Monday 2/1 Revisiting Kian's Orphanage

Today was the day Kian had been anticipating....the day he got to hand out stickers at his orphanage. From the moment we made the decision to visit Dongguan Social Welfare Institute, Kian has been asking about which day we were going!! 

In front of his orphanage.

This afternoon we met our guide and rode the 1 1/2 hours to Kian's orphanage. Our guide had told us that when she had called to make the appointment for us to visit, the nannies were very excited about You Liu coming; but we were not completely prepared for the overwhelming welcome we got. Nannies and teachers and social workers and orphanage drivers all wanted to hug and exclaim over him....in Mandarin of course. Kian did very well and gave lots of hugs and smiles, but we sensed it was a little overwhelming to him. We were hoping he would share some things with us about his life there, but he actually talked more on our ride back to the hotel. It was fun to watch him try to remember which bed had been his and climb up on it....slowly walk through the play area and remember the toys he had played with....climb around on the playground toys. Most of the children that he would have spent much of his time with have been adopted. Sadly, the ones his age who are still at the orphanage have major special needs. It is heart breaking to realize that most of the ones his age that are left will probably never have a family.

Kian and Tarcy. 

Tarcy handles all the paperwork here for adopted children.

Kian and two of his teachers

On his old bed

Playground

Kian with the orphanage driver..

....I remember from last time that this man really liked Kian

We are very glad we made this second visit to his orphanage. From what our guide said, not too many families go back and it is special to the workers there to have a child return and see him thriving and doing so well! We left feeling very blessed that our son was truly cared about and loved during his first 5 years!!

Tia did very well as we toured Kian's orphanage. As long as she has her Baba, she is pretty content. Today has been a better day for her. The last couple of days, after we had traveled from her province to Guangzhou, she has been very quiet and withdrawn; but today she was more relaxed...chattering as she played. We continue to pray that her grieving heart heals more everyday.

Sunday 1/31 Shamian Island

This morning our guide took a group of us adoptive families to Shamian Island. We arrived just in time for the 11:00 am service given in Mandarin and English!! I was so blessed by the singing. Obviously I could not understand the songs sung in Mandarin, but praising the Lord in song is universal!!! Tia didn't last real long sitting still and quiet, so Craig spent part of the time listening from outside. Kian was confused about why he could sometimes understand the preacher and sometimes not.....interpreter!!!!!

We did some shopping and had lunch at Lucy's before meeting back with our group to return to the hotel. We didn't get finished in Shamian Island so are hoping to go back for a few hours another day!

Many places we go we see people decorating for Chinese New Year. Trees with red envelopes hanging from them and orange trees are very common decorations, similiar to us decorating a pine tree for Christmas in America.

Saturday 1/30 Medical Exam and Apply for Visa

This morning was Tia's medical exam. She did very well with being weighed and measured...poked and prodded. But the sweet little girl came to an end when they took her out of his arms to draw blood and TB test. She went into the room screaming and came out crying. When they opened the door from her to come back to us, she couldn't get to Baba quickly enough!

We enjoyed chatting with several other adoptive families this morning. With all American adoptive families spending their final week in Guangzhou, we get to interact with several throughout our time here. It is amazing how the common tie of adoption causes a bond to form with families who we have never met before. This is the third adoption for one of the families in our group and fourth adoption with the other family. Two more other families will be joining us tomorrow.

Kian made quick friends!! The boy on the right is the son of our guide. The one on the left is the newly adopted son of another family in our group.

Friday 1/29 Last Day in Nanning

The weather warmed up and it quit raining long enough for us to enjoy a walk through the park near our hotel before we left Nanning.

Tia has been much happier today! Lots more smiles and chatter from her. Warms my heart!

We packed and left to catch our flight to Guangzhou around 5pm. Tia did well on the plane.
...As long as she has her Baba close by, life is pretty good!!

First plane ride!

Kian was very excited to get to "his China"! We are staying in the same hotel here in Guangzhou as we did for the full two weeks we were here to adopt him... lots of memories! We also have the same guide. She was amazed at how grown up Kian seemed in a little over a year! It was fun seeing her again. She said that one of the best parts of her job is seeing families return!

Thursday 1/28 A Lesson in Chinese Culture

This morning our guide took us to a museum. Museums can get a little tedious for small children (and big ones too) but our two did very well. It was interesting to learn about the Chinese culture a few hundred years ago in comparison to today! Our guide did a great job of answering our numerous questions. 

Tia has had a harder day! We don't always understand when and how grief will hit!! But it is part of the healing process. She has been very quiet all day....with the most sad little face. We got a couple of smiles while she was eating her sucker, but they are few and far between.

The view out our window at night. 

Wednesday 1/27 Birthday Celebration....Tia is T.H.R.E.E.

We have learned that celebrating birthdays is not a big deal in China. Our family, however, enjoys birthday parties (we even celebrated Kian's without him before he came home to us). So we ordered a cake from our hotel, stuck candles in and sang happy birthday. Tia was not overly impressed, but we had fun doing it anyway!! Kian got to blow out her candles. Chantel's birthday was yesterday {happy 17th, Chantel} so now we have birthdays a day apart in our family!

Tia still prefers her Baba. In fact she usually squawks and shakes her head if I get close but I did manage to dress her this morning much to her dismay!! Mostly she plays quietly by herself. Occasionally she will check out what Kian or Baba are doing but then goes back to her book or toys. When we leave the room she clings to Baba and stays very quiet.

Tia was warming up to me this afternoon. We played ball together and she even offered some kisses. Melted my mama heart. 

Tuesday 1/26 Finalize Adoption

Tia is doing so well! She is a very brave little girl! Last night it took her some time to fall asleep but she never cried. She slept the whole night through without making a sound. She is a sweetheart.  Before bedtime she was giving us all smoochy kisses. 

Today we went back to the civil affairs office to finalize the adoption. Tia is now officially an Oyler!!

Kian and our guide, Matthew, have really hit it off!!