This was the boat we went on.
This is the tallest building in China. It changed colors and it was so pretty!
In 2010, Guangzhou hosted the Asia games and this was the stadium.
After dinner they had a little clown show. It was cute!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Pearl River boat cruise
Two nights ago we went on a river boat cruise down the Pearl River. I had been looking forward to this since we got to GZ. I have seen other adoptive families pictures and was excited to see it in person. Unfortunately, Jeff had a fever still that day so he stayed back in the hotel to rest. I was pretty bummed about that but M and I went with the rest of our group and had a good time.
Safari Park
After a long night of no sleep and a lot of screaming we headed out early to a great Safari Park. Sure wish my boys were with us because Mayleigh was in depression mode and slept through almost the whole thing! My boys would have LOVED it!!! So if there are too many pics, that is why. I promised Brennan we would take lots of pictures!
Other than that....we are pretty much exhausted. Emotionally and physically. Last night was really our first night of bad sleep. We think she had a belly ache since it had been over 24 hours since she had pooped. Well, now today we had diarrhea. The poor thing cried on and off every 15 to 20 min. and she didnt want to be comforted. We would get her up and hold her and within 30 seconds she was pointing to her bed. If I tried to put my arm in and rub her back she pushed it away. :( So after trying multiple times we laid in our bed and listened all night. It was rough. So I think with her being so tired today, it just caused her to shutdown. Ate basically nothing, cried a lot, and slept a lot. It was harder to deal with today after we saw a glimmer of hope yesterday.
Tomorrow we have our consulate appointment to get her Visa. Then we are going to Shaiman Island which is an old colonial area where the US consulate used to be. I am pretty excited to see it...we have heard lots about it. Then Friday afternoon we get Mayleighs visa and head to Honk Kong. Then Sat. morning we are on a flight home!!!!!!! We are soooo close.
I am so ready to be home. Am I nervous about being home...VERY!! I have no idea what will happen to Maleigh when we get home and strap her in a car seat (which she has never sat in). She literally hasnt been out of our lap for more than 3 hours total this whole time!!! That could be a rough drive home from Chicago. Right now she is a two person job. I am not sure how I am going to do this with the 3 boys and Jeff back at work next Tuesday!! A little nervous but so ready to just get home!! We are praying being at home will help Mayleigh feel more secure.
I will leave you with lots of pictures!! :) Good night!! Enjoy the pictures boys!!! Wish you could have been there with us!!
Other than that....we are pretty much exhausted. Emotionally and physically. Last night was really our first night of bad sleep. We think she had a belly ache since it had been over 24 hours since she had pooped. Well, now today we had diarrhea. The poor thing cried on and off every 15 to 20 min. and she didnt want to be comforted. We would get her up and hold her and within 30 seconds she was pointing to her bed. If I tried to put my arm in and rub her back she pushed it away. :( So after trying multiple times we laid in our bed and listened all night. It was rough. So I think with her being so tired today, it just caused her to shutdown. Ate basically nothing, cried a lot, and slept a lot. It was harder to deal with today after we saw a glimmer of hope yesterday.
Tomorrow we have our consulate appointment to get her Visa. Then we are going to Shaiman Island which is an old colonial area where the US consulate used to be. I am pretty excited to see it...we have heard lots about it. Then Friday afternoon we get Mayleighs visa and head to Honk Kong. Then Sat. morning we are on a flight home!!!!!!! We are soooo close.
I am so ready to be home. Am I nervous about being home...VERY!! I have no idea what will happen to Maleigh when we get home and strap her in a car seat (which she has never sat in). She literally hasnt been out of our lap for more than 3 hours total this whole time!!! That could be a rough drive home from Chicago. Right now she is a two person job. I am not sure how I am going to do this with the 3 boys and Jeff back at work next Tuesday!! A little nervous but so ready to just get home!! We are praying being at home will help Mayleigh feel more secure.
I will leave you with lots of pictures!! :) Good night!! Enjoy the pictures boys!!! Wish you could have been there with us!!
We saw a pretty fun elephant show! Got some on video also for the boys! They were pretty amazing! They did relay races, turned a jump rope, and smashed balloons popping them!
Group shot. At this point we had about 50 Chinese people staring at us. They are good at that! Wish I would have had our phone to take a picture of the amount of people looking at us. They were taking pics of us too! Weird!!
