for this family because they need a miracle to get the paperwork completed by their flight date late next week. Please pray that God's hand will be evident to all as we see Him work miracles through this. The family are believers and are asking anyone and everyone pray.

Haddie Giggling

Firday update

It was a really HOT day - the high was 100 with a heat index of 106. Our group went to the Guangzhou zoo right in the middle of the 106 heat index. Believe it or not the animals were out and Guangzhou has nice zoo. We received a few looks. Haddie didn't seem to mind to much....we kept her hydrated as with us.

After the zoo, we were taken downtown to the business district shopping complex for lunch. No not all things are cheaper in China. We introduced Hadassah to Italian food...she loves spaghetti and would have eaten a plate full by herself! It wasn't an Italian meal to write home about.

After afternoon naps, Haddie woke up with a 101 feever. She wasn't fussing or anything like that...she was just hot. She has had a runny nose and a slight cough for the last couple of days. Good thing tomorrow is the doctors checkup....there is some tongue and cheek humor in that last statement. You see those are the symptoms of H1N1... We gave her some Motrin and her fever dropped. Don't stop praying for us yet...we have a long way to go. Also, tomorrow they will test her for TB. Our visit to the doctor should be between 10:30 - noon. If all goes well at the doctor's visit - we're going shopping afterwards.

It will be so good to get back home....in one week!

- Bob

Birthday Update

Our group went to the Chen's Ancestral Lineage Hall today (that's a group shot). It was really hot and humid. However, tomorrow is supposed to be hotter - the high for tomorrow and Saturday is 100. We have never been in a place where the temperature and the heat index are 13 degrees apart. Bob does such a great job bargaining for good prices that our group coordinator calls him over if anyone wants to buy anything. His sense of humor does wonders! It was amazing to see all the different carvings of wood, ivory and wood. Such detail!

After the sightseeing we went pearl and jade shopping. Nobody has clued me into the fact that when Chinese sell Jade bracelts, they are meant to pretty much stay on for life. Not my cup of tea! It took a lot of time to find a bracelet we could afford and that I could actually get off of my arm again! They used a plastic bag to slip it on and soap to slip it off. At one point they had one on each arm having me look at it and Bob was quite concerned he just bought two of them - fearing that they would never come off again. They just couldn't understand the crazy Americans who want big bracelets. Our CHI guide has one on that she bought 5 years ago. Her hand was bruised fior 4 days after they put it on her. She tried taking it off a few days later and realized it is there forever.

After we had finished jade shopping, Haddie had a complete blowout. Rebecca (CHI Coordinator) found a corner of a shop that would allow us to change her. It took the two of us - 8 wipes and a complete change of clothes for her. When we were finishing up, the shop keepers lit a couple of incense sticks and placed them over where we were. We didn't blame them a bit!

This evening we went with part of our group to a seafood restaurant. It gets no fresher than this! The guys went downstairs (we had a private room upstairs) to choose our cuisine for the evening. They accomplished this by pointing to pictures they had lined up. At times the waiter would say, "That is not good for Americans! American stomachs don't like that." We ended up with a couple of beef dishes, a pork dish, and an octopus dish. When they pointed to the picture and asked what that was, the waiter replied, " You know - the seafood that has 8 legs!" They also "splurged" and ordered us alligator. That was quite interesting! Bob says it tastes like chicken! Just don't eat the skin- has a strong taste. We didn't order any other seafood but if we had - you pick out the fish you want from the very fresh variety in front of the store. We sent a couple of those picures earlier. It was a fun evening - but I (Colette) did come back to the room and ate some oatmeal!

Tomorrow is the zoo and a trip to Haddie's finding spot. Chat with you then!