Feeding the giraffes was such a blast. I have video of Jeff doing it!!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
A smile, some giggles, and some playing!!!!!!
Making baby steps...
I am excited to be able to say that we feel like we are making a little progress with Mayleighs adjustment to us. Last night we went to dinner with our travel group and our guide. She was sitting up the whole time, eating off a plate by herself, and interacting with people sitting next to us. I know that sounds silly to say that she was actually sitting up and eating by herself but she has been so sick or scared since we got her that most of the time her head is buried in our chest. She has also never eaten on her own...we are always putting food to her mouth and last night she was taking food off the plate to eat. She was playing with her chopsticks and banging the spoon on the cup to make noise! She was alive!! :)
After dinner it was still early so we headed over to the play area in the hotel. They had slides and swings and little houses to play in. She enjoyed watching her friends Abby and Zoe. We were shocked when we put her in the swing and she acted like she liked it for about a min. Ok, maybe 30 seconds but that was a big step for her. She hasnt been out of our lap for 8 days. We were hoping it was just good for her to see the other kids playing and comfortable.
She has had a pretty good start to the day today too. She ate a snack pretty happily in the room this morning and was able to sit on the bed alone. The bummer news is that Jeff started feeling kinda yucky yesterday afternoon and then in the middle of the night last night had a low grade fever. He just has this horrible cough. Another Dad in our group is sick too so that stinks. Luckily one of the moms brought tamiflu so he has started that. He isnt feeling too terrible today but not 100 percent! So Mayleigh and I had our first outing alone this morning. I am not going to lie...I was a little nervous. She is a two parent child right now!!! :) But I knew we needed to get out and do something and Jeff needed to rest so we headed to the Pearl Market with the rest of the group. One of the moms we are traveling with came with her Aunt and cousin because her husband stayed home with the other kids so they helped out. Mayleigh actually really likes her aunt so she held her for some of the time while I picked out a pearl necklace for her for her wedding day! And get this....Carolyn said as she was holding Mayleigh she reached her arm out towards me and said mama. I did not hear it but I trust Carolyn! :) She said she did it twice. Actually I think our guide her it too! That was pretty awesome!!
She still hasnt smiled or been able to get down out of our laps and walk around....but we are making baby steps for sure!!
Please pray Jeff starts feeling better. And no one else gets it!! When we go to Hong Kong Friday night to fly home Saturday, they check everyones temperature at customs. Trust me, we will all be taking tylenol before going!!!! I AM NOT GETTING STUCK HERE!!!! :)
After dinner it was still early so we headed over to the play area in the hotel. They had slides and swings and little houses to play in. She enjoyed watching her friends Abby and Zoe. We were shocked when we put her in the swing and she acted like she liked it for about a min. Ok, maybe 30 seconds but that was a big step for her. She hasnt been out of our lap for 8 days. We were hoping it was just good for her to see the other kids playing and comfortable.
She has had a pretty good start to the day today too. She ate a snack pretty happily in the room this morning and was able to sit on the bed alone. The bummer news is that Jeff started feeling kinda yucky yesterday afternoon and then in the middle of the night last night had a low grade fever. He just has this horrible cough. Another Dad in our group is sick too so that stinks. Luckily one of the moms brought tamiflu so he has started that. He isnt feeling too terrible today but not 100 percent! So Mayleigh and I had our first outing alone this morning. I am not going to lie...I was a little nervous. She is a two parent child right now!!! :) But I knew we needed to get out and do something and Jeff needed to rest so we headed to the Pearl Market with the rest of the group. One of the moms we are traveling with came with her Aunt and cousin because her husband stayed home with the other kids so they helped out. Mayleigh actually really likes her aunt so she held her for some of the time while I picked out a pearl necklace for her for her wedding day! And get this....Carolyn said as she was holding Mayleigh she reached her arm out towards me and said mama. I did not hear it but I trust Carolyn! :) She said she did it twice. Actually I think our guide her it too! That was pretty awesome!!
She still hasnt smiled or been able to get down out of our laps and walk around....but we are making baby steps for sure!!
Please pray Jeff starts feeling better. And no one else gets it!! When we go to Hong Kong Friday night to fly home Saturday, they check everyones temperature at customs. Trust me, we will all be taking tylenol before going!!!! I AM NOT GETTING STUCK HERE!!!! :)
Fish tank at the restaurant we ate at.
Coming out of her shell! Playing with her chopsticks!
We didnt get a picture of her before she started crying! :)
Playdate in the hallway!! Abby is loving Mayleigh's purse and glasses! Glad someone played with them....M sure hasn't!
Mayleigh at the playdate!! On our lap of course.
Balloons and beach balls!!
Zoe!
3 of us at dinner last night
Almost a smile!! Our guide and I were playing with her here! SO CLOSE to a smile!!
Mayleigh likes Carolyn. :) (maybe a little too much!)
Tonight we are going on a river boat cruise to see the city lit up in lights. I am pretty bummed out that Jeff is going to have to stay back in the hotel and miss out! :( It is suppose to be pretty neat! But he has a 100 fever and a horrible cough and just doesn't want to get anyone else sick. Hoping we don't get it!!! SOOO ready to come home!!!!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
New Hope Orphanage Visit (from Beijing)
I was going to take a nap while M took her nap, but as I layed down I couldnt stop thinking about my boys. So I had to get up and keep busy or I get too sad!!
I realized I never got time to put up pictures of the New Hope Orphanage we went to in Beijing. Mayleighs orphanage (Marias Big House of Hope) is run by the same people that run this one. So this one is run the same way as Mayleighs. VERY ORGANIZED!! The couple that started these had moved to China for the mans (Robin) job. After being here quite awhile and going on a trip with their church to visit an orphanage, Robins wife, Joyce felt a calling to open an orphanage to help these sick kids. So Robin quit his well paying job to help start it. They basically started out of their home. She was a nurse and could help with the sick kids. So some of the orphanages would call her and ask her to take a sick baby that they couldnt care for. A few years later, Steven Curtis Chapman, a christian singer who has 2 adopted girls (and one died in an accident) got wind of what Robin adn Joyce were doing and wanted to help. The Chapmans are now supporting about 80 % of the funds for Show Hope. They have I think 6 houses and they are building their next one in Nanyang, where Mayleigh was born. It was such an honor to meet Robin. What an amazing couple these people are!!!
We had a wonderful tour of the facility and got to play with some of the kids! :) Each room has 12 babies. There are 2 babies to 1 nanny. The nannies are always with the same babies. So Mayleigh had 3 nannies because they each worked an 8 hour shift.
I realized I never got time to put up pictures of the New Hope Orphanage we went to in Beijing. Mayleighs orphanage (Marias Big House of Hope) is run by the same people that run this one. So this one is run the same way as Mayleighs. VERY ORGANIZED!! The couple that started these had moved to China for the mans (Robin) job. After being here quite awhile and going on a trip with their church to visit an orphanage, Robins wife, Joyce felt a calling to open an orphanage to help these sick kids. So Robin quit his well paying job to help start it. They basically started out of their home. She was a nurse and could help with the sick kids. So some of the orphanages would call her and ask her to take a sick baby that they couldnt care for. A few years later, Steven Curtis Chapman, a christian singer who has 2 adopted girls (and one died in an accident) got wind of what Robin adn Joyce were doing and wanted to help. The Chapmans are now supporting about 80 % of the funds for Show Hope. They have I think 6 houses and they are building their next one in Nanyang, where Mayleigh was born. It was such an honor to meet Robin. What an amazing couple these people are!!!
We had a wonderful tour of the facility and got to play with some of the kids! :) Each room has 12 babies. There are 2 babies to 1 nanny. The nannies are always with the same babies. So Mayleigh had 3 nannies because they each worked an 8 hour shift.
the dining hall
bedrooms... 4 to a room. color coded rooms
the quilts were made by Joyce
Kindergarten room. Starting at 18 months they came here once a day for organized play and to learn english!
This little cutie clung to me as soon as we came into the room. I could have taken her home with me!
Robin. A wonderful man!!!
She was fascinated with my necklace! But she would not let me put her down. I was getting nervous about leaving. She was very needy for love! :(
Little boys watching as some of the kids left for dinner.
Dinner time!
playground outside
Outside of New Hope
I wanted so badly to see Marias Big House of Hope where Mayleigh lived but it was just too far away. But we are grateful to see a home that is so similar to her orphanage. It was such a neat experience...and heartbreaking at the same time! Grateful for Joyce and Robin who made Mayleighs life as best as it could have been while living in an orphanage!
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